Ingredients
Shellfish
- 1.5 kgsmall lagoon cockles
- or any small clams
- sea water or salted water, for purging
To cook
- 200 mlwater
- or 200 ml coconut cream
- 1onion, sliced
- 2garlic cloves, crushed
- 1chilli, sliced, optional
To finish
- juice of 2 limes
- grated fresh coconut
- salt and black pepper
To serve
- boiled taro or rice
- raw with lime, where safe
- as a daily protein
Directions
- Cook them thoroughly rather than eating raw. Anyone pregnant or immunocompromised should avoid raw shellfish entirely. Discard any that stay open when tapped. Discard any with cracked or broken shells. Discard any that smell at all off. Cooked shellfish should open up. Discard any that stay firmly shut after cooking.
- Put the cockles in a bowl of clean sea water. Or use water salted to about sea strength. Let them sit there for a few hours. It must be salted to roughly sea strength. Lift the cockles out of the water. Do not pour them out along with it. Rinse them under clean running water. Scrub the shells with a stiff brush.
- Rub off any weed or mud on them. Rinse them thoroughly once more. They should close within a few seconds. Discard every one that does not. Discard every cracked shell as well. Put the water into a wide pot. Add the sliced onion and garlic. Add the chilli if you are using it. Bring the pot up to a full boil.
- Tip the cleaned cockles into the pot. Cover it with a tight fitting lid. Let them steam over a high heat. Give them about four minutes only. Take them off as soon as they open.
- Shake the pot once or twice as they go. The ones underneath open first otherwise. Pick out any that stayed shut. Discard every single one of them. Do not force any of them open.
- Discard them without exception. Pour coconut cream into the pot. Let it warm right through gently. Do not let it boil hard afterwards. Squeeze in all of the lime juice. Season it with salt and black pepper.
- Scatter grated fresh coconut over it. Taste the liquor and adjust it. Taste it before adding any salt. Serving it is always done piping hot. Tip the cockles and liquor into bowls. Serve boiled taro alongside them. It does not keep at all well after. Cook and eat them the same day. Never reheat cooked shellfish twice.
Technique
- Shellfish filter large volumes of water and concentrate whatever is in it, so gathering water quality is the whole question. South Tarawa is densely populated with sanitation that has not kept pace, waste reaches the lagoon and contamination of gathering areas is documented and reported; the atlas records that rather than passing over it. Gather only from clean open water, never near outfalls or settlements, follow local advisories, and cook thoroughly rather than eating raw.
- Live shellfish should be closed or should close when tapped: discard any that stay open, any with cracked shells and any that smell off. After cooking, discard any that stayed firmly shut, without exception and without forcing them open.
- Cockles live buried in sand and hold it inside their shells, so purge them for a few hours in clean sea water or water salted to about sea strength — fresh water kills them — and lift them out rather than pouring, which tips the settled sand back over them.
Substitutions
- Any small clam or cockle behaves the same way.
- Coconut cream stirred in at the end enriches the liquor.
Variations
- They are steamed plain, cooked in coconut cream, or eaten raw with lime.
- Grated fresh coconut is scattered over in many households.
- They are served with boiled taro or with rice.
History
Collected by women wading Tarawa lagoon at low tide, a daily protein source under growing pressure from pollution.
Frequently asked questions
What is Lagoon Clams?
Lagoon Clams is a main from Kiribati: small cockles gathered from lagoon sand flats, boiled or eaten raw. Collected by women wading Tarawa lagoon at low tide, a daily protein source under growing pressure from pollution.
How long does Lagoon Clams take to make?
Lagoon Clams takes 30 minutes plus purging of preparation and 10 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Lagoon Clams?
Yes, within limits. Any small clam or cockle behaves the same way. Coconut cream stirred in at the end enriches the liquor.
What is the most important thing to get right in Lagoon Clams?
Cook them thoroughly rather than eating raw. Anyone pregnant or immunocompromised should avoid raw shellfish entirely. Discard any that stay open when tapped. Discard any with cracked or broken shells. Discard any that smell at all off. Cooked shellfish should open up. Discard any that stay firmly shut after cooking.
