What is the secret recipe for the clam soup base?

I believe many people have eaten clams rice noodles or clams rice vermicelli outside. The clam meat is tender, the rice noodles are silky and smooth, and the clam soup is full of flavor. In short, the delicious taste makes many people linger. So many people plan to try to make clam soup base at home, but the taste is often not authentic enough. This article briefly introduces the ingredients and preparation method of the secret clam soup base.

1. List of tools needed Main tools: a barbecue grill (fuel can be burned by electricity, gas, or charcoal, smokeless grill is recommended, you can search and buy it on Taobao); a soup pot; a large frying pan; a colander; tin foil; a chopping board; a kitchen knife; and multiple pots, pans, and bowls.

2. List of required seasonings Main ingredients: Longkou vermicelli and fresh clams

Ingredients: MSG, sugar, ginger, garlic, shallot, Hainan yellow lantern hot sauce, Taitaile chicken bouillon, Lee Kum Kee oyster sauce, Sichuan Laohui brand, Pixian bean paste, Youjia spicy sauce, spare ribs, Weiwang, Jixiangju fermented black beans, Jiale seafood flavor soup (these brands are recommended. If you must change the brand, be sure to choose seasonings from large manufacturers with excellent quality)

Aniseed: dried red chili pepper, Sichuan pepper, star anise, tangerine peel, cinnamon, fennel, grass fruit, white pepper, cumin, galangal, balsam pear, and bay leaves.

Spice preparation:

Star anise: slightly spicy with a hint of sweetness, star anise is an indispensable condiment for making braised dishes and the main raw material of five-spice powder. Cinnamon: also known as cinnamon, official cinnamon or fragrant cinnamon, it has a rich aroma and can remove the fishy and greasy smell of meat dishes and increase appetite. Sichuan pepper: Sichuan pepper can remove the fishy smell of various meats; promote saliva secretion and increase appetite. Amomum villosum (crushed): spicy, warm in nature, can dry dampness and eliminate cold, eliminate phlegm and stop malaria, and help digest food. Fragrant sand: spicy and warm, dispersing, aromatic and dehumidifying, dehumidifying and promoting qi, warming the middle and stopping diarrhea. Tangerine peel: fragrant, spicy and bitter in nature, regulated qi and reduced adverse reactions, adjusted the middle and stimulated the appetite, dried dampness and resolved phlegm. Fennel: invigorating the stomach, dispelling cold, promoting qi and relieving pain, one of the raw materials for five-spice powder. Put it into a gauze bag, leaving 2/3 of the space in the gauze bag, as it will expand during cooking. It is recommended not to put it into the gauze bag, but to sprinkle it directly.

(The material bag can be soaked in warm water for 20 minutes before use)

3. Selection and treatment of clams

Clams are the main food of happy clams, so the importance of the cleanliness of clams is, needless to say, known to everyone. Here are several methods for cleaning clams. You can choose the one that suits you best and use it for future operations.

How to wash clams (I)

Put some salt in the water and a few drops of sesame oil. Then put the clams in and let them sit for 1 hour. Then stir them repeatedly and finally rinse them with clean water. This is because the taste of salt and the aroma of sesame oil will cause the clams to open, and then close when stirred. This opening and closing process will spit out the sand inside.

Method of washing clams (II)

Add half a bowl of vinegar to clean water, then soak the clams in it for about 2 hours. This way, the sand in the clams will be basically spit out.

How to wash clams (Part 3)

First wash the clams clean, then scoop them up with a sieve and place them in the refrigerator for 1 hour. This way, the clams will not only not die, but will also open their mouths and spit out sand and mud.

Method of washing clams (IV)

Put the clams in an iron container and shake them vigorously. Repeat several times until they are clean. You can also put iron nails in the water and let the clams soak in it for a few hours. This will also help clean the clams.

4. Production and precautions of Qixiang red oil

Ingredients required: 800 grams of cooking oil, 250 grams of Pixian bean red oil sauce, 150 grams of spicy sauce, 100 grams of chopped pepper, 60 grams of oyster sauce, 60 grams of fermented black beans, 30 grams each of onion, minced ginger, and minced garlic (peel the garlic, put it into a machine and crush it, use a garlic press, or cut it with a knife).

