Vietnamese food for beginners: Snail dishes
Saturday, April 03, 2010 (GMT+7)
In Hanoi there is a type of snail living in ponds and lakes that grows to the size of a golfball, has a streaked colour, and, while chewy, is very tasty.
They are called ‘oc‘. Bun oc are boiled snails dipped in nuoc cham, placed in a bowl of rice vermicelli and snail consommé poured over. You can also get bun oc in many seafood restaurants.
Oc ngoi are minced snails mixed with onion, garlic and mushroom; rolled in ginger leaves and stuffed in the shell of the snail; then stewed. Pull the ginger leaf out and the rest comes along. Oc hap bia are snails are stewed in beer. Try also oc xao ca vo (shelled stir-fried snails), oc cuon cha (rolled snail), bun oc kho (dried noodle and snails).
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