With the chewy and sweet snail meat, along with the delicious sweet hot pot broth, this is the characteristic flavor of snail hot pot that TasteVN wants to introduce to you in the article below. Let’s Get Cooking to make 2 ways to cook banana stem snail hot pot and sour and spicy snail hot pot!
1. Banana Stem Snail Hot Pot
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Preparation
40 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Banana Stem Snail Hot Pot Serves 4 people
Snails 1 kg Pork belly 200 gr Tofu 2 pieces Green bananas 3 fruits Fermented rice 7 tablespoons Green onions 2 stalks Lemongrass 3 stalks Chili peppers 5 fruits Betel leaves 15 leaves Lemon 1 fruit Perilla leaves 3 stalks Shallots 2 bulbs Ginger 1 piece Turmeric 1 piece Fish sauce 2 tablespoons Cooking oil 2 tablespoons Common spices A little (Salt/ sugar/ seasoning/ monosodium glutamate)
How to choose fresh and delicious pork belly
- You should choose pork that has a balanced ratio of lean meat and fat, with a thick outer skin, fat about 1.5 – 2cm thick, and the lean meat tightly attached to the layer of fat.
- In addition, fresh pork belly will have a dry outer membrane, light red or bright pink color. When cut, the piece of meat will have a bright pink color, white-pink skin, and softness.
- Pressing with your hand on the meat should show elasticity, the meat should be firm without leaving a dent, and it should be dry without sticking to your hand is good meat.
- Absolutely do not buy if you see small grains like rice mixed in the meat fibers as these could be tapeworm eggs which are very harmful if ingested.
What is “mẻ”? Where to buy “mẻ”
- “Mẻ”, also known as fermented rice, is a basic seasoning in Vietnamese cuisine. This traditional seasoning has a sour taste and a very distinctive aroma, often used in many dishes such as hot pot, braised dishes, sour soup, crab noodle soup, buffalo meat with fermented rice, snails cooked with beans served with green bananas.
- You can buy “mẻ” at liquor stores, grocery stores specializing in Northern foods, large supermarkets, or you can make it at home following the TasteVN recipe.
How to make snail hotpot with banana and tofu
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Prepare the snails
Buy the snails, rinse them briefly with water to clean, then soak them in a bowl with 3 sliced chili peppers for 6 – 8 hours. After that, rinse the snails clean again, then put them in a pot with 2 stalks of lemongrass cut into pieces, a few slices of crushed ginger, and chopped lime leaves, adding 700ml of water.
Put the pot on the stove, boil over medium heat for 15 minutes until the snails are cooked, then turn off the heat and take the snails out onto a plate to cool and use a toothpick to remove the snail meat.
Wash the pork belly, cut it into bite-sized pieces, then put the meat into a pan and stir-fry over medium heat for about 7 – 10 minutes until the meat is slightly charred on the edges.
Cut the tofu into bite-sized pieces and fry until golden brown on all sides.
Peel the green bananas, wash them clean, then cut them into 8 pieces. After that, soak the bananas in water mixed with a little lemon juice for 10 minutes, then take them out, rinse with water, and let them drain.
Next, put the bananas in a bowl to marinate with 2 tablespoons of fermented rice, 2 tablespoons of turmeric water, mix well, and let the bananas marinate for 15 minutes.
Cut the green onions, wash them clean, and cut into pieces about 2 finger lengths. Wash the Vietnamese balm, pepper leaf, and lime leaves, then cut them into pieces about 1 finger length. Peel and slice the purple onion. Mince the lemongrass and chili.
Wash the turmeric, slice it, put it in a mortar to pound finely, then add about 20ml of water, stir gently, and filter through a sieve to extract the juice.
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Sauté snails with green bananas and fermented rice
Put a pan on the stove over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil, and wait for the oil to heat up before adding minced shallots to fry until fragrant.
Then, add the bananas and stir continuously for about 5 minutes until the bananas are cooked, then add the snail meat to sauté together.
Season with 1 tablespoon of seasoning powder, 1 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, 2 tablespoons of fish sauce, 3 tablespoons of fermented rice, and 3 tablespoons of turmeric water, and stir well to let the ingredients absorb the seasonings evenly.
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Cook snail hotpot
Add 2 liters of water to the snail pot, cover the lid and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes until the water boils, then add the fried tofu and pork belly, and stir well.
Then reduce the heat and simmer the banana and tofu pot for another 15 minutes.
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Making snail hot pot dipping sauce
Add 2 tablespoons of fermented rice into a bowl, then add 1 teaspoon of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate and stir until dissolved.
Next, add minced lemongrass and chili, mix well, and you will have a delicious dipping sauce.
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Finished product
The snail hot pot with banana and tofu emits an incredibly attractive aroma, along with colorful ingredients that make you want to eat it right away.
Add a little vermicelli into a bowl, scoop in snails, tofu, bananas, pork belly, a few slices of chili, scallions, perilla leaves, and betel leaves, then ladle in the broth and enjoy while it’s still hot!
The snails are chewy and sweet, the pork belly is rich, the tofu is creamy, the bananas are deliciously chewy, the perilla leaves are fragrant, and the broth is sweet and flavorful, making it very appealing. Dipping the snails in the fermented rice sauce is a wonderful addition!
