3 simple and delicious ways to steam bitter snails with lemongrass that everyone loves

Prepare the snails

Put the bitter snails into a basin, add salt and water, and soak for 1 hour. You can use a pot scrubber to clean the snail shells, removing the dirt and sand stuck on the outside.

Make the Thai sauce

Place a pot on the stove, add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil, when the pot is hot, add minced garlic and chopped lemongrass to the pot, stir-fry until fragrant.

Then add 1 liter of water to the pot, when the water starts to boil, use a sieve to filter out the tamarind water.

Add 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1 tablespoon of seasoning, 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of chili sauce, and 1 tablespoon of ketchup to make the sauce more colorful.

Steamed Snails

When the water boils again, add the cleaned snails to the pot for about 10 minutes until the sauce boils once more, then turn off the heat and serve in a bowl.

Final Product

The bowl of steamed bitter snails with basil has an eye-catching and appealing color, with soft and fragrant snail meat. What stands out the most is the unique broth flavor, slightly sour and sweet with a bit of spiciness from the chili, all blending together to create a unique dish.

Prepare the snails

Soak the snails in water for about 1 hour, adding 7 chilies.

Then rinse them clean and let them drain. Next, add 2 tablespoons of salt and 1 tablespoon of sugar to the snails, and mix well with chopsticks.

Steamed Snails

Put a pot on the stove to heat, then crush the lemongrass, and use your hands to crush the lime leaves before putting them at the bottom of the pot.

Next, add half of the snails to the pot. Then continue to add a layer of lemongrass and lime leaves before adding the remaining snails.

Finally, place another layer of lemongrass and lime leaves on top.

Cover the pot and steam until the water boils, use chopsticks to stir the snails, then cover the pot again and cook for another 2 minutes.

Making the Dipping Sauce

Peel the garlic, peel and wash the ginger, then pound them together with 2 chili peppers until finely crushed.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl, squeeze in the juice of half a lemon and one calamondin, slice the starfruit thinly and add it to the dipping sauce bowl.

Finally, add 2 tablespoons of fish sauce, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, you can adjust the seasoning to taste.

Now we have a perfect bowl of dipping sauce for the snails.

Final Product

Plate of aromatic hot snails served with ginger dipping sauce creates a harmonious flavor, making you want to have another bite after the first one.

Especially, you can enjoy it with Vietnamese coriander and sour mango to enhance the dish’s flavor.

Prepare the snails

You soak 1kg of snails in rice water for about 2 hours, then drain all the water and continue soaking in clean water for another 2 hours. You can add 5 chili peppers to soak together to eliminate the fishy smell of the snails.

After that, you wash them one last time and let them drain.

Prepare the remaining ingredients

Ginger, lemongrass, chili, and lime leaves should be washed clean with water.

Next, you slice 2 stalks of lemongrass and 2 chili peppers, peel the ginger and chop it finely, and for the lime leaves, you fold them small and then cut them into thin strips.

Garlic should be peeled and minced.

Making the Steamed Snail Mixture

To make the steamed snail mixture, add into a bowl 1/2 amount of minced ginger, all the sliced chili, and squeeze in the juice of 1/2 lemon.

Then, add 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of chili sauce, 1.5 teaspoons of fish sauce, 1 teaspoon of oyster sauce, and 1 teaspoon of sugar into the bowl.

Use a spoon to stir well to combine the mixture.

Steaming the Snails

Add the snails into a pot, add the sliced lemongrass and the snail steaming mixture into the pot, then use chopsticks to stir well.

Turn on the stove, cover the pot, and cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes until you see the water in the pot boiling, then stir once with the chopsticks, and finally add shredded kaffir lime leaves on top.

Make the dipping sauce

Put 1 spoon of minced garlic, 1 spoon of minced ginger, and 1 sliced chili (make sure to remove the seeds) into a bowl.

Next, squeeze 1/2 lemon into the bowl, add 2 spoons of fish sauce, 1 spoon of sugar, and mix this mixture until dissolved.

Final product

As soon as you open the pot, the fragrant aroma of lemongrass fills the air. The dish has a very balanced taste, with the snail meat being firm and crunchy, paired with a dipping sauce that is just right.