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1
Get a table knife ready.
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2
If you use a kitchen knife you may cut yourself.
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3
Holding the clam firmly, insert the tip of the knife and sever the muscle holding the shell together.
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4
Cut the other side too.
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5
The clam will open up a bit, so you can open it up to a point with your hands.
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6
Cut the muscles holding the shell halves together.
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7
There are 4 muscles, so press and slide the knife against them to remove them.
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8
It will look like this when it's opened.
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9
Take the insides out with your hands.
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10
Put the shelled clams in a colander placed in a bowl, and rinse 3 times.
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11
*The clams will be de-sanded later on, so you only need to rinse them quickly at this stage.
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12
Cut through the black part on the bottom in the photo - this is called the beak.
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13
It will look like this.
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14
*There's a lot of sand in this part.
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15
Slice in half horizontally.
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16
It will look like this.
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17
Retain a bit of the black guts as you rinse the clams.
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18
*This black part has a lot of flavor and umami, so I recommend that you don't take it all off.
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19
Wash the clams one by one while rubbing them with your hands.
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20
Change the water at least 10 times as you wash them.
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21
The clams are ready when there is no more sand in the bowl.
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22
The clams are now de-sanded and clean.
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23
You're done if you want to eat them as raw sashimi, or if you'll be using them in a cooked dish later on.
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24
Turn this into blanched sashimi.
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25
Bring a lot of water to a boil and add a little salt.
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26
When the water is at a rolling boil, put the clams in for just 10 seconds to blanch them briefly!
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27
Drain into a colander immediately.
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28
They will become a nice bright red color.
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29
Leave to cool off a bit.
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30
Chill it in the refrigerator, slice up and they're done.
