Snails with Vegetables

Fish and Seafood

Snails with Vegetables
Ingredients:
1 pound snail meat, sliced and minced
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoon Chinese rice wine
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 cup finely minced dark green vegetables
½ cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs, well-beaten
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
½ teaspoon sesame oil
Preparation:
1. Mix snail meat and the lemon juice and set aside for twenty minutes, then drain and discard all liquid.
2. Add the wine, hot sauce, and the minced vegetables and let this rest for ten minutes.
3. Mix the eggs, stir this into the snail mixture.
4. Heat the wok or fry pan, add the oil, and then put the entire snail mixture into the wok or fry pan and allow to it to set and is brown on one side before turning it over and allowing the other side to brown. As this is a thick egg mixture, do check with a toothpick that it is set into the center. When done, turn it out onto a paper towel, then put it onto a pre-heated platter, and cut it into pie-shaped wedges. Serve.
snails, Cantonese style Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed:
1 teaspoon fermented black beans, coarsely chopped
1/4 pound ground pork
1 cup tenderized snail meat, grinding it is one way to do so
3 Tablespoons chicken stock
5 slices fresh ginger, peeled and slivered
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 1 Tablespoon cold water
1 egg, beaten

Preparation:
1. Heat wok or fry pan, add the oil, garlic, and the fermented beans, and stir for on minute or until pork is no longer pink.
2. Now add the snail meat and stir once or twice before adding the chicken stock, ginger, and the soy sauce. Bring this to the boil; add the cornstarch mixture and stir until this thickens.
4. Put this mixture into a pre-heated bowl, put the egg on top, and stir, then cover for one minute before removing the cover, and serving. Salamanders, giant or otherwise, are amphibians, some are in the order Caudata, and all are lizard-like in appearance with four toes on their front legs, five on those in the rear. Not related to any sea creatures many think, they breathe differently. Some have gills, others have lungs, and still others breathe through their skin or through membranes in their mouth. Anatomically, salamanders have no rear legs, a few do not even have front ones. They are in the order Urodela, and sometimes their legs do get lost. Some can and do regrow them and if they have them, they are very short and mostly in the rear. Often, they have one more toe on their front legs. Chefs tell us with or without legs, they all taste the same, and all are considered yummy. About one-third of them lay their eggs in the water, others on land, and both roe are appreciated. People raising them are called heliculturalists, and all salamanders have variations in their life cycles. Most look like small lizards, and young folk often confuse them with eels, particularly those without or with very tiny legs. Males and females look alike when grown, but when young the males can have external gills. Almost all fertilize their eggs internally and in unusual ways. Females are known to pick up male sperm with their vents and store them there until they lay their own eggs. Only then do they fertilize them. The Giant Salamander, also called the Hellbender or Crytobranchus alleganiensis, is the largest amphibian in the world. Most Chinese love to eat them and smaller ones, but they no longer can because they are considered an endangered species. This is as they have been over-gathered and over-used, particularly in Chinese medicine. Thought to be aphrodisiacs, they have other medicinal uses, one is as a cure for rheumatism. Some people believe salamanders are snakes and they use them as such. One chef told us that he cooks them as if they were, and we should, too. He says they have a strong aroma, and we should cook them in a stock made with chicken, ham, sugarcane, ginger, and tangerine peel if we find their aroma overpowering. He suggests “slivering them and adding them with half dozen dried longan fruit, twice that many Chinese dates, a few Chinese black mushrooms, a handful of soaked wood-ear fungi, and some winter bamboo. He went on that we should cut all of these in thin strips starting in cold water, bring the water and all ingredients to a simmer, remove any scum, and cook them only for a few minutes. Another chef advises we need to add a lot of fresh ginger and serve them with fish maw, slivers of lemon leaf, chrysanthemum petals, and fried flour and egg dough. We have yet to do so as we have not located a giant salamander. salamander, cantonese style Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil 1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed: 1 teaspoon fermented black beans, coarsely chopped 1/4 pound ground pork 1 cup tenderized conch or salamander
3 Tablespoons chicken stock
5 slices fresh ginger, peeled and slivered 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 1 Tablespoon cold water 1 egg, beaten
Preparation:
1. Heat wok or fry pan, add the oil, garlic, and the fermented beans, and stir for on minute or until pork is no longer pink.
2. Now dd the conch or salamander, and stir once or twice before adding the chicken stock, ginger, nd the soy sauce, and bring to the boil; then add the cornstarch mixture and stir until this thickens somewhat.
4. Put in a pre-heated bowl, put the egg on top, and stir, then cover for one minute before uncovering and serving. Salamander omelet Ingredients:
1 small salamander, diced coarsely, and soaked in cold water. Then drained and dried with paper towels
3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
6 eggs
2 scallions, angle-sliced
Preparation:
1. Heat wok or fry pan, add the oil, then the eggs, and stir them until the start to set.
2. Add the salamander pieces and the scallion pieces and when this starts to set, gently turn it over and complete the setting and slide this on to a pre-heated platter, cut in wedges, and serve while the eggs are still setting. salamander with vegetables Ingredients:

