Clam Satay

Four very small islands in two separate reefs. They sit in the middle of a large expanse of water. It could be the Timor Sea or perhaps the Indian Ocean. As I wrote, the islands sit in the middle of a place where it is hard to draw boundary lines.

The islands and reefs do have names: the Ashmore and Cartier Islands.  The names were given to them by British captains: a Captain Nash named one set of islands after his vessel, the Cartier in 1800; and, a Captain Ashmore decided to name the other islands after himself in 1811.

Yet, neither Captain Nash nor Captain Ashmore "discovered" any of these islands. Long before either British captain came within eyesight of any of the islands or their reefs, indigenous fishermen from the East Indies (now called Indonesia) had been visiting the islands and fishing in their waters.  Those waters are home to a wide variety of fish, hundreds of different species including trevally, coral trout, snappers, dolphinsfish, marlin and sailfish. There is also a wide range of molluscs, including clams and giant clams in the area. 

As the indigenous Indonesians fished the waters, others acted with respect to the "ownership" of the islands. The United Kingdom annexed the Ashmore and Cartier Islands in the late nineteeth and early twentieth centuries. A few decades later, the U.K. transferred authority over the islands to Australia. The Australian government, or at least its Interior Minister Herbert Johnson viewed the islands as "almost valueless."    

Yet, the islands are important to those Indonesian fishermen. The governments of Indonesia and Australia worked out a memorandum of understanding in 1974 that sets forth the conditions by which those fishermen could continue to ply the waters around Ashmore and Cartier islands. They can do so only in fishing vessels that lack motors or engines. They also cannot use air compressors or compressed air breathing equipment. They are also prohhibited fropmentering the Australian Marine Park Sanctuary Zone, which includes the waters around some of the islands.

I came across the story of these fishermen when I found a recipe for clam satay. A satay is a quintessential Indonesian dish. It is their version of the kebab, meat on a stick grilled over charcoal and served with a sauce on the side. This clam satay recipe was inspired by those Indonesian fishermen, who collected clams around the Ashmore and Cartier Islands. 

This recipe is relatively straightforward: steam the clams, remove them from their shells, marinate the clams and then quickly grill them over charcoal. Yet, simplicity can result in something delicious, as these satay combined the slightly chewiness of the clams with the crunch of the shallots, along with the saltiness and sweetness of the soy sauce. While the recipe called for them to be served alongside Indonesian fried rice, quite frankly, the satay were long gone before any rice could be prepared, let alone served.

CLAM SATAY

Recipe from Food.com

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of clams, rinsed
• 5 shallots sliced
• 2 teaspoons sweet soy sauce
• 1 lime, juiced
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Steam the clams. Place the clams in a steamer, steam until shells are just open. Cool and remove the meat. 

2. Marinate the clams. Mix the clams with the shallots, sweet soy sauce, lime juice, salt and pepper. Marinate for 30 minutes. 

3. Prepare the skewers. Place the clams on skewers and grill over hot coals until heated through, basting with the marinade. Do not overcook. 

PEACE.