Spaghetti, clams, coriander and soy paste

I usually stick to one style or one cuisine when I make or change dishes but here the Italian and Japanese traditions where so close that I could not resist to mix and match. So instead of using white wine, olive oil and parsley for spaghetti alle vongole, I used a soybean paste, coriander and some seaweed powder. The result was excellent.

Ingredients

For the stock base

• One tablespoon of soybean paste (for miso soup)
• One sachet of seaweed stock powder
• 15 cl of hot water

For the clams

• One litre of clams
• Two teaspoons of chilli peppers
• Chopped coriander

Spaghetti

• 150 grams of De Cecco No 14
• Large pan of water

Steps

1. Wash the clams, put them in a skillet with a lid and cook for some 6 minutes so that they open. Set aside to cool.
2. Put the soybean paste in a bowl, add the water and seaweed powder, stir and set aside.
3. Wash, dry and chop the coriander.
4. Bring a large pan o water to the boil, add the spaghetti and cook for some 8 minutes (I had added the coriander stems in a herb container to the water for extra taste from what would otherwise have been waste) Stir regularly.
5. Remove the clams from their shells, keep the cooking liquid. Add the clams, the soybean/seaweed mix and the cooking liquid in a pan, add the chilli pepper and cook for a few minutes.
6. Drain the spaghetti, put it in a serving bowl, add the clams and the liquid from the other pan, mix and add the chopped coriander. Serve.