Here is a classic Taiwanese dish created by my student Eddie Liao at Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts on Granville island. The aromatic ingredients in this dish fill your kitchen with amazing scents. This dish is served in the middle of the table for family and friends to enjoy.

Ingredients

The scented comfort of clams and basil.| Photo courtesy of Chef Ben Kiely.

• 2 lb Fresh clams

• Vegetable oil

• 20 g Ginger (julienne)

• 2 Chili pepper (seeded)

• 4 cloves Garlic (crushed)

• 2 tbsp Rice wine

• 1–2 tbsp Soy sauce (or to taste)

• 1 tbsp Sugar (or to taste)

• A bunch of basil

• Salt and pepper (to taste)

Method

Using a wok or other suitable cooking tool, medium high heat, sweat the ginger, chili pepper, and garlic with vegetable oil. Then add clams, season with salt and pepper, and cover to let it steam for 4–5 minute (as the heat will extract the water from the clams). Uncover and add rice wine, soy sauce, sugar, and to taste. Stir well. Add basil leaves to finish.

The rice wine (米酒)

It’s a wine mostly used for cooking, and is prevalent in Taiwan and China. The Japanese Sake is a type of rice wine but filtered. The rice wine I referred to is generally a cooking wine, unfiltered.