Traditional snail salad from the Mekong Delta

The cuisine of the Mekong Delta is often simple and down-to-earth; just picking some vegetables from the garden or catching some fish or snails from the pond is enough to create delicious dishes with a rich, rustic flavor. For example, the banana blossom snail salad (pictured) looks simple but has an unforgettable taste.

Snails are commonly found in ditches, ponds, and garden trenches. Therefore, people in the Mekong Delta often use snails as an ingredient to prepare many delicious dishes such as: boiled, steamed, stir-fried, grilled, hot pot, or salad.

Before using snails in a dish, they need to be cleaned to remove any fishy smell or slime. In the Mekong Delta, snails are often soaked in rice water with a little crushed chili for a few hours or overnight. This allows the snails to release all the mud and slime. After being washed, the snails are boiled with ginger and lemongrass. When the snails are cooked, the meat is extracted, discarding the black intestine. The snail meat is then marinated with vinegar or lemon juice, with a little salt added to allow the meat to absorb the flavor and remove the fishy smell. The snail meat retains its crispness and sweetness at this stage.

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For people in the Mekong Delta, banana blossoms used in salads should come from Siamese or seeded banana trees because of their less astringent nature and sweet aftertaste. The banana blossoms are thinly sliced ​​and soaked in diluted salt and lemon water to maintain their whiteness and crispness for longer.

When making snail and banana blossom salad, simply combine the prepared snail meat, shredded banana blossom, drizzle with a little sweet and sour fish sauce with garlic and chili, and add some Vietnamese coriander. Snail and banana blossom salad is quite easy to make and is rich in nutrients like calcium and protein, and it's cooling, making it a suitable appetizer or a perfect dish on hot days.

In Can Tho, snail salad is a very familiar dish, so it's often found on the menus of rural restaurants and eco-tourism destinations. Visitors can try it to experience the rustic cuisine of the Mekong Delta.

MINH NHIEN

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Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/goi-oc-mien-tay-dan-da-a199995.html