Ingredients

   
200g Manila clams (or littleneck)
500g water
5g kombu (dried kelp)
15g sake
30g white or yellow miso
1 scallion, thinly sliced

Steps

  1. Purge clams: dissolve 15g salt in 500g water (3%). Add clams and soak for 1 hour. Rinse well.

  2. Soak kombu in the 500g water while clams purge.

  3. Add clams, kombu water, and sake to a pot. Heat over medium. Remove kombu just before boiling.

  4. When clams open, skim scum. Remove clams with a slotted spoon and set aside.

  5. Strain broth through a cheesecloth or paper towel-lined sieve to catch any remaining grit.

  6. Return broth to pot, add clams back. Turn off heat. Dissolve miso into the broth.

  7. Serve with scallion.

Notes

  • No dashi needed — the clams are the dashi. Kombu just rounds it out.
  • Straining through cheesecloth or a paper towel is insurance against any sand the purge missed.
  • Never boil miso — always add it off heat. Boiling kills the flavor and the live cultures.
  • White miso keeps it delicate and lets the clam flavor lead. Yellow (awase) works too. Red would overpower.
  • Cold-starting the clams (vs dropping into boiling water) extracts more flavor into the broth.
  • Discard any clams that don’t open.