I absolutely adore clams. Delicately sweet, laced with a briny taste, clams are one of my favourite seafoods for a reason. I was so excited to get my hands on some fresh clams from my local market and created this wonderfully comforting garlic miso clam noodle soup, which totally hit the spot in every way. This easy garlic miso clam noodle soup combines sweet, briny clams with garlic, butter and white miso for a deeply savoury yet surprisingly light noodle broth. The clams cook directly in the soup, releasing their natural juices into the garlicky miso broth before everything is ladled over your favourite noodles. It’s quick, comforting and packed with umami, but doesn’t require hours of simmering to build flavour!
Why You’ll Love This Miso Clam Noodle Soup
There’s magic happening when the natural sweetness of the clams meets a touch of white miso. It creates this mellow yet delicate umami that just gives all the tingles to the palate. Together with stock, it yields this beautifully savoury broth without requiring hours of simmering. The recipe is quick to make, and is a cosy meal without being too heavy. You can pair it with your favourite noodles, whether it be ramen, udon, or rice noodles.
How to make Garlic Miso Clam Noodle Soup
Ingredients You Need:
- Fresh Shell-on Clams – see further notes below for how to wash/handle fresh clams.
- Butter, Garlic, Shallots – the aromatics for the soup base.
- Chilli Flakes – just to give a very subtle kick.
- White Miso Paste – to add a mellow savoury umami without being too overpowering. See further notes below.
- Chicken Broth, Fish Stock – to make the soup base. See further notes below.
- Noodles – rice noodles / ramen noodles. Cooked or soaked in boiling water for 5-15 minutes till softened.
- Scallions – the finishing touch and garnish.
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How to Clean and Prepare Fresh Clams
- Check the shells. Discard cracked or damaged clams.
- Check that they’re alive. Open clams should close when tapped.
- Purge them in salt water. Rinse and soak the clams in water for 20-30 minutes. This encourages them to expel sand and grit.
- Lift rather than pour. Remove the clams from the soaking water instead of tipping everything through a colander, which can dump the expelled grit back over them.
- Scrub the shells. Give them a final rinse/scrub under cold running water.
How to Store Fresh Clams
Always leave breathing holes when you’re carrying & storing the fresh clams. Do not store them airtight or plastic sealed. You’d want to keep them alive and they should be consumed within the same day. Dead clams are not safe to consume.
Cooking Tips & Recipe Notes
In terms of cooking, it’s super simple. Start with sauteing the aromatics and then add in miso paste for a little umami boost. White miso paste is milder and more mellow in flavour compared to brown miso. Whilst you could technically use either type of miso interchangeably, brown miso might be a bit overpowering to the clams for this recipe. The flavours are quite delicate and you’d definitely want the clam flavours to stand out in the dish. Therefore, I’d recommend sticking with white miso here for the best results.
I used both chicken broth and fish stock for this recipe. For me, a dash of fish stock adds a subtle hint of fish essence into the soup, which is quite a seafood lovers’ dream. If you’re not used to or not a particular seafood fan, you can stick with just chicken broth by substituting the fish stock part with the equivalent volume of it.
Clams cook pretty quickly so keep an eye and do not overcook them. The clams tend to get slightly rubbery in texture if overcooked. Just a few minutes in a simmering broth is sufficient. As mentioned above, the clams are cooked once they fully open up their shells. If the shells remain screwed shut, it means the clam has gone off / was dead before cooking and you should discard them!
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Garlic Clam Miso Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 4 cloves Garlic minced
- 2 Shallots finely sliced
- 2 tbsp White Miso Paste
- 400-500 g Fresh Clams
- 1 cup Chicken Broth
- ½ cup Fish Stock optional, can be replaced with equivalent volume of chicken broth
- 2 bundles Rice Noodles / Ramen
- 1 tbsp Butter
- ½-1 tsp Red Chilli Flakes
- 2-3 stalks Scallions
- Red Chillies (optional) chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Wash the clams by rinsing and letting them soak in water for 30 minutes. This is to allow the clams to spit out any sand or grit. Lift the clams from the water used for soaking and place them into a separate bowl for another rinse before cooking.
- In a large pot, melt butter over medium-high heat. Saute garlic and chilli flakes for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.4 cloves Garlic, 1 tbsp Butter, ½-1 tsp Red Chilli Flakes
- Add in chopped shallots and cook for 3-5 minutes until starting to soften.2 Shallots
- Stir in white miso paste and toss in the clams.2 tbsp White Miso Paste, 400-500 g Fresh Clams
- Add in both chicken broth and fish broth. Cover and simmer for 3 minutes until the clams have opened up.1 cup Chicken Broth, ½ cup Fish Stock
- Remove from heat and toss in scallions. Ladle the clam soup over the cooked noodles and garnish with more scallions and red chillies (if using). Serve immediately.2 bundles Rice Noodles / Ramen, 2-3 stalks Scallions, Red Chillies (optional)
Notes
- Do not consume and discard any clams that remained screwed shut after cooking.
- White miso paste is more suitable than brown miso for this recipe. White miso paste is more mellow in flavour, which pairs well with the delicate sweetness of the clams without overpowering them.
- A dash of fish stock adds a hint of fish essence to the soup and gives extra umami. However, if you’re not used to or not a particular keen seafood fan, you can stick with just chicken broth. Simply substitute the fish stock with the equivalent volume of chicken broth.
- Clams cook fairly quickly and may turn slightly rubbery when overcooked. They are cooked once they fully open up their shells.
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I used small cockles for the recipe, because they were on sale, but followed the rest of the recipe. The broth was delicious! I prefer this type of ramen to pork broth. Will definitely be making this again. Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks so much for your comment, Tiphanie! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
This looks absolutely amazing! I’d love to do it right now but I can’t get fresh clams 🙁 I love them too, but here in south Germany, it’s not really easy to get them. Maybe I will use frozen ones and hopefully it will be still tasty 🙂
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Thank you so much! Ah, that’s a shame. I’m sure frozen ones would work too and emphasise on soup’s flavours. Perhaps try with mussels if it’s easier to get that?