They are called kuhol in the Philippines. The French call them escargot. And they are a delicacy in both cuisines. What are they? Edible snails. Guinataang Kuhol is a favorite appetizer in Filipino restaurants. It is also a popular pica-pica (fingerfood) that goes well with cold beer. I always stuff myself with kuhol at Filipino restaurants. That’s because I couldn’t cook them at home, not knowing where to buy them or how to prepare them. Until today.
There was a new stall at the local wet market. It only sells shellfish–tahong (mussels), halaan (clams) and kuhol. I asked the vendor to teach me how to prepare the kuhol; she showed me how to crack the tip of the shell to loosen the meat.
Above, the photo on the left shows the kuhol before the tip of the shell was cracked. The one on the right shows the cracked tip. The rest of the process was easy enough. No reason why Guinataang Kuhol cannot be prepared at home more than occasionally.
Ingredients :
1 kilo of kuhol
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, julienned
1 head of garlic, crushed and chopped coarsely
1 onion, halved and sliced thinly
1-3 hot chili peppers
2 c. of coconut cream
1 tbsp. of cooking oil
salt and pepper
sliced leeks for garnish
Cooking procedure :
Soak the kuhol for several hours. Change the water frequently. Tap the tip of the each shell with the side of a knife. Wash several times. Drain.
Heat the cooking oil in a skillet or wok. Saute the garlic and ginger until fragrant. Add the sliced onion and chili pepper. Cook until transparent. Add the drained kuhol and cook over high heat. The kuhol will render water. Cook until almost dry. Pour in the coconut cream. Season with salt and pepper. Cook uncovered over miedium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until almost dry. Sprinkle sliced leeks on top before serving.
Kuhol has been something of a dream food for me, coz I have not tatsted kuhol at my age!! Har Har Har!!
What’s really the taste of a kuhol? Anyway, lots of my friends are telling they like eating kuhol….
This is still a wonder to me…
Looks tasty… I suppose…
i has my prejudices against kuhol, too, a long time ago. but you’ll never know how wonderful it is until you have actually tried it. there’s always a first time for everything, as they say.
i looovvveeee ginataang kuhol! when i was in manila, we used to go to a bar in Timog that serves ginataang kuhol with kangkong and its really delicious and its real hot and spicy! however, the way you eat it in the restaurant is you use a toothpick to extract the meat, whereas at home, you can make “sipsip” as long as you want. and connie is right, its best with an ice cold beer!
Masarap po ang kuhol para dun sa mga first time to be pero ingat lang sa pagkain ng kuhol, alamin muna mabuti sa tindera kung saan galing ang mga kuhol mas mainam kung di galing sa palayan mas okay kung galing palaisdaan. Some timesof it contained pesticide residue.
Kahit ako, isa sa masarap na lutong pinoy yan!
haha.. investigatiry namen ito.. ggwa kme ng moluuscicide pra mas safe kainin ang mga kuhol..
im done with all other appetizer’s, sisig blah blah blah”" try ginataang kohol, hehehe iwas hih blood pa… HAHHAAA