In Cao Bang, it was raining and I waded through the fields to catch a snail-like animal. I cooked it with betel leaves and the whole village praised it.

In the drizzling rain, there is nothing better than a delicious dish of field snails, rich in the flavor of the homeland, on the family's dinner table, enjoyed by the whole family.

Field snails are a nutritious food, containing lots of calcium, iron and some other vitamins that are good for children's development.

There are many different ways to prepare field snails, from the most rustic dishes such as boiling them with lemongrass leaves and lemon and dipping them in fish sauce, garlic, and chili, to removing the shell, taking the meat, and mincing it into patties.

However, the dish with field snails that is associated with childhood and suits the taste of many people is snail soup with betel leaves and turmeric.

Field snails are now sold at rural markets for 50,000 - 70,000 VND/kg. When snails are caught or bought, they are soaked in rice water to release all the mud. If there are chili peppers, cut in 1 or 2. When the snails find it spicy, they release all the mud, become clean, fragrant and no longer slimy.

To do

Snail soup with betel leaves and turmeric needs to prepare some accompanying ingredients such as betel leaves, fresh turmeric, lemongrass, and lemon leaves. After cleaning the field snails, cut off the pointed tip of the shell. The reason for cutting off the pointed tip of the shell is to make it easier to get the intestines after eating.

Then boil or steam with lemon leaves and lemongrass until the snails are cooked. You can remove the intestines or leave the shell when cooking snail soup with turmeric and betel leaves, depending on the preferences and habits of each family, but you should leave the shell so that the snail meat retains its original flavor.

Field snail soup cooked with betel leaves and turmeric - one of the delicious dishes of Cao Bang .

Heat oil, add snails, add minced turmeric and spices, stir vigorously and cook over high heat. Add water and cook for about 15 - 20 minutes to let the spices soak into the snails.

When the snails are cooked, season them again and add chopped betel leaves before removing from the heat. Boiled or steamed snails with lemongrass and lemon leaves will no longer have a fishy smell. When eaten, the snail soup has a delicious, rustic taste. The snails have a sweet taste and the aroma of betel leaves and turmeric will enhance the flavor, not the sweetness of the spices but the sweetness of the snail meat, betel leaves, and turmeric permeating the soup.

Nowadays, many people eat snails with sharp stainless steel skewers or bamboo toothpicks, but the standard way of eating snails in the countryside is to use sturdy and sharp lemon or grapefruit thorns to pry the snail body out of the shell.

The dipping sauce also needs fish sauce, lemongrass, minced ginger, red chili, garlic, a few slices of lemon or kumquat, and some spicy kaffir lime leaves.

In addition, field snails are also eaten with salted figs to prevent feeling full and enhance the flavor. When eating snail dishes, you must leave the shell intact and have all of those things to feel the fragrant aroma of the snails. The field snails are plump, crispy, and sweet. Take a bite and you can feel the smell of the countryside permeating your mouth, pleasant and passionate.

In addition to familiar snail dishes, nowadays, snails are served as a specialty dish in many restaurants with many different ways of preparation, such as grilled snails, snail hotpot, etc.

But no matter how the snail dish is prepared, field snail soup with betel leaves and turmeric is still a rustic dish, rich in the flavor of the homeland.

Source: https://danviet.vn/o-cao-bang-troi-mua-loi-ruong-mo-bat-mot-con-dong-vat-bo-nhu-sen-dem-nau-la-lot-ca-lang-khen-20240901235055101.htm