How to Make Delicious Stir-Fried Babylonia Snails with Garlic Butter
Are you a big fan of Babylonia snails but hesitant to eat them outside due to concerns about the quality or hygiene? Let’s dive into this guide to making stir-fried Babylonia snails with garlic butter at home, and you’ll fall in love with the taste!
Babylonia Snails Stir-Fried with Garlic Butter
Babylonia snails are a popular choice for many snail dishes like snails with salted roast, stir-fried with lemongrass and chili, steamed with lemongrass, roasted with tamarind, or stir-fried with salted eggs. However, stir-fried Babylonia snails with garlic butter remain a favorite among food lovers thanks to their crispy texture, fragrant garlic, and the rich buttery flavor. Paired with bread, this dish is irresistible.
How to Choose Fresh Babylonia Snails
Babylonia snails are a type of seafood rich in nutrients and have a delicious flavor when cooked. Making stir-fried Babylonia snails with garlic butter is not difficult, but to ensure a high-quality dish, selecting fresh ingredients is crucial.
Here are some tips to help you choose fresh Babylonia snails:
- Opt for live snails with intact shells and avoid those with pale or broken shells.
- Choose snails with full, soft flesh at the opening. Avoid those whose flesh has receded into the shell, as they won’t taste as good.
- If the snail’s head and mouth are sticking out, but the meat feels firm when pressed, it’s freshly dead.
- Snails that have been dead for a while lose their operculum (the shell’s door), become slimy, lose color, and develop a bad odor—don’t buy those.
Ingredients for Stir-Fried Babylonia Snails with Garlic Butter
- 1kg Babylonia snails
- 4 tablespoons of butter
- 10 cloves of garlic
- 2 stalks of lemongrass
- Seasonings: sugar, seasoning powder, oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons of cooking oil
- Bread (optional)
- A few chilies
- Vietnamese coriander (rau răm)
Preparation Steps
Step 1: Soak the snails Freshly purchased snails usually contain sand and dirt. You shouldn’t cook them immediately without cleaning them properly. Soak the snails in rice water with a few slices of chili for 6 to 8 hours to clean out all the sand. During this time, change the water every 2 hours to make sure the snails are thoroughly cleaned.
After soaking, remove the operculum and rinse the snails under clean water. Let them drain before cooking.
Step 2: Boil the snails Boil the snails with some lemongrass to remove any unpleasant odors and to enhance their fragrance. Once the water comes to a boil, cook the snails for an additional 3 minutes while stirring to help loosen the operculum.
Step 3: Prepare other ingredients
- Remove old or damaged leaves from the Vietnamese coriander, wash it, and set aside.
- Peel the lemongrass and use it to boil the snails for added flavor.
- Peel 10 cloves of garlic, chop finely, and divide them into two equal portions. Since this is a garlic butter dish, you’ll need a lot of garlic—half of it will be used for frying and the other half for cooking with the snails.
Next, heat a pan with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and fry half of the chopped garlic until golden brown and fragrant. Turn off the heat and set the fried garlic aside in a bowl.
Step 4: Stir-fry the snails Place a pan on the stove over low heat, melt 4 tablespoons of butter, and then add the remaining garlic to stir-fry until fragrant (about 1 minute). Add the seasonings: 2 teaspoons of oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and ½ teaspoon of seasoning powder. Stir well until the sugar dissolves.
Raise the heat and add the snails to the pan, stirring them so they are fully coated in the sauce. After about 2 minutes, drizzle 1 teaspoon of oil over the snails to give the dish a vibrant, attractive color. Finally, remove the snails from the heat and transfer them to a serving plate.
Presentation
Once plated, drizzle the fried garlic over the snails and garnish with some Vietnamese coriander for added appeal. Serve the dish with bread.
The dish will be steaming hot, filled with the aroma of garlic and butter, and the snails will be tender yet chewy, with a savory, rich flavor. The sauce will be thick and flavorful—perfect for dipping with bread.
Tips for Perfect Stir-Fried Babylonia Snails with Garlic Butter
- When frying the garlic, as soon as it turns golden, turn off the heat and transfer it to a bowl to prevent it from burning, which can give the dish a bitter taste.
- Boil the snails just long enough as instructed. Overcooking them can make the snail meat shrink and lose its natural sweetness.
- You can add some corn kernels for extra appeal in the dish.
- Adjust the seasoning to suit your family’s taste before finishing the dish.
- Although snails are often cooked with lemongrass, when serving them with bread, avoid adding lemongrass as it may create an undesirable texture.
- If you enjoy spicy food, feel free to add some minced chili during the stir-frying process to enhance the flavor.
Cooking stir-fried Babylonia snails with garlic butter at home is not only delicious but also cost-effective and hygienic. This dish is perfect for rainy days or cooler weather. I hope you succeed in making this dish, and don’t forget to check out more recipes on FOODVN!
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