2 years ago, I tried the Putien Drunken Cockles as a cold appetiser and was very impressed with the overall taste of this dish. Just recently, I was craving for some cockles and I immediately thought of the Putien cockles and started frantically looking for recipes. Most recipes steamed or stir fried except one which blanched the cockles (thanks to Let’s Get Woking). With reference to this recipe which blanched the cockles, I began my journey to cook my favourite cockle dish….

Some may deem cockles as unhealthy but I guess eating it once in a while should be alright. Oops, just trying to justify it because I simply cannot resist eating cockles. The hard work involved in this dish is not the eating but the scrubbing of the cockles shell.

Recently when I posted a short clip of my finished product, I was pleasantly surprised that I am not alone, I have many followers out there who are also lovers of cockles. Some asked for the recipes and this is why I am sharing it now.

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Serves 4 persons

Ingredients:

400g Cockles

2 red chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped

3 tablespoons minced garlic

1 ½ tablespoons cooking Oil

1 ½ tablespoons Hua Tiao Chinese wine

3/4 tablespoon light soy sauce

1 to 2 pinches of sugar

Salt to taste

Some chopped spring onions

Method:

Preparation for the Sauce

1. Heat up a pan and add in the cooking oil.
   
2. Add in the garlic and chill. Stir fry till fragrant but not burnt.
3. Turn off the fire. Then add in the Chinese wine, light soya sauce, and the sugar.
4. If necessary, add some salt for taste.
5. Stir and cook well.
6. Set aside to cool.

Preparation for the cockles

7. Scrub the cockles clean by using a toothbrush or any type of brush with firm bristles.
   
8. Next, soak the scrubbed cockles in some salted water to let it ‘spit’ out sand. Soak for an hour or as long as you can in a cool place.
9. When ready, boil a pot of water enough to cover the cockles.
10. Turn off the heat once the water is boiling.
11. Add in all the cockles for 5 seconds (+/- depending on the size of your cockles).
12. Drain them and place them in cool water for a couple of seconds.
    
13. Remove half the shell and any mud that may be inside the cockles.
14. Put the half shelled cockles on the dish.
15. Pour the sauce over all the cockles evenly or dish the sauce on the cockle one at a time.
16. Sprinkle the chopped spring onions on top.
17. Chill in the fridge for an hour before serving.

Note:

1. We ate some after the cockles were chilled but I felt that it taste better after a day in the fridge.
2. If you like it spicy, do not removed all the seeds from the chilli. Keep some seeds and chop them together with your chilli.