Grilled clams with onion oil

In the salt-marshes of the Mekong Delta, there are many vop (clam), a large kind of mollusk or clam.

Grilled vop with onion oil is a local specialty in the Mekong Delta - Photo: Hoang Tham

Vop, which are quite large (about three fingers across) live under the mud. The meat of vop is very sweet so it popular as a dish cooked with lemon grass, chili or ginger. But the best dish is vop cooked with onion oil.

It’s easy to make. Wash the clams to remove all the mud and put them on the grill. When the shell opens pour the juice from the clam shells into a bowl then replace them on the grill and add a drop or two of onion oil into the clams. When the onion oil boils they are ready to serve.

The finished vop are served with salt mixed with pepper and lemon, aromatic herbs and roasted peanuts.

Source: SGT