Required spices: 20 grams of dried red chili (choose chili according to the local spicy taste), 3 grams of cardamom, 5 grams of white pepper, 5 grams of cumin, 3 grams of ginger, 5 grams of fragrant sand, 2 grams of bay leaves, 10 grams of Sichuan pepper, 6 grams of star anise, 5 grams of tangerine peel, 5 grams of cinnamon, and 4 grams of fennel.

Production steps:

1. Soak the spices for ten minutes, wash and set aside.

2. Pour 800g of cooking oil and 60g of fermented black beans into a pot, bring to a boil over high heat, then add in spices and simmer over low heat for 20 to 30 minutes (until the pepper just turns from red to black. The time will vary depending on the amount of ingredients. Filter out the spice residue and only keep the sesame oil).

3. Add minced ginger, minced garlic and onion to sesame oil and stir-fry until fragrant (it takes 3-4 minutes until they start to char). Then add 250g of Pixian bean paste, 150g of spicy sauce, 100g of chopped pepper and 60g of oyster sauce. Simmer over medium heat for 8-10 minutes (until the water is boiled dry). Then turn to low heat and simmer for about 20 minutes. The time varies depending on the amount of ingredients.

5. Preparation and storage of century-old soup

(1) Soak the chicken skeleton in clean water for about half an hour to thaw and remove blood (the chicken skeleton is purchased from a store selling frozen products in the farmer's market, about 2.5 yuan each).

(2) Pour an appropriate amount of clean water into a frying pan and bring it to a boil. Put the chicken rack in and blanch it for 2-3 minutes, then take it out and rinse it clean. Prepare a soup pot, add 5 pounds of water into the pot, turn on high heat and put in a cleaned chicken skeleton. Bring to a boil, then use a colander to remove impurities on the water surface, then add 15 grams of scallion segments and 15 grams of ginger slices, then switch to low heat and cook for one and a half hours.

(3) After cooking for one and a half hours, add 15 grams of salt, 8 grams of chicken essence, 5 grams of MSG, 15 grams of pork ribs, 5 grams of pepper, and 0.5 grams of special spice AAA. Then put the spices bag into the pot and cook on low heat for 20-30 minutes. The ratio of the spices bag (8 grams of star anise, 8 grams of cinnamon, 6 grams of grass fruit, 6 grams of fennel, 6 grams of ginger, 4 grams of fragrant sand, 2 grams of bay leaves, and 5 cloves) is used to put the spices together in a gauze bag, which can be purchased at the farmer's market.

(IV) Remove and discard the chicken skeleton, scallion segments, ginger slices and other impurities, continue to simmer on low heat, keep warm, and set aside.

6. Happy Flower Clams Production Process

After everyone has completed the first five preparations, you can follow the steps below to complete the production of happy clams.

1. Pour the clams into clean water and wash them using the above-mentioned cleaning method. Boil the vermicelli in boiling water.

(ii) Wash and mince ginger and garlic, wash and mince shallots;

(3) Cut the tin foil into 45*45cm pieces (choose thicker tin foil that is not easy to break). Put the cut tin foil into a round container, and then pat it gently with your hands to make the tin foil curl up;

(IV) (Wash the clams again, put about 20 clams into tin foil, then add 1 gram of chicken essence, 2 grams of sugar, 5 grams of minced ginger, 5 grams of minced garlic, 10 grams of oyster sauce, 12 grams of yellow lantern chili sauce, 20 grams of red oil, and then pour in 250 grams of the cooked broth, tie the mouth tightly, wrap it up and bake it in the oven over high heat. If the broth is hot, it will take about 8 minutes. If it is cold broth, it will take longer (due to different weather and temperature). The amount of red oil can be increased or decreased to control the spiciness of the clam powder. The above 20 grams of red oil will produce a medium spicy taste.

(5) As long as you see steam coming out of the tin foil, it means the soup inside has boiled. Continue baking for another 5 minutes so that the flavor of the soup can be fully absorbed. Take out the finished product together with the tin foil and place it on a plate. Open the tin foil and sprinkle in 5 grams of chopped green onion, 2 grams of Knorr seafood flavored soup, and 0.5 grams of 3A flour. Then add the blanched vermicelli and mix well. Use Longkou vermicelli and soak it in cold water for 3 hours.