Tec-Tec Soup (Soup tektek)
Overview
Tec-tec soup is a light shellfish soup from the Seychelles, made with tec-tec, tiny wedge clams that live in the sand of the islands' beaches. The clams are rinsed well to remove sand, then opened in a pot with a little water. Their broth is strained and cooked with fried onion, garlic, ginger, thyme and often pieces of pumpkin or green papaya, which soften and make it slightly sweet. The clams go back in at the end, with chopped parsley or spring onion. The soup is clear, delicate and tastes of the sea, and it is eaten as a starter or with rice.
History
Tec-tec are gathered by hand at low tide, when families and children dig them out of the wet sand along beaches such as those of Mahé. Because the clams appear only in certain seasons, tec-tec soup is a seasonal treat and a classic of Seychellois Creole home cooking. It is one of the dishes most often named when islanders talk about the food of their childhood, along with fish curries and grilled fish.
Main ingredients
Tec-tec clams, pumpkin, onion, garlic, ginger, thyme. The soup is built on clam broth and is usually served hot. Diet: pescatarian; usually gluten-free.
Explore: Fish and seafood soups · Pumpkin and squash soups
Recipe
Method
- 1
Put the clams in a pot with 1 l water and heat until they open, then strain the broth through a cloth.
- 2
Fry the onion, garlic and ginger in the oil.
- 320 min
Add the broth, pumpkin and thyme and simmer for 20 minutes.
- 4
Return the clams to the pot and heat through.
- 5
Season, add parsley and serve.
- ✓
Serve. About 1 h from start to bowl.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.
