​How-To Guide: Sea Snails (Oc) In Saigon

To answer the common question: "What to eat in Saigon?", Nine out of ten Vietnamese respondents will choose sea snails! In Ho Chi Minh City, there are dozens of restaurants as well as vendors serving different types of snails cooked in hundreds of ways. Therefore, despite the culinary proliferation in Saigon, sea snail restaurants are still busy and this growth has rarely shown signs of stopping. This is your guide to all things sea snails in Saigon - what to order and where!

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What to order

1. Oc Huong

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How do they taste?

What to order: "oc huong rang muoi" - sea snails roasted with salt.

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Nicknamed a seafood specialty of the first class, these sweet little snails delight guests with their sweetness and firmness. Sweet snails can be cooked in many delicacies, such as sweet snails steamed with ginger or grilled and grilled with garlic, but the most interesting is sweet snails roasted with salt. He is still at the top of the list of priority food choices when visiting any Vietnamese sea snail restaurant. The dish is distinguished not only by its natural scent and the sweet taste of sea snails, but also by the charm of spicy chili and the combination of salt hard to describe.

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2. Oc Len

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Very creamy!

What to order: "oc len xao dua" - sea snails stir-fried with coconut.tripadvisors restaurants near me

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With a rustic flavor, coconut sautéed sea snails are a local delicacy, renowned for their delicious and greasy taste. It is virtually impossible to resist the bold scent of snails fried with coconut. Usually, people use their hands to take the sea snail, put it in their mouth and start sucking the sweet and fatty coconut broth from the snail shell. The mash of snail flesh, combined with the richness of the coconut soup, makes diners more talented.french restaurant naear me

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3. So Huyet

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You will not forget the aroma!

What to order: "so huyet nuong" - grilled shells.

 

For Vietnamese gourmands, grilled shells are always the most delicious preparations (I realize that the hulls are not technically "snails", but they still belong to this list). This grilled assortment beats roasted garlic snails, mixed in salads, infused in soups and fried in tamarind. In fact, among all these preparations, the shells grilled over medium heat have a unique flavor, almost similar to that of bacon. Thus, huyet is usually served with lemon, black pepper, salt and laksa leaves.

 

Grilled snails taste a bit like bacon.

 

4. Ngheu

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It's a rustic signature!

What to order: "ngheu hap" - steamed clams.

 

Clams are not a strange ingredient in the culinary world, but the delicacy and uniqueness with which clams are cooked in Saigon make this dish a real specialty. Among the different ways of cooking clams, we would be remiss not to mention clams steamed with lemongrass. Clams are steamed only with chopped lemongrass stalks, chilli peppers and some basic spices. It's worth noting that this simple cooking method really works and after a try, the majority of gourmets keep coming back for more.

 

5. Cang Ghe

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A little salty for a boost of experience!

What to order: "cang ghe rang muoi" - grilled crab claws with chili salt.

 

Crab is not a type of sea snail, but oc's restaurants in Saigon offer customers many kinds of shellfish. The tasting of this dish is as close as you can ever enjoy the richness of the sea. The crab claws are roasted with a salt-and-pepper seasoning that never fails to amaze gourmands on the first try. It is slightly fatty vegetable oil and slightly salty. The heat quickly sears the tongue and propels into the nostrils - but it's the right kind of burn - the only desire for spices!

 

6. Oc Ca Na

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Not so spicy!

What to order: "Oc ca na xao bo cay" - sea snails sautéed with spicy butter.

 

Oc ca na xao bo cay is still on the list of must-sees for newcomers to Saigon. Each sea snail sauteed with spicy butter is the most balanced combination of decadent butter and spices. Food lovers will ask for more!

 

7. so long

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