3 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 medium salamander or four or five conch, diced
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 Tablespoons water chestnut flour 1 pound spinach
2 Tablespoons hoisin sauce 1 cup mixed root vegetables , peeled and diced
3 cups spinach, coarsely chopped
Preparation:
1. Heat wok or fry pan, add the oil, and then the salamander or conch and stir-fry for two minutes before adding the cornstarch and the water chestnut flour, they stir-fry for two minutes.
2. Add one cup cold water and the vegetables, and stir-fry for three minutes or until the root vegetable are beginning to soften. Then serve. Sea vegetables are often marine algae, and they can come tangled with items swimming in the sea. History tells us that in the past they were wet and dried many times as a major means of collecting salt. In addition, they were a major means of healing, though some did have unrecognized amounts of arsenic in them; therefore we recommend only purchasing organic sea vegetables for those concerned with this potential health issue. Known as seaweeds and sea vegetables, these blue-green, brown, or red sea vegetables were used for their ashes, as did the Vikings and Aztecs, and other early peoples for reasons already mentioned including treating swellings, other circulatory ailments, osteoarthritis, cardiovascular benefits, and some lower estrogen-related cancers including those of the breast. We also suggest their use on the dinner table instead of salt when seasoning foods. They can be used with no cooking, and they offer a broad range of minerals. Some research says they may have anti-coagulant and anti-thrombotic benefits, and may lower total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels, as well. Try drying then grinding them and adding them to your empty salt shaker, if it is one that tightly seals, they will remain useful for months. Their use in Chinese history and culture is long and continuous. They were often used by their royalty who touted them highly; and those that use them today do likewise. Hot and sour soup with sea vegetables Ingredients:

4 cups chicken broth or stock
3 large shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded, tops soaked and sliced 1/4 cup Chinese rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch mixed with two Tablespoons cold water
2 Tablespoons sesame oil
2 Tablespoons fresh peeled and minced ginger ½ pound firm doufu, diced 1 ounce bean thread noodles, soaked and broken into two-inch pieces, then drained 1 Tablespoon thin soy sauce 1 tablespoon granulated sugar 1 teaspoon dried crushed sea vegetables
Preparation:
1. Heat broth or stock, mushrooms, vinegar, cornstarch mixture, sesame oil. Ginger, doufu, and the drained bean thread noodles, and simmer for five minutes.
2. Add soy sauce, sugar, and the ground sea vegetables, mix well, and simmer three minutes more. Then pour into a pre-heated large soup bowl, and serve. Grass Carp and sea vegetables Ingredients:
½ pound grass carp fillet 1/4 cup dried sea vegetables, soaked for ten minutes, then chopped
6 slices fresh ginger, shredded 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons thin soy sauce
Preparation:
1. Place grass carp on a heat-proof plate and put the sea vegetables and the shredded ginger on top.
2. Mix the heated oil and the soy sauce, and sprinkle of top of the fish filet. Cover with plastic wrap and steam for five to six minutes, then serve. Crabs, sea vegetables, and yellow bean paste Ingredients:

3 crabs, scrubbed, the tops removed, then chop the bodies into four pieces, and separate and lightly smash the claws
6 shallots, peeled and sliced
5 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and sliced 1 red chili pepper, seeded and chopped
5 slices fresh ginger, slivered
3 Tablespoons vegetable oil, divided in half
3 Tablespoons spicy yellow bean paste 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar 1 Tablespoon Chinese vinegar 1 Tablespoon dried ground sea vegetables 1 Tablespoon thin soy sauce
2 scallions, cut into half-inch pieces
Preparation:
1. Put shallots, garlic, chili pepper, and ginger in a blender, add half the oil and blend, then transfer this to a small pot, add the bean paste, sugar, vinegar, sea vegetables, and the soy sauce and simmer for three minutes, then set aside.
2, Heat wok, and add the rest of the oil and stir-fry the crab legs and claws for two minutes, then add the crab shells and half cup of water, cover, and simmer for ten minutes until the crabs are cooked through before stirring in the seasoning mixture and stir-fry this for three minutes. Transfer to a pre-heated bowl, sprinkle the scallions on top, give one stir, then serve.

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