2. Sour and spicy snail hot pot
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Preparation
20 minutes
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Cooking
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Sour and Spicy Snail Hot Pot For 5 people
Snails 2 kg Lemongrass 2 stalks Galangal 1 stalk Onion 1 bulb Tomato 2 pieces Pineapple 1/2 fruit Coconut water 2 liters Thai hot pot seasoning 3 tablespoons Cilantro 2 stalks Lime 5 pieces Green chili 10 pieces Lime leaves 15 leaves Banana flower 1 piece Cooking oil 2 tablespoons Annatto oil 1 tablespoon Fish sauce 5 tablespoons Salt/ sugar A little Rice washing water A little (used to wash snails)
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose good fresh tomatoes
- Choose tomatoes that are bright red and evenly colored, with a firm and plump skin and a natural fragrance.
- Prefer tomatoes with green stems that are tightly attached to the fruit; these are the freshest tomatoes.
- Avoid buying tomatoes that are ripe without any fragrance or those that are scratched or bruised.
How to choose fresh and delicious banana flower
- Delicious banana flowers have a bright reddish-purple outer skin, covered with a thin layer of white powder, and the outer petals do not separate much but tightly hug to form a bud. When holding the banana flower, if it feels firm and heavy, it is fresh and more delicious.
- To make the salad tasty and to prevent the banana flower from turning dark, using flower buds is the best option; they have a long oval shape and are predominantly light green.
- Additionally, you can buy pre-peeled banana flowers, and it’s advisable to choose those that appear white, fresh, crunchy, and not wilted or darkened.
Where to buy Thai hot pot spices?
You can purchase Thai hot pot spices at TasteVN stores or on the website bachhoaxanh.com.
How to make sour and spicy snail hot pot
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Prepare the snails and ingredients
After buying the snails, soak them in rice water for 3 hours to clean them thoroughly, then rinse the snails with water.
Pound the lemongrass and cut it into sections. Peel the ginger, wash it, and slice it. Peel the onion and cut it into wedges.
Wash the tomatoes and cut them into wedges. Remove the eyes from the pineapple and slice it. Wash the coriander and cut it into pieces about 2 finger lengths. Cut the lime in half and squeeze to extract the juice.
Banana flower, thinly sliced, soak in salted water for 15 minutes to prevent browning. After that, take it out, rinse it with water, and let it drain.
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Boil the apple snails
Put the snails into a pot with 1 liter of water, add lemongrass leaves and 10 lime leaves to enhance the aroma of the snails. Boil the snails for 15 minutes until cooked, then remove and let them cool.
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Cook the sour and spicy broth
Place a pan on the stove over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil, then add galangal and lemongrass and sauté for about 2 minutes until fragrant, then add 1/2 of the chopped tomatoes and onion into the pan to sauté together.
Next, crush 5 lime leaves and add them to the pan, pour in 2 liters of coconut water, season with 8 tablespoons of sugar, 5 tablespoons of fish sauce, 3 tablespoons of Thai hotpot seasoning, and 1 tablespoon of annatto oil, stir well.
Then add the remaining pineapple, tomatoes, and onion, along with 10 green chilies, stir well, cover, and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, uncover and add lime juice, then adjust the seasoning to taste.
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Completion
The broth is seasoned to taste, add the boiled snails and stir well, then cover and simmer for another 10 minutes for the snails to absorb the flavors.
Then add chopped cilantro, turn off the heat, and enjoy.
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Final Product
The hot and fragrant sour and spicy snail hot pot, with crunchy, sweet snail meat combined with a rich broth that has a delicious sour and spicy flavor, is very appealing.
Add banana heart into the hot pot and enjoy with some noodles; it’s irresistible!
How to choose delicious apple snails
- To have a delicious dish, you should choose live snails. Determine if the snails are alive by touching the snail’s operculum; if the snail closes its operculum tightly, it is alive; otherwise, it means the snail is dead.
- Live snails usually have a light smell, not a foul odor. Dead snails often have a very unpleasant rotten smell.
- You can distinguish live snails from dead ones by placing them in a basin of water. If you see the spiral part of the snail facing upwards and it feels light when you pick it up, it means the snail is dead. At this point, you need to remove them immediately to prevent affecting other snails and the quality of the dish.
- Fat, delicious snails usually have the operculum located close to the outer edge of the shell. Snails with deeply recessed opercula are thin and not tasty.
How to clean apple snails from sand without slime
- You should soak apple snails in a metal basin because snails will release all the dirt when they encounter metal. If you don’t have a metal basin, you can drop a few metal utensils like knife, fork,… into the basin and continue soaking the snails for about 1-2 hours.
- It is advisable to soak snails in rice washing water so that they can expel all the dirt quickly. If you can’t prepare rice washing water in time, you can soak them in cold water and add about 3-4 chili peppers.
- You can also soak the snails in a mixture of lemon, vinegar, and chili. Just mix the above ingredients together and soak the snails; they will quickly expel dirt for cooking.
- If you use live snail meat to directly prepare dishes, you need to rub the snail meat with vinegar, lemon, or a little salt. Doing so can clean the slime and significantly reduce the fishy smell during cooking.
- When boiling snails, you need to boil them with fragrant ingredients like ginger, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves,… to reduce the fishy smell of the snails. You can also add a little fermented rice, fermented rice also effectively reduces the fishy smell of snails.
- You should place the fragrant ingredients at the bottom of the pot before adding the snails on top for boiling. When boiling, only add about 1/2 small cup of water so that the snails do not release too much water and retain their sweetness when cooked.
See more:
Above is a guide on 2 ways to cook snail hot pot with banana and tofu and sour spicy snail hot pot. The recipe is quite simple, isn’t it? We hope that with the method shared by TasteVN above, you will easily be able to make this hot pot dish. Wishing you success!
*Refer to images and recipes from 2 YouTube channels Home Cooking Discovery and ThuanNguyen Channel
