Rinse and scrub the clams. Place the clams in salted water (1 tablespoon of salt in 2 to 3 cups of water) for 30 minutes or longer to get the clams to spit out the sand.

Trim off the roots from the spinach. Wash thoroughly until there is no more sand in the water. Drain. If your spinach is long, you can cut them in half. Rinse the soybean sprouts a couple of times, discarding any floating skins. Drain. Clean and roughly chop the scallions.

In a large pot, stir the soybean paste into 6 cups of water (preferably the water used to rinse the rice). Bring it to a boil over high heat.

Add the clams, beansprouts and garlic. Boil until clams open and the beansprouts are cooked, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Throw in the spinach and scallions, and cook until wilted for a minute or two. Add salt and pepper to taste.