Much has been said about the aphrodisiac properties of molluscs like clams, oysters and mussels. But when you are personally attempting to harvest a clam from deep within a bank of black mud, you can only surmise that few things are more unsexy.
When Putien, the restaurant known for its seafood-focused Hinghwa cuisine and comforting lor mee, invited me to visit Putian, an actual place in China, to try my hand at harvesting some of the fresh produce that goes into their dishes, I sincerely thought it would be a Li Ziqi-core experience.
Loquat-picking at a loquat orchard? Idyllic and lovely. Visiting a salt farm? Dramatically beautiful, no doubt. Clam fishing? Surely an easygoing activity – clams live on sandy beaches, right?
Well, maybe ordinary, standard-issue clams – namby-pamby clams unsuited for the rage of war – do. Not the class of superclams that go into Putien dishes.
THE CLAM BEFORE THE STORM
To get to the clams, we had to drive an hour out from Putian city, to the village of Duotou. Getting there involved traversing unpaved country roads so rustic, our vehicle got stuck. But, we were heading towards literal buried treasure. For 600 years, this village has been cultivating Chinese razor clams in its mineral-rich, nutrient-dense mudflats.
#Exploring #Putian #China #Putien #restaurants #clams #yellow #croakers #loquats
