Amy's Taiwanese - Kaohsiung Taiwan

Over the two and a half weeks of vacation and holidays, I made time to test a recipe that I received from my favorite restaurant in Taiwan. During my last visit to Taiwan, I begged the chef to give me her recipe for "Clams in Spicy Sauce"; then one of my friends in Tainan translated it to English for me. Over the holidays, I set out to purchase all the ingredients and to create the wonderful dish that I enjoyed in Taiwan.

A few things that I discovered during my purchasing adventure: Buying clams in December in New York was difficult/impossible, mussels are not the same, and mussels need to be kept alive not wrapped in the plastic bag in the refrigerator. Preparation was just as eye-opening: Instructions to wear gloves when handling the peppers should be obeyed! Pots with no oil will still catch on fire. (This happened due to the hot peppers to be honest. The 15 minutes of scrubbing my hands raw to remove the burning left the new wok on the stove too long unattended!) Throwing a pan off a balcony into the snow is a great way to put out a fire!

Eventually, the meal was prepared. Although the canned clams tasted okay in the dish, they did not look as good. The photos are of the 'Clams in Spicy Sauce' at "Amy's". She also makes a very good Pina Colada with ice cream! Or, honey and kumquat juice is always good!!