On Zhuanghe dinner tables, one shellfish stands above the rest: hacha — the local name for the yellow clam. Thin-shelled, thick-fleshed and full of juice, it is the Yellow Sea’s gift to the town’s mudflats. At low tide fishermen work the flats with rakes, pulling up clams by the netful. The classic way is spicy stir-fry — ginger, garlic and dried chilli, shells opening at high heat, a perfect drinking dish; or plain ‘white cooking’ in its own juices, losing nothing of the sweetness. Clam soup and clam-noodle dishes are beloved too. A plate of stir-fried hacha with cold beer is the true flavour of the Yellow Sea’s north shore.