Image Credit / SCMP Cooking

Now that Fathom Seafood sells live and fresh geoduck (pronounced gooey-duck) that can be shipped right to your door within 24 hours, it’s time to place your order and learn how to prepare them as meals. 

The geoduck, which originates from the Puget Sound area in Washington, is gaining in popularity in America. It has always been a huge hit in some Asian countries, where they consider the geoduck clam a delicacy. 

In one of our previous articles, Andrew Zimmern prepares and cleans geoduck. 

Are you curious as to what geoduck clam tastes like? It may not look as scrumptious as you might think...but it is!

“It is the sweetest clam ever,” he claims with a smile. 

Zimmern states that the geoduck is the mildest, sweetest clam out there. There are notes of melon and the ocean—just take a bite and close your eyes to be swept away. 

It is soft, not chewy, like some people may speculate. The geoduck melts in your mouth. 

Now that you have a bit more understanding as to what a geoduck is and what it tastes like, start cooking with them!

Here is a light and delicious summertime recipe featuring our one and only geoduck.

Geoduck with Chinese Celery and Fresh Coriander

Prep Time: 30 minutes 

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1-2 small geoducks (shells about 9cm or 3.5 inches in length)
• 2-3 garlic cloves
• 2-3 red bird's-eye chilies, or another type of small, hot chili, such as serrano
• 6-8 long stalks of Chinese celery (or use 1-2 stalks of regular celery, cut lengthwise)
• ⅓ to ½ oz fresh coriander stems and leaves
• 3 tbsp & 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 5 tsp rice vinegar
• 2 tsp Chinese rose wine or rice wine
• 1 tsp granulated sugar
• fine sea salt 

Directions

1. To avoid a mess and help with easier cleanup, lay several sheets of newspaper or wax paper on the counter or cutting board you will be preparing the geoduck on. One at a time lay a geoduck clam on the covered work surface with the open side facing whatever your dominant hand is. Run a sharp, thin-bladed knife between the lower shell and the flesh to cut the muscle that the shell is attached to. Turn the clam over and do the same thing to the other side. Continue to do this with the remaining clams. 
   
   
2. Prepare both a bowl of iced water and boil a large pot of water. Once the water is boiling, add in the shelled geoducks for about 10 seconds each to blanch them. Once removed from the water, place geoducks in the iced bowl and let sit for a few minutes. Drain the water. Watch Andrew Zimmern’s quick video on how to properly clean a Fathom Seafood geoduck clam so that it is ready to eat! He will walk you step-by-step through the cleaning process. 

Before continuing to the next step, make sure all organs, grit, and gills are removed entirely. 

1. Prepare the garlic, chilies, celery, and coriander. Mince the garlic; slice the chilis into thin rounds (remove seeds); tear the celery stalks and leaves into 1 ¼ inch pieces; chop coriander stems. Add all to the bowl with the geoduck.
   
   
2. Take a small bowl and mix the dark and light soy sauce, rice vinegar, and rose wine (or rice wine) with the granulated sugar until it dissolves. Pour this sauce mixture over the geoduck and other ingredients while mixing well. Refrigerate the meal for about 30 minutes; however, you can for up to several hours, while occasionally stirring. 
   
   
3. When ready to serve, spoon ingredients into small bowls or dishes and drizzle with leftover marinade if desired. Garnish with reserved celery and/or coriander leaves and serve. 

Cleaning and preparing geoduck takes a little practice but is definitely worth the extra time and effort. After doing it a time or two, you’ll be a geoduck cleaning master! Don’t forget to watch Andrew Zimmern’s video for easy tips on how to efficiently clean and prepare a geoduck.  Now that you've tried Geoduck make sure to visit Fathom Seafood for delicious live Dungeness crab today!

Enjoy!