Snail soup

Bo Ai at 19/12 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai street in District 1 specialises in two dishes. Bun oc Ha Noi and Banh da cua. Bun oc is a light Hanoian noodle soup with snails. I have no idea what Banh da cua is, although cua means crab and banh means some kind of cake, although Banh canh is a soup... Crabcakes/Crabcake soup? I'm not sure, and I'm here for the Bun oc anyhow, so let's not stress. Unlike the petite snails we scoffed on Tu xuong street these earthbound molluscs are massive.

We're here early and out on the pavement, restaurant front, snail-prep is underway. This chap takes a snail from a large box, slips off the 'hood' into the red basket, washes the snail in the blue basin, disposes of the snail crap in the yellow colander and puts the edible end of the escargot in the tall blue bucket. Colour co-ordinated escargot prep - how very cool. Below we have the freshly prepared snails. The snail killer did tell me the name of this snail, but I didn't have a pen to hand to note down the particulars and promptly forgot.

The restaurant is open to the street and is filled with the usual aluminium tables, TV and a beer and soft drink filled fridge. Below, the snail slayer's missus takes over in the skullery. She wears one plastic glove to handle the snails - which we previously saw on the pavement outside, handled by hubby sans plastique. The chef's plastic glove is relatively uncommon in Vietnam although I understand there has been pressure from the authorities to improve hygiene standards in these basic restaurants. Glass cabinets, refrigeration and gloves and part of the trend.

It's a mang di ve I'm after today (takeaway) As with other noodle soup takeaways it's thick with bun (vermicelli noodles). Thicker than if you had the sit down version. The snails err towards chewdom, but thankfully don't dwell too long there. There's plenty of them hidden under the noodles in the bowl below. The soup is a bit strange, slightly yellow in colour, but somewhat bland with no chili present. The dish comes with the usual shrubbery including a splodge of banana flowers.

It's a street soup, perhaps best served on the pavements of the chilly north. For myself, I have to say I wasn't too impressed. The Vietnamese have many ways of cooking snails and I hope I get to try a few more of them. However, I would be interested to know what goes into the soup as I couldn't find a recipe via Google. If you can help out, please post a comment. This mix of molluscs and noodles will set you back 8,000VD. View the business card.

Comments

[NotAvailable]

Hi pieman,
For Bun oc, I don't know if you already try the one in the small lane on Ky Dong street yet? I think it's number 14 or 16, you pass all the small shops serving chicken vermicelli and chicken noodle soup, turn right into a small lane leading to a commnual complex, there you find the popular spot for Bun oc. I think it’s tastier than most Bun oc stalls around here in Saigon and it actually attracts loads of southerners apart from their regular northern customers. There are other dishes here like boiling snail and stir-fried snail with green bananas but I suggest you try the Bun rieu oc (that means snail soup with crab-paste).

[pieman]

I believe I have had Bun rieu from there actually, without the oc. If we're talking about the same place, it was excellent. However, it was bought for me, I didn't visit the spot myself. However, I think a good Bun oc is something I would relaly enjoy and so, next time I'm int he area I will pop by and try. I also like the sound of the stir-fried snail with green bananas - very interesting. Thanks.

[pieman]

Yup - here it is - Ky Dong Bun Rieu

[Reid]

Hi Noodlepie,

I haven't yet tried bun oc, but I've been meaning to have it at Bac Nam. Don't think they'd include banana flowers though. The stir-fried snail and green banana does sound good. If you try it, let me know how it was.

[Phoebe]

Hello Pieman... I have been reading your food blog for sometime and i LOVE your entries! :) I have to say that i really admire you for being so adventurous with food. I wouldn't dare try some stuff that you come across in Vietnam ( like the snail soup featured here ) although i am asian! Great work. Keep it up :))

[Karen]

Hello Pieman,

I've also been reading your blog from sometime now and it's interesting how snails are cooked in different ways. Even here in the Philippines, we have several variations of snail soup. I haven't encountered any with noodles though. This seems interesting.

[pieman]

Phoebe - thanks for dropping by. I'm sure you'd have a wee nibble of the odd thing if you ever came across it on the streets. If not the snails.

Karen, how you cook snails in the Philippines?

[Karen]

A variation of the basic broth with leaves. Give me a day or so. I already have the pictures, will do the write-up asap.

[MrsT]

Love escagots.. but wouldn't eat snails from roadside stall.. sorry.. i'm a coward.. hehe!!

[Stuffed]

The snail used in Bun Oc is called Oc Lac or Oc Bu. It is a fresh water species.

Oc Len is also a fresh water species. Called Len because of it's coiling shape. The local way to eat it is to pick it up, deep the head into the coconut juice to get some of the juice into the shell and then just suck the snail's head gently.

[Amy]

I was googling for a recipe of Bun Oc and I came upon your site. I ended up spending almost two hours reading your blogs and viewing your pictures. Wow!!! I just sent an email about your site to my brother who's in Saigon right now. I'd have to ask him to try out all the places you mentioned and tell me his personal experiences.

I tried "Bun Oc" for the very first time last week (in US) and I really liked it. I thought it would be like Bun Rieu Oc, which is not my favorite really, but surprisingly, Bun Oc had a very different flavor (hot and sour) and I enjoyed it so much more. I found one promising recipe and it's asking for "Dam Bong". I know "Dam" is vinegar, but I can't tell what type of vinegar is Dam Bong. I asked my parents and they don't know either. Hmm, any chance you (or any reader here) would know what it is?

Anyway, thanks for all the Vietnames food blogs, I truly enjoy your writing.

[Lynn]

Hi Pieman,
Great blogs, I'm really impressed. However do you know Bun oc is originally in Hanoi? Next time if you can, try 'quan ba Sau' in Mai Hac De street or a small stall in Phu Dong Thien Vuong str, next to 'Phu Dong' restaurant (only mornings), both in Hanoi