Simply scrumptious snails
Published: 18/06/2011 05:00
 Grilled shells with spring onion at Oc Dao Restaurant in an alley off Cong Quynh Street in Ho Chi Minh City In Hanoi, á»c (snails) are a popular light meal, especially in the late afternoon. Thinking about a light dish while hanging out with friends as the sun goes down, many a Hanoian chooses a bowl of á»c luá»c, or boiled snails. After a reasonable portion, there is still space in the stomach for dinner with the family at home. á»c luá»c has the exotic taste of a creature that spends its entire secret life on the bed of a river or pond. It’s easy to get hooked to the dish, and Hanoians feel something is missing if they have to go without á»c for a long time. So they undergo the only treatment that works in this situation by going to their favorite á»c luá»c eatery. Nowadays snails are on the menu of quite a few five-star restaurants in Vietnam, but the best are still found in sidewalk eateries. One of the most famous outdoor á»c diners in Hanoi is located opposite Ham Long Church on Ham Long Street. The calm of the late afternoon with trees all around and church bells chiming makes the meal more delicious. Hanoi’s á»c eateries serve country cooking that’s true to the culinary traditions of northern Vietnam. Most of their snails come from fields, ponds, lakes and rivers, and never from the sea. As á»c is rich in protein, a cooling component of food, cooks like to spice things up by adding lemongrass, ginger and, lemon leaves to create a balanced dish. When snails are boiled, the cook cannot hide their quality, so if they are not fresh, it shows immediately no matter what herbs, spices and other ingredients might be added as camouflage. Cooking á»c luá»c is time consuming. First, the snails must be left alive in rice water and lemon or pomelo leaves overnight to loosen their dirty innards, then they must be washed many times. Once they are ready for the pot, the snails are boiled with pomelo leaves, lemon grass and ginger to balance the Yin and Yang. The snails are eaten with a mixture of fish sauce, lime, sugar and finely chopped lemon leaves. As it is a cheap dish, Hanoians do not treat their business associates to á»c luá»c, but they do enjoy them in the company of family, friends and workmates. On a chilly winter’s day, á»c luá»c warms the stomach. Nobody eats á»c luá»c alone. The dish is always followed by hot nÆ°á»c á»c, which is the boiled snail water with lemon grass and ginger, at no extra charge. To finish up, a bowl of hot water infused with herbs is brought to the table for everyone to wash their hands. For many Vietnamese people, sitting at an á»c eatery in the big city brings back memories of a rural childhood, since the countryside is where most Vietnamese or their immediate forbears came from. It reminds me of summer visits to our neighbors on the outskirts of Hanoi. We would go down to the river and get the snails to make á»c luá»c. Its taste would linger in the stories we shared and the fragrance of the pomelo thorns we used to remove the snails from their shells, rather than the sterile needles supplied at outdoor snail cafes of today. á»c luá»c is a simple snack and can be considered the appetizer for a series of snail courses. After á»c luá»c, my mother would cook snail and noodle soup, bún á»c, or a sort of snail porridge called cháo á»c, or canh á»c chuá»i Äáºu, which is a snail soup with green banana, fried tofu and tÃa tô (perrilla leaves). Very different from the á»c luá»c in Hanoi, the snail dishes in Ho Chi Minh City remind me of French cuisine as they are more complicated and hence more expensive than the straight á»c luá»c in Hanoi. Down in the southern metropolis, snail dishes are more cosmopolitan and represent an open-mindedness and eagerness to catch up with global trends among the Saigonese. Using shellfish from the rich coast, HCMC’s snail restaurants serve a diverse menu of sea snails. As the locals prefer strong flavors, instead of boiling the snails like for á»c luá»c, Saigonese cooks use different Eastern and Western ingredients. Very often coconut, chili (a lot of chili), peanuts, spring onion, cheese, butter and garlic go into the mix. And for some recipes the cooks go beyond stir-frying the snails to baking them in an oven. One of the most popular á»c eateries in HCMC is located in an alley off Cong Quynh Street in District 1. A favorite haunt of celebrities, it’s open all day and boasts a menu of more than a dozen choices priced from VND100,000 to VND200,000. á»c should not be eaten in excess; the stomach should never be filled to burst. The true gourmand always leaves some room in the tummy so they can come back for seconds. Reported by To Van Nga  (Above) (Left) HCMC’s snail restaurants serve a diverse menu of sea snails |
Provide by Vietnam Travel
Simply scrumptious snails - Travel - News | vietnam travel company
You can see more
- Travel trends in 2023
- In the spring, Moc Chau is covered in plum blossoms.
- Top 3 Special festivals in Vietnam during Tet holiday - 2023
- 5 tourist hotspots expected to see a spike in visitors during Lunar New Year 2023
- 12 Days Cycling From Vietnam to Laos
- Why You Should Cycle To Cuc Phuong National Park?
- Top 10 Must-see Sights In Hanoi, Vietnam
- The Most Wonderful Destinations In Sapa
enews & updates
Sign up to receive breaking news as well as receive other site updates!
- Hanoi ranked top 3 cuisine in the world in 2023
- Beautiful resorts for a weekend escape close to Hanoi
- Travel trends in 2023
- In the spring, Moc Chau is covered in plum blossoms.
- The Most Wonderful Destinations In Sapa
- Top 3 Special festivals in Vietnam during Tet holiday - 2023
- 5 tourist hotspots expected to see a spike in visitors during Lunar New Year 2023
- How To Make Kitchen Cleaned
- Health benefits of lime
- Cooperation expanding between Havard University and Vietnamese universities
-
vietnam travel
http://www.vietnamtourism.org.vn " Vietnam Tourism: Vietnam Travel Guide, Culture, Travel, Entertainment, Guide, News, and...
-
Vietnam culture, culture travel
http://travel.org.vn " Vietnam culture
-
Vietnam travel, vietnam travel news, vietnam in photos
http://www.nccorp.vn " Vietnam travel, vietnam travel news, vietnam in photos
-
Vietnam tourism
http://www.vietnamtourism.org.vn " The official online information on culture, travel, entertainment, and including facts, maps,...
-
Vietnam Travel and Tourism
http://www.vietnamtourism.org.vn/ " Vietnam Travel, Entertainment, People, Agents, Company, Vietnam Tourism information.
-
Information travel online
http://www.travellive.org "Information travel online