Have you ever had exotic food for even just once in your life? I'm sure the taste still lingers in your mouth if you ever happen to hear such if you're one who doesn't really like to eat exotic foods. But, for a country grown lad like me, surely you will crave for it. Aside from kuhol or suso or escargot in French, we also have other exotic foods we gather in rivers, mountains, on the fields and just everywhere around us.My late grandfather used to tell us that they used to gather valikaot-white, fat, worm-like creepies the size of a thumb on fallen dead trees. He said that when fried has a distinct aroma and rich in fats.
Bissocol as we call it, well-known as kuhol in the Philippines is often gathered on rice paddies after the planting of rice or on areas where watercress are grown. They're considered as pests to farmers like us because they feed on growing rice plants that's why others use pesticides to get rid of them.
There are actually different varieties of snails but what we commonly have in our place is the golden apple snail and what I have cooked is another variety. There was also the black, elongated variety which is not available in our village that's why we buy it in town when there is.
It is called escargot in French which according to meriam-webster dictionary means a snail prepared for use as food. Meaning they're edible. We are not the only ones who enjoy this savory delicacy which has a chewy gooey texture but also French, Portuguese, Greeks, Belgian, Italian and many other races. This exotic food can take anything from the flavor of sauce which it was cooked into.
These small creatures has lots of protein, fat-free, carbs-free, and sugar-free. It is packed with other essential vitamins and minerals the body needs such as iron, magnesium, selenium, phosphorus, and potassium, Vitamin A, vitamin C. It also has tryptophan, an amino acid responsible in producing serotonin, a brain neurotransmitter that regulates sleep impulse and appetite. Because of this, it makes it a good mood enhancer.
Health Benefits
22% of the recommended daily allowance of iron is found on one serving of snail. Because of these it treats underlying cause of iron-deficiency anemia while it relieves symptoms related to it like pale skin, dizziness, chest pain, head ache, fatigue, and shortness of breath. Iron also keeps nails, skin and hair healthy.
Who would taught that this slimy creatures contains omega-3 fatty acids? This fat is proven to keep the heart healthy. It is also associated in reducing blood clotting thus, keeping blood at a normal pressure.
Aside from the vitamins it has to boost immune system, snails also have anti-cancer properties.
The snail produces slime which is being used today in cosmetics and other skin care products to minimize scars and wounds, it is the copper peptide that is responsible for it. It also has allantonin, collagen, and elastin that are used in treating skin diseases and broken bones..
Though this mollusk is bursting with health benefits, the way it is prepared can lead to health risk. An example of this is having it cooked in butter, it adds fat back in though it is a low-fat protein. Fats stored in arteries can block blood and cause complications such as heart attack or stroke.. So prepare it with low saturated fat oils such as olive oil.
Snail acquire parasites that when consumed raw or undercooked might cause one to acquire the rat lungworm disease. It is caused by snails coming in contact with rat's feces. Fortunately, this parasite can be eliminated when the snail is cooked properly.
Regarding with healthy preparation of this kuhol, we usually cook it with coconut milk or adobo. Its either we take the meat out with a toothpick before cooking or let it stay on it's shell. Some prefer to take the lid off while some doesn't bother to do so.
Like clams, I first soak it in salt for atleast an hour and washed in running water until no longer slimy and water turns clear.
Cooking it is very easy, just sauté ginger, garlic, onion in oil and add the kuhol and the coconut milk.Season with salt and ground black pepper. Some prefer it spicy, and others add fish sauce it adds flavor to the dish. Any leafy vegetables can be added in it. I added watercress. The thrill in this is sucking the meat out of the shell.
When you prefer adobo, better take the meat out of the shell first.
This savory dish is often paired with rice or pulutan here in the Philippines. It is something one must try, so if like other exotic food that sounds unpleasant to you but you can get pass any mental block of eating it the taste is genuinely unique..
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I love this when it's cooked in gata ❤ it tastes so good and when it's made spicy-