{"id":1169,"date":"2012-03-13T19:30:29","date_gmt":"2012-03-13T11:30:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mysabah.com\/wordpress\/?p=1169"},"modified":"2021-07-23T23:04:20","modified_gmt":"2021-07-23T15:04:20","slug":"bbq-clams-grilled-coconut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mysabah.com\/wordpress\/bbq-clams-grilled-coconut\/","title":{"rendered":"BBQ Clams & Grilled Coconut"},"content":{"rendered":"

The BBQ Clam (Lokan Panggang) & Grilled Coconut (Kelapa Bakar) roadside stalls in Tuaran always caught my attention every time I passed by. “They must be having great stuffs,” I think, when I see so many cars stop there for a meal, though it’s hard to associate 5-star food with such primitive stalls that look more like makeshift structure.<\/p>\n

\"roadside
\nBut if you try their food once, you will want to come back again. You can’t find THIS taste elsewhere.<\/p>\n

BBQ Clams (Lokan Panggang)<\/h3>\n

The “must-try” is their Lokan Panggang (BBQ Clam). The clams (or cockle) are those bivalves molluscs (Species: Polymesoda expansa<\/em>) living in the mud of the mangrove forest.<\/p>\n

\"BBQ<\/p>\n

\"clam
\nAbove: the clams come in 3 different sizes, i.e. big (besar), medium (sederhana) and small (kecil), and they cost RM12 (?USD3.60), RM10 (?USD3) and RM7 (?USD2.10) for 20 units respectively. If 20 is too much, you can ask for 10 clams only and pay for half price.<\/p>\n

\"grilled
\nThere are over 20 stalls along the road. I randomly picked a stall and ordered 10 big BBQ clams (coz big clams look good in photos, haha). The smaller clams have tender and sweeter taste. Anyway, it’s a personal preference. If you are unsure what size to go for, you may order 10 big and 10 small clams.<\/p>\n

\"lokan
\nThe way they cook the clams is simple, they grill the clams on a zinc plate. They also add a bit of oil, which I believe containing a mixture of onion and ginger to remove the fishy smell of the clams. The smoke is so strong that the cook had to squint his eyes.<\/p>\n

\"grilling<\/p>\n

\"BBQ
\nOh boy, oh boy… the smell of seafood and sizzling noise really stimulate my appetite.<\/p>\n

\"lokan
\nAs you can see, they use very simple method to BBQ the clams. No fancy stuff. I like it coz that’s the best way to appreciate the original taste of seafood.<\/p>\n

\"BBQ
\nTo get better photos, I move my camera very close to the boiling clams. They warn me that the hot meat would “explode” so be careful, LOL.<\/p>\n

\"preparing
\nThey will also ask you if you prefer dry (fully-cooked) or wet (half-cooked) style. For me, half-cooked tastes the best! But if you are tourists with sensitive stomach to raw seafood, I strongly advise you go for dry style (fully-cooked).<\/p>\n

Clams are from mud. To those European and Japanese tourists who are used to the “germ-free” environment of their countries, they will get sick easily for trying something different. That’s why travel agents will never bring you there for lunch coz the tourists who get ill would suit them. I think I’m also obligated to advise you that you better get Hepatitis B vaccination prior to eating seashell food in Malaysia.<\/p>\n

\"grilled
\nHowever, none of our locals (and tourists from South-East Asia) have such problem. A famost host of a TV food programme “Taste with Jason Axian” even came all the way from Kuala Lumpur to feature the BBQ Clams & Grilled Coconut here.<\/p>\n

\"grilled
\nAbove: the grilled clams are ready to be eaten. It should be 20 clams by standard, but I ordered only 10. See the Sambal sauce in the green plate? You may dip the clam into this sour and spicy sauce which goes very well with seafood.<\/p>\n

\"close-up
\nFor each bite, the half-cooked juicy clam meat “bursts” in my mouth. The meat is tender and creamy! It’s a highly satisfying seafood meal.<\/p>\n

Below is a 1-min video of BBQ Clam. Don’t watch if you are hungry!<\/p>\n