Grilled cockles with shallot oil (So long nuong mo hanh). A delectable local delight

During my many visits to Vietnam, one of my favourite place to visit is 'Quan oc', literal translation- snail shops. Where they serve up the most lip-smackingly delicious grilled cockles and sea scollops with shallot oil.

Scattered through out Vietnam, these snail joints offer an extraordinary variety of delectable snails, mollucs and crustaceans. While, what may seem like a strange snack food for most foreign visitors. These delectable delicacies are extremely  popular with locals.

Pippies with XO sauce

Pippies in XO Sauce is a Cantonese classic and one of my favourite dish. In my opinion, anything that ends in 'with XO sauce' is good. The extreme umami flavour from the combination of dried scollops, dried shrimps and ham, coupled with aromatic spices is near impossible to resist.

In chinese cuisine, XO sauce is considered the most luxurious and indulgence of all sauces. Often referred by many as the caviar of the orient, the exact origin of this sauce is still a mystery. Many believed, it originated in Hong Kong in the early 80's. Where is served as a table condiment in higher-end seafood restaurants. With the recipe jealously guarded by chefs and restauranteurs. The popularity of this flavour packed sauce soon spread internationally. XO sauce is  now available in most Asian supermarkets, lee Kum kee brand XO sauce being the most well known. XO sauce is fantastic in stir-fry and especially good with seafood. A couple spoons of XO sauce will add that extra something special to any dish.

Oyster with sweet chilli vinegarette

When it comes to grocery shopping, it's very common for me to go out with the intention of buying two things and come home with a dozen other items. I often stop by the local fish market to check out the fresh seafood that are available. While waiting for my fish to be cleaned, the freshly shucked oysters caught my attention. Straight away half a dozen ways flows to mind on how serve these deliciously amazing oysters. They are simply fantastic just with lemon, salt and pepper. Another way I like to serve it, is with a sweet chilli vinegarette.

Stir-fry pippies with garlic and chilli

It's no secret that I am a huge fan of shellfish and pippies has to one of my favourites. Due to their high demand in recent times, I have seen the price jumped to over $20 per/kg. As Steven Irwin would say 'Crikey', but they are still worth it. There are so many ways you can cook pippies, you can steam it and dip it in nuoc cham. Stir fry with Xo sauce or my favourite is stir fry with chilli and garlic. So, if you're a big fan of pippies and like it spicy like I do, give this a try. It's delicious, that I promise you.


Recipe

500g pippies
2 clove garlic
2 chilli
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp shrimp paste, optional
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp oil

1 shallots, cut into 1 inch long
1/4 onion, thinly slice
1/2 cup Vietnamese mints

Methods

1. Add a cup of hot water to a pot on high heat and steam pippies open. Drain and set aside.
2. Add garlic, chilli, sugar and shrimp paste into a mortar. Pound the ingredients together and set aside.
3. Add the oil to a non-stick pan on high heat, followed by the chilli and garlic paste.
4. Stir it around, be careful not to burn the garlic and chilli.
5. When it starts to caramelise add in the fish sauce and reduce the sauce until it starts thickens.
6. Add the shallots and onions and toss a couple of time.
7. Add the pippies and toss to coat the pippies evenly with the sauce. Then turn off the heat and mix in the Vietnamese mints.
8. Serve and enjoy with a ice cold beer.

Goi Oc (Vietnamese sea snail salads)

Let's face it, snails are not every one's cup of tea but I get very excited whenever I can get my hands on them. To me, it represents the flavour of the sea. On my travels to Vietnam, I recall eating it every single day. I had it every way imaginable, in salads, grilled, steamed and in stir-fries. You name it, I had it. There is an enormous variety of edible snails and molluscs found in Vietnam. And it's all delicious, let me assure you.


Recipe

1 cup sea snail, cooked and thinly sliced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 large chilli, thinly sliced
1 stalk lemongrass white part only, thinly sliced
1 cup mix herbs (Vietnamese mint, coriander, mint), roughly chopped
1/2 tsp dried ground chilli
1/2 cup Nuoc cham
1/2 tbsp lemon juice

Method

1. Add the all the ingredients except for the mix herbs and toss together well.
2. Add in the herbs mix and toss lightly.
3. Enjoy with a Vietnamese rice cracker and glass of white wine.