Clams in black bean sauce is a classic of Cantonese seafood cooking, the type of plate you see on the back wall of a dim sum restaurant in Hong Kong or a Chinatown seafood joint on a Sunday afternoon. The fermented black bean (豆豉) is the lead, and it does the same job here that it does in my steamed ribs in black bean sauce, pulling a deep umami fragrance out of a fast cook.
I learned to make this dish after years of ordering it at our neighborhood Cantonese restaurant for Sunday dinner, where my husband asks for it every single time. When I developed this recipe, my goal was to skip the heavy takeout-style sauce in favor of a lighter reduction that still packs in plenty of black bean flavor. I love how this dish is lighter, fresher, and every bit is as satisfying as the restaurant version.
I simply stir fry the aromatics and rinsed black beans in oil for a minute, slide in the clams with the Shaoxing wine and oyster sauce, cover the pan for one minute to start them opening, uncover and let the sauce reduce until every shell is open, then toss in cilantro, scallion greens, and chili at the end. If you have a Sunday seafood night coming up, my recipe directions below will get you to a Cantonese plate in under 10 minutes of actual cooking.
Ingredients
These are all the ingredients I use to make this delicious Stir Fried Clams in Black Bean Sauce recipe at home, along with a few notes:
Clams: Manila clams are what I use for this dish, the smaller, sweeter, less briny variety that opens fast in the wok. I buy live clams with tightly closed shells and stay away from hard-shell varieties like littlenecks because they cook tough and turn the sauce too salty against the black beans.
Salt for purging: Plain table salt and cold tap water are what I use to draw the sand out of the clams before they cook.
Fermented black beans: Fermented black beans (豆豉, dòu chǐ) are the heart of the sauce, salt-cured black soybeans with a deep umami flavor that tastes like soy sauce concentrated and dried. For more on this Chinese pantry staple, my fermented black beans page has what to buy and how to store it.
Aromatics: Thinly sliced shallots, scallions cut into short pieces with the whites and greens kept separate, and julienned ginger build the savory base.
Sauce: A simple mix of Shaoxing wine and oyster sauce is the only liquid the dish needs. For a gluten-free version, swap in a gluten-free oyster sauce.
Heat and finish: Minced fresno chilis with the seeds removed give the dish a light fruity heat. Fresno is my pick because the flavor balances rather than overpowers, but you can swap in jalapeno, anaheim, or bird’s eye chili depending on the heat you want. A small handful of fresh cilantro goes on top right before serving.
How to Make
1. Purge the clams: Place 2 pounds of manila clams in a large bowl with 8 cups of cold tap water and 2 tablespoons of salt. Stir until the salt dissolves, then leave the clams to soak for 30 minutes to 1 hour while you prep the rest. The salty water mimics seawater and the clams spit out the sand on their own.
2. Drain the clams without stirring up the sand: Lift the clams out of the soaking water with your hands or a spider strainer rather than pouring the bowl into a colander, so the sand stays at the bottom of the bowl. Give the clams a final rinse under cold running water and let them sit in a colander while you start cooking.
3. Mix the sauce: Whisk 2 tablespoons of Shaoxing wine and 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce in a small bowl.
4. Stir fry the aromatics and black beans: Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large wok or pan over medium-high heat until the oil shimmers. Add the sliced shallots, scallion whites, julienned ginger, and rinsed fermented black beans. Stir constantly.
5. Add the clams and sauce: Tip the drained clams into the wok and pour the Shaoxing wine and oyster sauce mixture over the top. Toss the clams quickly with a wok spatula or wooden spoon to coat every shell in the sauce and aromatics.
6. Cover for 1 minute: Drop the lid on the wok and let the clams steam open for 1 minute.
7. Uncover and reduce: Lift the lid and keep cooking over medium-high heat for another 4 to 5 minutes, tossing the clams occasionally, until every shell is open and the sauce has thickened against the shells.
8. Finish with the herbs and chili: Add the scallion greens, minced fresno chili, and chopped cilantro to the wok. Toss once or twice to mix them in, then discard any clams that have not opened by this point and serve straight from the wok.
Cooking Tips
Rinse the fermented black beans: Straight from the package, fermented black beans are heavily salted, and they push the dish into straight-up salty territory against the clam brine if you skip the rinse. A quick 10 second rinse under cold water pulls off the surface salt and lets the savory umami of the bean come through.
Use my homemade black bean sauce: I make a homemade black bean sauce that tastes less salty and more fragrant than store-bought, and it slides into this recipe just as well as the loose rinsed beans. Swap 1 tablespoon of the sauce for the 1 1/2 tablespoons of dried beans, and add it with the aromatics at the start of the stir fry.
Leave the last of the sauce in the wok when you plate: Any sand that escaped the purge will settle to the bottom of the wok as the dish cooks, so the last spoonful of sauce is usually where the grit lives. I tip the clams and most of the sauce onto a serving plate and leave that final spoon behind.
