Destination
Hue
The story
Ốc móng tay xào rau muống is one of Ho Chi Minh City's most-loved late-night beer snacks (called ốc culture, an entire food genre built around eating snails and shellfish washed down with cold beer). Móng tay literally means fingernail, the Vietnamese name for razor clams because of the shape. The clams are stir-fried very hard in a searing hot wok with garlic, chili, fish sauce and a big pile of water spinach (rau muống, called morning glory in English). The classical version is served immediately in a big communal bowl for shared eating, with cold Bia Saigon or Bia 333 on the side. Sold at every Saigon ốc restaurant from about 5pm until midnight.
Method
Soak razor clams in salted cold water for 30 minutes to purge sand. Rinse under cold running water.
Have all ingredients chopped and near the stove; this is a fast cook.
Mix salt, pepper, lime juice and chili in a small dish.
Warm a heavy wok over the highest heat until smoking. Add oil.
Add garlic, chili and ginger. Stir-fry 30 seconds.
Add razor clams. Toss hard. Stir-fry 2 minutes until the shells begin to open.
Add fish sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and pepper. Toss to coat.
Add water spinach and spring onion. Toss hard for 60 to 90 seconds until the spinach has just wilted but is still bright green. Off the heat, squeeze in lime juice. Slide onto a big platter with fresh basil scattered over. Serve immediately with dipping salt, extra lime and cold beer.
Tips
- Very fresh clams. Non-negotiable. Any that are already open before cooking are dead and should be discarded.
- Screaming hot wok. This is a fast cook. Low heat gives you steamed clams instead of stir-fried.
- Water spinach last. Add it only at the end so it wilts but stays green.
- Dipping salt is essential. The pepper-lime-salt mix is the classical Vietnamese seafood accompaniment.
- Cold beer on the side. This is bar food. Serve with Bia Saigon or a similar Vietnamese lager.
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