3 ways to make delicious and fragrant snail paste that are easy to prepare at home

Prepare the ingredients

After purchasing the snails, soak them in a basin of water mixed with rice water or water with a few sliced chilies to help them expel all the dirt. Soak for about 5 hours, then rinse thoroughly with clean water several times, and place them in a basket to drain.

Soak shiitake mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms in two separate bowls in warm water for about 20 – 30 minutes until they soften. After soaking, rinse them clean and chop them finely.

For the green onions, trim off the roots and old leaves, then wash them clean. Rinse the betel leaves, then chop them finely along with the green onions.

Next, scrape the ginger’s skin clean, wash it, then pound half of it into a paste, and chop the other half into slices. Crush the shallots and chop them finely. Wash the lemongrass and finely chop 3 stalks, then crush the remaining 7 stalks and cut them into pieces. If you want to speed up the process, you can put the ginger, shallots, and lemongrass into a blender to mix thoroughly.

Rinse the banana leaves clean, drain them, and briefly blanch them in hot water to soften them for easy wrapping.

Steaming and cutting the snails

After cleaning the snails, you put them in a steamer and steam for about 10 – 15 minutes with 3 crushed lemongrass stalks, 1/2 a sliced ginger root, and 2 chilies.

When the snails are slightly cooked, take them out, cut off the tails of the shells, and extract the snail meat, taking only the meat and discarding the belly part.

Next, cut the snail meat into small pieces. You can cut them into different sizes so that when eating, you have a crunchy and chewy texture.

Mixing the filling

You place the cut snail meat into a large bowl, then add 500g of pork paste, 200g of minced meat, shiitake mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, ginger, and previously prepared dried onions.

Next, add 1 spoon of seasoning, 1 teaspoon of ground pepper, 1/2 tablespoon of fish sauce, 1/2 tablespoon of salt powder, 1/2 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, and mix well. Let it sit for about 15 minutes for the snails to absorb the seasoning.

Finally, to speed up the wrapping process, place the mixed filling into a zip bag or a clean plastic bag and cut one corner at the bottom to easily squeeze out the snail filling.

Finished Product

Steamed snail cake wrapped in banana leaves, when cooked, has a fragrant aroma of banana leaves, lemongrass, and ginger. The cake has a sweet, delicate taste, with the chewy, crispy texture of the snail combined with the richness of the pork paste and minced meat, making the dish irresistible.

To enhance the flavor, you can dip the snail cake in lemongrass and calamansi fish sauce!

Prepare the Ingredients

First, soak the snails in rice water or water with sliced chili peppers for about 3 hours to help the snails release slime and dirt. Then, rinse the snails thoroughly with clean water several times.

Soak the wood ear mushrooms and dried shiitake mushrooms in water for about 1 hour to allow the mushrooms to expand, then drain and rinse, and chop finely.

For fresh shiitake mushrooms, cut off the stems and wash them clean, then chop the stems into small pieces, and slice the caps lengthwise to cover the snails after stuffing.

For the betel leaves and green onions, remove any old or wilted leaves, then wash them clean, let them drain, and chop them finely.

Next, use a knife to scrape the skin off the ginger, wash it clean, then pound half of it into a paste, and finely chop the other half. Smash the shallots and chop them finely. Wash the lemongrass and finely chop 3 stalks, then smash the remaining 7 stalks and cut into sections. To save time, you can put the ginger, shallots, and lemongrass into a blender to puree.

Steaming and Chopping Snails

After washing the snails clean and draining them, put the snails into a steaming pot and steam over high heat for about 5 – 10 minutes along with 2 chili peppers, 3 crushed lemongrass stalks, and 1/2 a ginger root sliced. This will release the fragrant aroma of the lemongrass and ginger while steaming, making the snails tastier.

Once the snails are lightly cooked, take them out, cut off the tails of the shells, and scrape out the snail meat, keeping only the meat and discarding the stomach, while keeping the shells to steam the cake.

Finally, chop the snails into small pieces. However, you can cut them a bit larger so that when eating, the cake has a crunchier texture.

Mixing the snail filling

Next, you mix the cut snail meat with 250g of pork paste and 100g of ground meat in a large bowl, then add the prepared shiitake mushrooms, black fungus, ginger, and shallots.

Then, you season with 1 spoon of seasoning powder, 1 teaspoon of ground pepper, 1/2 tablespoon of fish sauce, 1/2 tablespoon of salt powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, then mix well. Let it sit for about 15 minutes for the snails to absorb the spices.

At the same time, prepare a ziplock bag or a clean plastic bag, then place this snail filling mixture into it so that when stuffing, you only need to cut a corner of the bag and squeeze the snail filling into the shells, making it easier and faster.

Stuffing and steaming the snails

You put the snail filling into each shell, then use sliced shiitake mushrooms to cover the mouths of the snails.

Next, you place the steamer pot on the stove and add a little water. Then, place the crushed lemongrass at the bottom of the steamer, and arrange the stuffed snails on top. Be careful to keep the open ends of the snails facing upwards!

Steam the stuffed snails over medium heat for about 15 – 20 minutes until cooked. Once the snails are cooked and fragrant, take them out and enjoy.

Final Product

The stuffed steamed snails are fragrant with ginger, lemongrass, and pepper leaf, looking very appetizing. When eaten, they do not feel heavy due to the snails and mushrooms being chewy and crunchy, blending perfectly with the rich flavor of minced meat and sausage.

This dish will taste better when served hot and dipped in lemongrass and lime fish sauce; it is truly wonderful!

Prepare and Boil the Snails

Soak the apple snails in rice water mixed with a little chili for about 2 hours before preparation to clean the snails and remove the fishy smell.

Next, add the snails, lime leaves, lemongrass, ginger, and chili into the pot. Then, season with 1 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of seasoning powder, and 1 teaspoon of fish sauce.

In the next step, add the coconut milk to the pot and boil the snails for about 5 – 10 minutes.

Prepare other ingredients

Soak shiitake mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms for about 15 minutes.

Use a knife to cut shiitake mushrooms into diced shapes. Next, cut wood ear mushrooms into small thin strips.

Then, chop onions, chili, perilla leaves, betel leaves, and Vietnamese balm leaves.

Finally, use a knife to finely chop lime leaves and ginger leaves.

Mix the filling

Put the raw sausage into a pot, then add 2 teaspoons of sugar, 1 teaspoon of ground pepper, and 1 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate into the pot. After that, add 2 teaspoons of whole peppercorns into the raw sausage.

Next, add 30g of tapioca flour and 30g of fried shallots into the mixture. Then, season with 2 teaspoons of seasoning powder.

Finally, add the prepared herbs along with the chopped snails into the raw sausage pot, mixing the ingredients well with the seasoning.

Stuffing and steaming in bamboo tubes

Stuff the mixed snail paste into each bamboo tube. Then place the bamboo tubes in a steamer and steam for about 10 minutes.

Final product

After completing, arrange each stuffed bamboo tube on a plate. Thus, you have a unique dish of steamed snails in bamboo tubes, soft, fragrant, hot, crispy, and bursting with distinctive flavors, incredibly delicious.