Cơm hến (Clam Rice)

A bowl of cold rice topped with tender clams, crispy pork cracklings, and roasted peanuts. The steaming clam broth, infused with ginger, balances the pungent shrimp paste and the freshness of finely chopped herbs.

• Prep time: 40 min
• Cook time: 20 min
• Difficulty: Medium
• Calories: 846
• Protein: 53 g
• Carbs: 104 g
• Fat: 24 g

Ingredients

• 300 g White rice ( cooked and cooled )
• 1 kg Cerastoderma edule or Cerastoderma glaucum ( cleaned )
• 100 g Plain lardons ( for cracklings )
• 50 g Peanut ( roasted )
• 2 tbsp shrimp paste ( diluted with a bit of broth )
• 1 piece Star fruit (carambola) ( thinly sliced )
• 2 piece Thai chili ( minced )
• 1 piece Coriander ( chopped )
• 1 piece Mint ( chopped )
• 2 piece Scallion or chives ( chopped )
• 30 ml Peanut oil
• 1 tsp Ginger powder ( for the broth )
• 500 g Ameijoas (clams) ( washed )
• 1 piece Banana blossom ( finely shredded )
• 2 piece Taro stems (Bạc hà) ( peeled and sliced )

Instructions

1. Rice preparation

   Cook the white rice in water or a rice cooker. Once cooked, spread it on a tray to cool completely. The rice should be dry and the grains well separated.

2. Cooking shellfish and broth

   Wash the clams and hen-clams thoroughly. Drop them into a pot of boiling salted water. As soon as they open, drain them, keeping the broth. Shuck the clams and hen-clams. Filter the broth, add the ginger, and keep warm.

3. Making the cracklings

   In a pan with peanut oil, sweat the lardons over medium heat. Let the fat melt until the pieces become very dry, golden, and crunchy.

4. Preparing the garnishes

   Dry roast the peanuts in a pan. Finely chop the mint, coriander, and scallions. Cut the starfruit into thin star-shaped slices, chop the chili, and thinly slice the banana blossom and taro stems.

5. Final assembly

   In each bowl, arrange the cold rice. Distribute the clams, hen-clams, cracklings, peanuts, starfruit, banana blossom, taro stems, and herbs. Add a dab of shrimp paste and chili. Serve with a bowl of hot broth on the side.

Chef's tips

• Temperature contrast is key: the rice must be cold and the broth must be steaming.
• Never discard the cooking broth; it's packed with iodine flavor.
• If the shrimp paste is too strong, dilute it with a spoonful of hot broth before adding.

Storage

This dish does not store well once assembled as herbs wilt and rice softens. Components can be prepared 24h in advance separately.