Quick and Easy Clam Noodle Soup

I have been very lazy lately. Sometimes, I think blogging takes more dedication than I possess with all the cooking, then revising the recipe over and over again. I'm just not really in the mood to try complicated things right now. When I'm in a slump like this, my fallback comfort food is normally a hot bowl of noodle soup.

In Asia, instant noodles are in a league of their own. Ramen shops are hugely popular. At grocery stores, you will find dozens, maybe even hundreds of options - different brands, different flavors, from different countries. On top of that people started adding whatever they could think of to the instant noodles, and publishing these "gourmet" recipes. There are a couple of flavors that I do enjoy once in awhile, but in general, I'm a little leery about all the additives and preservatives they have. Making normal noodles doesn't take much longer, even a bowl of "luxurious" noodle soup.

Whether you are a devoted clam lover, or a soup slurper, this one is for you. It's so quick and easy that there isn't any excuse to wait.

Quick and Easy Clam Noodle Soup

2 qt chicken broth
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
8 oz noodles
2 baby bok choy, or the greens of your choice
1 lb manila clams

Boil the chicken broth in a large pot.

In the meanwhile, clean the clams.

Add sugar, and cooking wine to the broth, and stir. Turn the heat down to medium. Add noodles, bok choy and clams to the pot. Cover the pot, and boil for 5 minutes.

Tada! Serve while hot.

If the noodles take longer than 5 minutes to cook, just boil them for the extra time necessary before adding the greens and clams.

Simple Clams

A few months ago, I made this. Even though it was good, it was way too much work. Another thing I learned was that Uwajimaya has really fresh mussels and clams. So when I saw Uwajimaya had Manila clams on sale this week for $3.99, I knew I had to get some. I also knew this time I wanted to choose a simpler recipe with white wine.

I did a little search, and chose a recipe from http://www.food.com/. The clams were super tender and meaty. The garlic lost all of its pungency. The prosciutto salty and crispy. Enjoyed with a glass of pinot grigio that the clams were cooked in. Yum. =) Hubby insisted that he didn't like clams. Even better, more for me! =)

The only thing I have to complain is that the sauce was too salty even though I didn't add any salt. (And I'm not one who's on a low-sodium diet, just see what I've cooked in the past and you'd know.) So instead of soaking it all up with bread, I used it to saute the mushrooms for my pasta sauce. Yum, yum, yum!

Clams in Garlic White Wine Sauce
based on this

2 slices prosciutto ham, thin slices
1 tablespoon oil
6 garlic cloves, smashed
1/3 cup Italian parsley, chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine (I used pinot grigio)
2 lbs Manila clams (or small clams of your choice, about 30-32, cleaned and scrubbed)

Cut prosciutto into strips. In a large frying pan, heat oil over medium heat. Fry prosciutto until crisp, about 2 minutes. Remove to paper towel to drain.

To the pan, add garlic and half of the parsley. Fry for 1 minute. Add wine. Bring to boil over medium high heat. Add clams, cover and steam until clams open, about 5 minutes. Discard any clams that do not open.

Sprinkle with prosciutto and remaining parsley.

Ladle clams into small bowls and offer plenty of crusty bread to soak up the delicious broth.