Blood Clam Rice

Directions

1. To Prepare Sofrito, heat olive oil in a sauté pan over medium low heat. Add onions and garlic and cook for about 15 minutes or until they start to caramelize. Stir in bell pepper and cook for 10 to15 minutes more. Stir in tomatoes and cook for 10 to 15 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside. 

1. To Prepare Hoisin Aioli, process eggs and garlic in a food processor until smooth. Slowly drip in oil and continue to process until mixture is creamy. Add hoisin, salt and charred pepper and process until smooth. Place in a squeeze bottle using a funnel or piping bag and refrigerate until ready to use. 
2. To clean clams, place in a large mixing bowl and rinse off any sand under cold water. Transfer to large colander placed inside a large mixing bowl. Add a generous amount of kosher salt and rub on clam shells. Rinse again under cold water. Drain and repeat one more time. Submerge in a bowl of ice water; sprinkle with kosher salt and refrigerate. 
3. To prepare Clam Stock, prepare an ice bath in a large mixing bowl. Bring water to a boil in a large wide saucepan. Add a pinch of salt when the water starts to boil, then reduce heat to medium. Add 6 to 8 clams at a time to the boiling water using a skimmer. As soon as the clams open, use the skimmer to transfer to the ice bath to cool down completely. 
4. Strain hot clam water and transfer to an 8 quart stock pot. Add soy sauce, mirin, mushrooms, fish head and kombu. Bring to a simmer and cook for 1 hour. Turn off heat and stir in bonito flakes, set aside to cool. 
5. Strain Clam Stock through chinois and reserve. Separate shiitake mushrooms from solids and chop to measure 1 cup. Remove clams from shells and chop.  
6. To prepare rice, dry toast in a sauté pan for 5 minutes over medium-low heat. Add 75 grams of sofrito and 75 grams of chopped clams; stir and cook for another minute. Add cooking wine, 150 grams of clam stock and cuttlefish ink. Cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat for 7 to 8 minutes until rice is still visible. Add another 150 grams of clam stock and cook for 6 minutes more.  
7. Reduce heat to a medium-low and add butter, stirring until butter is fully incorporated. Check texture (rice creaminess should be between a paella and risotto) and plate while hot, using 1 large or 4 smaller ring molds if desired.  Garnish with Hoisin Aioli, cilantro leaves and clam shashimi.  

Note: Save remaining clam stock and cooked mushrooms for additional batches of risotto.