Spicy Wok Clams and Leeks By Ming Tsai

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When I come across a flavor I really love, I like to spread it around, and the best way to spread the great flavor of Indonesia’s spicy sambal is with crème fraiche, the French multitasker that also mellows sambal’s heat — which you will see in todays’ recipe: Spicy Wok Clams and Leeks, an all-in-one seafood dish with a nuance of bacon and garlic.

Serves 4

Ingredients
2 slices of bacon, finely diced
4 cloves of garlic, sliced
2 large leeks, white parts only, julienned, washed, rinsed, spun dry
1 tablespoon sambal
2 pounds small clams or cockles, purged in corn meal/water solution
1 cup white wine
1/4 cup crème fraiche
Canola oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Crusty multi grain or whole wheat bread

Directions
In a wok over medium-high heat very lightly coated with oil, render the bacon. Pour off almost all the bacon fat and add garlic and leeks, saute until softened and season with salt and pepper. Add sambal and clams and deglaze with wine and cover. Cook until clams open, about 6-8 minutes. Add crème fraiche and stir into liquid. Serve with crusty bread in large bowls.

Drink Pairing
Hopler Gewurztraminer 2003
Creamy on the palate with a long finish, this is a particularly great pairing with spicy Asian foods and seafood.
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Chef Ming Tsai is the host and executive producer of public television series Simply Ming. Each week, Simply Ming brings mouthwatering recipes inspired by the combination of East and West into homes across the nation.