Eating snails and watching the moon is one of the culinary cultures of the ancient Hanoi people. However, the way to make this dish is quite complicated, not many people know.
Ingredient
( ten )
- 1.5 kg of large stuffed snails
- 200 grams of raw sausage
- 150 grams of minced lean shoulder
- 6 shiitake mushrooms
- 2 wood ear ears
- 1 bunch of ginger leaves
- 1 ginger root
- 3 dried onions
- 4 lemon leaves
- Spices: Fish sauce, salt, sugar, vinegar, lemon, pepper, chili, garlic
Making
1. Preliminary processing
- Stuffed snails in the 8th lunar month, according to old experience, start to become fat and the meat is crispy. When you buy it, soak it in rice water with a few slices of fresh chili to release all the mud. In the past, Hanoi people still soaked and changed the water to wash rice for a few days, then on the full moon day, they soaked it in plain water to clean it. In addition, add chicken eggs to make the snails absorb more fat and roundness.
- Lightly beat the snail, scoop out the snail meat, remove the excrement, squeeze lemon and salt to deodorize and remove slime. Then, wash several times and drain.
2. Marinate
- Choose ginger leaves (not too young or too old), long, dark green leaves, wash and drain.
- Diced snail meat. Soak wood ear mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms, wash and chop. Chopped onion, chopped chili, chopped ginger. Put all the mixture of ground shoulder meat, raw sausage, snails and wood ear mushrooms, dried onions, chili, and ginger into a large bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of fish sauce, 2 teaspoons of seasoning powder, 2 teaspoons of pepper. Wear gloves and knead continuously so that the filling blends evenly into a sticky, supple mass.
- Place 2 ginger leaves diagonally at the top of the snail’s mouth, use a spoon to scoop out the filling and press it in to fill the snail. After that, apply a little water and press firmly to make it nice and not sticky, helping to prevent the snail growth from coming apart when steamed. Do it one at a time until the end.
3. Processing
- Put the snails in the steamer basket, add the young ginger stem and steam until fragrant. After 12-15 minutes the snails are cooked, take them out.
- Make ginger dipping sauce: Crush garlic, chili, ginger, add 2 tablespoons fish sauce, 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon vinegar and stir well. Add sliced lemon leaves. Adjust seasoning to taste.
Attention:
- The way to choose delicious stuffed snails is to have a full mouth, a short mouth, and a thin shell because these snails have a lot of meat and are fatty and crunchy.
- When making live snails, use the meat for preliminary processing, to ensure that when steamed, the snails are cooked until they are crispy and delicious. The meticulous processing shows the sophistication and sophistication in enjoying cuisine of Hanoi people.
- According to Oriental medicine, snails are cold (cold) so they need to add ginger, chili, and pepper to harmoniously balance yin and yang.
- You should only steam for about 12 – 15 minutes depending on the size of the snail because if you steam it too long, the snail will become tough and the ginger leaves will turn yellow.