Thai Basil Manila Clams

I saw some gorgeous manila clams at the Asian market and had a craving for my mom's Thai Basil Manila Clams. Unfortunately, I couldn't reach her on the phone so I did the best I could from memory (this post will be updated if I missed something). Firstly, I didn't use the clams right away. They sat in the fridge in a bowl under a wet paper towel. When I took them out, the paper towel was dry and they were all open with the meat spilling out all over. "M! M! They're dead! They're so deadski! Fix it!" So, M went over, poured water over them, agitated them and they closed right back up. She says, "why do you buy things that you are afraid to cook?"

Well, now that we've revived them, we can kill them.

1. Prepare half a thumb of ginger (sliced, julienned, whatever), crush 1 clove of garlic, slice 1 Thai chili, rough chop some Thai basil.
2. Heat oil in a wok. When hot, add ginger, garlic and chili.
3. Once garlic has released it's flavor, add clams, a splash of rice wine and a splash of soy sauce.
4. Saute clams until they are partly open
5. Add Thai basil and saute until clams are fully open and done. Optional: fresh cracked black pepper

M added a Cambodian twist by making a dipping sauce out of salt, fresh cracked pepper and lime juice.