A steamy bowl of clams is very centering. It's also a very hands-on dish, where you tear the clams out of the shells. I also like crusty bread to dip into the dish.

Our version of the dish is a bit spicy. You can omit the red pepper flakes if you don't feel like putting some heat in the dish. You may also add some ginger for a more aromatic flavor to the dish. Also, you can twist this dish by toasting the garlic to make it crispy and add it at the end as a garnish.