Bacon Corn Griddle Cakes with Clam Scallion Sauce

Bacon-Cumin Cornbread Griddle Cakes

• 1 cup organic corn meal
• 1 cup milk
• 200 grams (7 ounces) block bacon, sliced or diced
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds (or half seeds, half ground cumin)
• 1 teaspoon crushed oregano
• salt, if needed (there is bacon in it)

Clam Scallion Garlic Sauce

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 7 scallions, white-part sliced 1/2 inch and green-part sliced 1/4 inch. Keep separated
• 5 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 pound frozen asari clams (no shells)
• 1 1/2 cup dashi (see note) or veg. broth or bottled clam broth
• 4 tablespoons sake or white wine
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce, Kikkoman Lite

1. In large mixing bowl, put cornmeal and pour in milk. Mix. Let sit while cooking bacon.
2. Bacon can be 1/4-inch cubed first, or cook slices and crumble after cooking. Cook until crispy. Remove from skillet. Cool.
3. Add egg to cornmeal and mix.
4. Mix flour, cumin, oregano and baking powder. Add these dry ingredients to cornmeal mixture. Add bacon and mix well.
5. Leave about 2 teaspoons of bacon grease in the pan (throw rest away). Heat pan quite hot, then pour entire batter into pan. Lower heat to medium-low. Cook until bubbles appear on top, around 8 minutes. Turn over. (Or if too heavy, just cover pan) Lift side of griddle cake to see if done.
6. Make Clam Scallion Garlic Sauce: A: Mix sake, soy sauce, and sugar in a small bowl. Set aside. B: Mix katakuriko (potato starch) 4 teaspoons in 4 teaspoons of water. Set aside. You can use corn starch (but I believe the measurement might be different)
7. In a sauce pan heat the broth or dashi to a boil. Add white parts of scallions and Mixture A. Cook about 2 -3 minutes.
8. Add clams and green parts of scallions to sauce. Bring to a boil again and cook a minute or so, then mix B above once again, then add to the clam sauce stirring constantly. When clam sauce thickens, it is done. Don't keep cooking or scallions will loose green color.
9. Dashi: I like konbu(sea vegetable) dashi better than katsuo (bonito flakes). Easier to clean up too. Just boil a piece of konbu in water for awhile (10 minutes). But you can buy bottled dashi-just remember that it is concentrated so you need to add water when you use bottled.
10. Cut griddle cake in the size piece you want. Spoon clam sauce over the griddle cake and eat immediately. (If it sits it will soak up the sauce).
11. My cooking is low sodium, so you can add more soy sauce, but add a little, taste, then add more if you like.