Post by Ismail AbdulAzeez on Jan 22, 2012 20:54:54 GMT 1
In a previous blog we remarked that the South American golden apple snail (Pomacea canaliculata, ‘hoi cherry’) is the most severe pest in Thai rice fields, and so many Thai farmers spray their rice fields with chemicals. Thanks to garden school student Emily Driskill from Washington an interview was made with the Seehamongkol family who run Dokmai Garden in Chiang Mai. Khun Densak proudly declared that in Esan (northeastern Thailand) they have no problems with this snail since the farmers eat them! We always heard the golden apple snail was disgusting and so any attempts to export it as ‘escargot’ was futile. To test the gastronomical value we asked for a cooking demonstration next lunch. This is how Khun Densak prepared the snails:
1. Collect seven snails.
2. Boil in water for five minutes.
3. Use a knife to scoop out the soft parts and discard the shell and the hard operculum (the ‘door’).
4. Remove everything orange (the gonads or egg masses).
5. Dig out and discard the bulb-like, hard structure of the head which Khun Densak calls ‘the eye’ (in reality the buccal mass composed of the mouth with its calcareous jaws and the pharynx). According to Khun Densak, some people back in Roi-Et in Esan eat the buccal mass too, and as a result they get drunk! We have never heard about this hallucinogenic reaction before! Is it true? We did not dare to test that. Please share your experience with us!
6. Cut the remaining meat in pieces.
7. Add some living adult red weaver ants.
8. Add 4-5 leaves of mint.
9. Add two raw shallots.
10. Add one teaspoon of fried sticky rice powder.
11. Add three sprays of fish sauce.
12. Add a pinch of salt.
13. Add some chili.
14. Add 1 teaspoon of Esan anchovy (pla ra).
15. Add one chopped spring onion.
16. Serve cold and decorate with mint leaves.
This dish was actually good, reminding one of mussels. We asked the maid Gong from Ayuttaya if she ever ate these snails, but she said she did not. Our past experience from interviews with Thai farmers is that they answer the question exactly, and rarely add any vital information voluntarily. We therefore rephrased the question: “Does anyone in your former neighbourhood eat these snails?”. She said they certainly do, often frying them. We are surprised that the literature claims the reason for these snails being such a menace in the rice fields is the absence of natural predators, while man seems like a good one.
Source: dokmaidogma.wordpress.com/2012/01/23/a-recipe-for-cooking-the-golden-apple-snail/
Learn more about snail farming in Nigeria @ THE THY SNAIL & GRASSCUTTER FARMS snailriches2.tripod.com
ismailabdulazeez.com/snail-farming/
1. Collect seven snails.
2. Boil in water for five minutes.
3. Use a knife to scoop out the soft parts and discard the shell and the hard operculum (the ‘door’).
4. Remove everything orange (the gonads or egg masses).
5. Dig out and discard the bulb-like, hard structure of the head which Khun Densak calls ‘the eye’ (in reality the buccal mass composed of the mouth with its calcareous jaws and the pharynx). According to Khun Densak, some people back in Roi-Et in Esan eat the buccal mass too, and as a result they get drunk! We have never heard about this hallucinogenic reaction before! Is it true? We did not dare to test that. Please share your experience with us!
6. Cut the remaining meat in pieces.
7. Add some living adult red weaver ants.
8. Add 4-5 leaves of mint.
9. Add two raw shallots.
10. Add one teaspoon of fried sticky rice powder.
11. Add three sprays of fish sauce.
12. Add a pinch of salt.
13. Add some chili.
14. Add 1 teaspoon of Esan anchovy (pla ra).
15. Add one chopped spring onion.
16. Serve cold and decorate with mint leaves.
This dish was actually good, reminding one of mussels. We asked the maid Gong from Ayuttaya if she ever ate these snails, but she said she did not. Our past experience from interviews with Thai farmers is that they answer the question exactly, and rarely add any vital information voluntarily. We therefore rephrased the question: “Does anyone in your former neighbourhood eat these snails?”. She said they certainly do, often frying them. We are surprised that the literature claims the reason for these snails being such a menace in the rice fields is the absence of natural predators, while man seems like a good one.
Source: dokmaidogma.wordpress.com/2012/01/23/a-recipe-for-cooking-the-golden-apple-snail/
Learn more about snail farming in Nigeria @ THE THY SNAIL & GRASSCUTTER FARMS snailriches2.tripod.com
ismailabdulazeez.com/snail-farming/
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