I used this recipe for the clam strips (belly removed) deep fry batter.
I used a full daily harvest of 60 wild caught Manila Clams, opened with steam, then cooled right away. Bellies removed, egg dipped, dredged, deep fried.
Wet step:
Slash of milk + 1 beaten egg, soak the clams in this for 10 minutes before dredging.
Recommended Fry Mix (Dry Dredge):
3/4 cup corn flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp paprika
This was a little bit too much dry mix. They were very bland, almost no taste of spices.
Adjusted Mix!
Here’s an adjusted, improved batter recipe scaled to ½ cup corn flour + ½ cup all-purpose flour (total 1 cup dry mix). This should be a better quantity for a full harvest of 60 Manila clams.
Improved Spicier Fry Mix (Dry Dredge)
- ½ cup corn flour (or your fine cornflour)
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1¼ tsp salt (increased for better overall seasoning)
- 1 tsp black pepper (increased)
- ¾ tsp cayenne pepper (significantly increased for medium-hot heat)
- ½ tsp smoked paprika (or regular paprika – upgraded for better flavor and color)
- ½ tsp garlic powder (new addition – great with seafood)
- ¼ tsp onion powder (new addition – rounds out the flavor)
Optional but recommended boosts (if you want even more seafood-shack flavor):
- ½ tsp Old Bay seasoning
- Pinch of sugar (¼ tsp) to balance the heat
Wet Step
- Mix of milk + 1 beaten eggs. Soak the cleaned clam pieces for 10–15 minutes, then let excess drip off before dredging.
Method Reminder
- Keep clam meats cold and pat them lightly with paper towel if very wet.
- Soak in wet mix → dredge well in the seasoned dry mix, pressing lightly. Shake off excess.
- Fry immediately at 350–375°F in small batches until deep golden (1–2 minutes max).
- Drain on a rack, then hit them with a light sprinkle of salt right away while hot.
Why these changes
- Smaller dry volume: 1 cup total should cover your 60 clams nicely without huge leftovers.
- More flavor & heat: We roughly doubled/tripled the key spices. The cayenne at ¾ tsp on 1 cup of flour gives a solid medium-to-hot kick (noticeable warmth in every bite, not just background). Garlic + onion powder + smoked paprika fix the “bland” issue by adding savory depth that plain salt/pepper/paprika lacked.
- This version keeps the classic corn-crunch you want but makes it much more tasty and bold, which pairs excellently with sweet, clam meat.
I’ll let you know once I try this!