Snails stir-fried with lemongrass and chili

Ingredients

• 1 kg of water snails
• 3 stalks of lemongrass
• A few nail files
• chili pepper, garlic, and ginger
• oil, salt, pepper, sugar
• tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons of fish sauce
• 1/2 cup of cooled, boiled water
• Half a lime
• 1 finely chopped chili pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon of sugar
• finely chopped ginger and garlic

Soak the snails for 1 to 2 hours in rice water to purge them, then rinse them several times. Cut off the tips of the shells with a knife to make it easier to extract the meat.

Finely mince the ginger, lemongrass, and lime leaves. Mince the chili pepper and finely chop the garlic.

Heat the oil and gently sauté the ginger, lemongrass, and garlic until they are lightly browned.

Add the tomato sauce, season lightly with salt, pour in some nuoc-mâm, and mix well.

Add the snails to the frying pan and sauté them quickly to coat them well. Add 400 ml of water, cover, and bring to a boil.

Cook for about 10 minutes after boiling, then turn off the heat. For a drier dish, add only 200 ml of water and cook over low heat.

Prepare the marinade by mixing the nuoc-mâm, cooled water, lime juice, chili pepper, sugar, ginger, and garlic. Taste and adjust as needed.

Serve the snails in bowls. To eat them, extract the meat with a toothpick and dip it in the sauce.