3pounds littleneck or other small hard-shell clams or cockles, scrubbed
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns
2 tablespoons fermented black beans
1 teaspoon red chile flakes, or to taste (optional)
1pound linguine or other long pasta
Chopped fresh scallions or cilantro for garnish
Instructions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Put the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add the clams, cover, and cook, gently shaking the skillet or stirring the clams occasionally, until the first few of them open, about 5 minutes.
Scatter the garlic, the peppercorns, the black beans, and the red chile flakes, if you’re using them, over the clams, re-cover, and cook, still shaking the pan occasionally, until almost all of the clams are open, about 3 minutes more. Turn off the heat and leave the skillet covered.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta until it’s just becoming tender but is still white at the center; drain it, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water. Discard any clams that haven’t opened. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper and drizzle with the sesame oil. Turn the heat to medium; add the pasta to the clams and cook, stirring, until the pasta is tender, a minute or 2, adding the some of the pasta cooking water if the mixture seems dry. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Garnish with the scallions or cilantro and serve.