Pairing Suggestions
When this dish comes off the wok I plate it whole, with the sauce-coated clams piled into a shallow bowl and a stack of empty plates next to it for the shells. Steamed jasmine rice on the side is the part that makes it a full meal, because the sauce is too good to leave behind on the plate.
For a family dinner that needs more on the table, I treat the clams as one of two or three Cantonese plates and build a small Sunday-style menu around them. A side of baby bok choy stir fry adds a nice green to balance the savory sauce, and a plate of beef chow fun gives the table a chewy noodle dish next to the seafood.
Frequently Ask Questions
Why did some of my clams not open after cooking?
A small number of clams not opening is normal even with fresh batches, and the food safety rule is to discard any that stay closed once the rest are open. I take any unopened shells out of the wok before plating, because the meat inside has not cooked through and could make someone sick. Live clams should open within 5 to 6 minutes total in the wok.
How do I know if a clam is still alive at the store?
A live clam keeps its shell tightly closed, or closes its shell when you tap it lightly against the counter. Any clam with a shell that stays open after a tap, or one with a cracked or broken shell, goes back into the pile at the store. I also smell the bag of clams before I buy, fresh ones smell briny and clean and nothing like fishy.
Can I used Littleneck clams instead?
I developed this recipe with Manila clams because they have a sweeter flavor and produce a cleaner, less salty broth. If both are available, Manila clams are my first choice. I would reduce the black beans from 1.5 tablespoons to 1 tablespoon, so the dish won’t end up too salty.
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Stir Fried Clams in Black Bean Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 lbs manila clams
- Salt , for soaking the clams
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing Wine
- 1 tablespoon Oyster Sauce
- 2 shallots red onion , thinly sliced
- 3 scallions (or 1/2 red onion) , sliced to 1” (2.5 cm) pieces, white and green parts separated
- 1 ” ginger , julienned
- 1 1/2 tablespoon fermented black beans , rinsed
- 2 fresno chilis (or other hot peppers, or 1/2 red pepper) , seeds removed and minced (*Footnote 1)
- Small handful Cilantro , chopped
Instructions
- Place the clams in a large bowl. Add 8 cups cold tap water and 2 tablespoons of salt. Stir to mix well. Soak for 30 minutes to 1 hour before cooking. This process purges the clams of extra grit by mimicking the clams’ natural environment. Right before cooking, transfer the clams to a large colander to drain well.
- Mix the Shaoxing wine and oyster sauce in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Heat oil in a large pan or wok over medium-high heat until shimmering Add the shallot, scallion whites, ginger and fermented black beans. Stir and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant.
- Add the clams and pour the sauce over. Toss to cover the clams in the sauce and aromatics. Cover the pan, and cook until the clams start to open, 1 minute. Uncover the pan. Keep cooking until the clams fully open and the sauce has reduced, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add the scallion greens, chili pepper, and the cilantro. Mix again. Discard any clams that have not opened. Serve as an appetizer or main dish.
Notes
- Fresno chilis can be replaced with sweet peppers for less spice, or Bird’s Eye chilis for more spice.
- Rinsing the fermented black beans removes some salt so they won’t make the dish too salty.
- To avoid any remaining dirt making it into the food, leave some of the clam sauce in the pan when plating. The grit will fall to the bottom of the pan, and the last bit of sauce often has most of the grit, if there is any left in the clams.
- To make this dish gluten-free: Make sure to use a gluten-free oyster sauce.
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
I’d love to hear how it turned out for you! Please take a moment to leave a 5-star rating ⭐️ and share your thoughts in the comments further down the page. It really helps others discover the recipe too.
Mike Casey
Would mussels work in this dish? They are readily available where I live.
Maggie Zhu
Yes! Mussels work too and I love to use Mussels to make this dish as well 🙂
Guido
This recipe looks delicious, and I love it at restaurants. Where you you get (retail quanties) manila clams? Don’t see them in Northeast US very often.
Maggie Zhu
They are quite common in my Chinatown markets near my home, but yeah I agree, Littleneck is more common in regular grocery stores in Northeast US.
Eileen
If using LKK black bean and garlic sauce instead of fermented black beans, would you still use all the rest of the ingredients in the recipe ? Thank you !
Maggie Zhu
I would. The LKK sauce is nice but the garlic flavor is not that strong. I would simply replace the fermented black beans with the sauce without other changes.
Eileen
Thank you !
Dale
Hi Maggie, The clam recipe looks great but where do you buy Manila Clams on the East Coast?
Bill Zigrang
Get littlenecks.
Karen
I don’t see in the directions when to add the black beans. If I use prepared black bean sauce, how much should I add.
Maggie Zhu
Sorry about it! It should be added at the beginning of the stir fry along with the ginger and scallion. I just updated the recipe to reflect the correct steps.
If using premade sauce, I would use 1 tablespoon and add it along with the Shaoxing wine and oyster sauce.
Karen
Thanks Maggie, picking up some clams on my next shopping trip. This looks yummy.