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Arroz con piangua
Coconut rice with mangrove clams
Arroz con piangua: Tumaco's coconut rice with black mangrove clams and Pacific herbs
The women of Tumaco and the Nariño mangroves wade out at low tide to gather piangua, a dark-shelled ark clam that lives in the roots, and much of the catch ends up in this rice: the clam meat chopped and cooked with coconut milk, a refrito of onion and peppers, and the Pacific's chillangua and oregano. It is rich, briny and creamy, with the clams' strong, almost iron-like sea flavour carrying through every grain. Locals eat it as a lunch main with patacones and a little salad. Outside Colombia, look for frozen piangua meat in Ecuadorian or Colombian shops, or use fresh clams or cockles in the shell. Before cooking, throw away any clam with a cracked shell or one that stays open when tapped; after steaming, discard any that stay shut. Overcooking the clam meat is the usual error, as it turns rubbery, so stir it in only for the last minutes. Chef's tip: strain the clam cooking liquid through a cloth or coffee filter to catch the grit, then use it in the rice; that's where the flavour is.
- Total time
- 70 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the clams
- 3 ⅓ lb piangua or fresh clams in the shellor 300 g frozen cooked piangua meat
- 2 tbsp saltfor purging
- 1 cup water
For the rice
- 3 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 3 spring onionschopped
- 1 red pepperdiced
- 4 garlic clovescrushed
- 1 tsp ground achiote (annatto)or 1 tsp sweet paprika
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- 12 ½ oz long-grain ricerinsed
- 1 ¾ cups coconut milk
- 1 tsp salt
- ⅓ oz culantro (chillangua)chopped; or 20 g coriander
To serve
- 2 limes (optional)in wedges
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Scrub 3 ⅓ lb piangua or fresh clams in the shell under cold water. Tap any open shells on the worktop and discard those that don't close, and any that are cracked. Soak in cold water with 2 tbsp salt in the fridge for 30 minutes so they spit out sand, then rinse.
35 minStep 2: Put the clams and 1 cup water in a large pot, cover and steam over a high heat for 4–6 minutes, shaking the pot, until the shells open. Discard any that stay shut.
6 minStep 3: Pick the meat out of the shells and chop it roughly. Strain the cooking liquid through a cloth or coffee filter and make it up to 500 ml with water. (If using frozen cooked piangua, thaw in the fridge, chop and use 500 ml water.)
10 minStep 4: Heat 3 tbsp sunflower oil in a heavy pot over a medium heat. Fry 1 onion, 3 spring onions, 1 red pepper and 4 garlic cloves for 6 minutes, until soft. Add 1 tsp ground achiote (annatto) and ½ tsp dried oregano and stir for 1 minute.
7 minStep 5: Add 12 ½ oz long-grain rice and stir for 2 minutes, until coated and glossy. Pour in the clam liquid, 1 ¾ cups coconut milk and 1 tsp salt, and bring to the boil.
4 minStep 6: Cook uncovered over a medium heat for 8 minutes, until the liquid has dropped below the surface of the rice. Cover tightly, turn the heat to the lowest setting and cook for 15 minutes, until tender.
23 minStep 7: Fold in the chopped clam meat and ⅓ oz culantro (chillangua), cover and leave over the lowest heat for 3 minutes, until the clams are piping hot. Serve with 2 limes.
3 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 560 kcal
- Protein
- 24 g
- Carbs
- 74 g
- Fat
- 19 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does arroz con piangua take?
- About 70 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of spring onions?
- Chives, or a little finely sliced onion.
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