Fukagawadon (深川丼, Tokyo clams in miso broth over rice)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Shallow tray or bowl for purging clams
• •Fine-mesh strainer lined with a clean cloth
• •Wide heavy pot or donabe
• •Donburi bowls

Instructions

1. 1

   Purge the clams

   Dissolve the 30g salt in 1 liter cold water so it tastes like the sea. Set the clams in a shallow tray or bowl, ideally on a rack or an upside-down plate, and pour in enough salt water to come just below the tops of the shells. Cover with a cloth and leave in a cool dark place for 30 to 45 minutes, longer if they look sandy. The darkness and salt water let the clams spit out grit, and the rack keeps them from taking it back in. Scrub the shells under running water, then discard any cracked clams or any open ones that don't close when tapped.

2. 2

   Make the dashi

   Wipe the konbu with a damp cloth, but don't wash it. Put it in 4 cups cold water and warm it slowly over low heat. Pull the konbu out just before the water boils, when small bubbles climb the side of the pot. Add the katsuobushi all at once, take the pot off the heat, and leave it alone for 2 to 3 minutes until the flakes sink. Strain through a cloth or fine strainer and let it drip without pressing. Boiling the konbu makes the stock bitter and slick; squeezing the bonito flakes clouds the clean flavor you made the stock for.

   You need about 3 cups of dashi for the bowl. Keep any extra nearby, because clam liquor varies in saltiness and a spoonful of dashi can correct the broth without dulling it.
3. 3

   Start the broth

   Put 3 cups dashi, the sake, the mirin, and the white parts of the naganegi into a wide pot. Bring it to a gentle simmer for 2 minutes, just long enough for the onion to soften at the edges. Sake rounds off the raw edge of the shellfish, and the negi gives sweetness without needing sugar.

4. 4

   Open the clams

   Add the scrubbed clams to the simmering broth, cover the pot, and cook over medium heat. Shake the pot once, gently, so the clams sit in the broth rather than in a heap. They should begin opening in 2 to 4 minutes. Lift each clam out as it opens and hold it in a warm bowl. The shell opening is your clock; after that, more cooking only tightens the meat. Discard any clams that stay shut.

5. 5

   Dissolve the miso

   Turn the heat low. Put the miso in a ladle or small strainer, dip it into the broth, and dissolve it slowly with chopsticks or a spoon. Don't boil the broth once the miso is in. Boiling flattens the aroma and can make the soup taste rough. Taste it with the rice in mind: it should be a little stronger than soup you would drink alone. Add the soy sauce only if the edge needs sharpening, or add a spoonful of reserved dashi if the clams have made it too salty.

   Akamiso gives a firmer old-Tokyo note. Awase miso makes a rounder bowl. Both work, but don't use instant miso soup here, because the broth is the dish.
6. 6

   Finish the bowl

   Return the opened clams to the pot with the green parts of the negi and warm them for 30 seconds. Divide the hot rice among four donburi bowls. Ladle the clam miso broth over the rice, then arrange the clams and negi on top so the shells are visible and the rice is moistened, not drowned. Finish with a small pinch of kizami nori if using, and serve at once.

Chef Tips

• •Buy the smallest live clams that look heavy for their size, with shells closed tight and a clean sea smell. Large chowder clams are not a kindness to this bowl. They turn tough before the broth has time to become itself.
• •Ask the fishmonger whether the clams have already been purged. Even then, give them a short saltwater rest at home. One grain of sand under the teeth can make a careful bowl feel careless.
• •Have the rice hot before the clams go into the pot. Clams don't wait politely while you look for bowls, and this dish is best in the minute when the meat is just opened and the miso is still fragrant.
• •Use a wide pot, not a deep narrow one. The clams open evenly when they sit in one layer, and you won't be tempted to stir them hard. Stirring breaks shells and roughens the broth.
• •Don't make the broth heavy. Fukagawadon is not a sauce bowl. It should soak the top of the rice and carry the clam liquor cleanly, with the grains still distinct underneath.

Advance Preparation

• •The dashi can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated. Warm it gently before using, and don't boil it hard.
• •The clams can be purged up to 6 hours ahead. Drain them, cover with a damp cloth, and refrigerate until cooking. Cook them the same day.
• •Cook the rice so it finishes just before the broth. If it must wait, keep it covered and warm, because cold rice turns this into something heavier than it should be.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 475g)