Oil-Poached Snail Balls
A classic Cantonese dish, with snail meat that is crisp and bouncy, coated in a glossy sauce after oil-poaching, delivering layers of savory flavor.
Ingredients
16 items- Fresh sea snail meat 300 g
- Egg white 1/2
- Cornstarch 1 tbsp
- Ginger 1 small piece
- Scallions 2 stalks
- Garlic 3 cloves
- Red bell pepper 1/2
- Broccoli 100 g
- Cooking wine 2 tsp
- Light soy sauce 1 tsp
- Sugar 1/2 tsp
- Salt to taste
- White pepper pinch
- Broth or water 2 tbsp
- Sesame oil 1 tsp
- Cooking oil 500 ml
Nutrition
Steps （8 steps）
Scrape the black membrane from the snail meat, slice thickly, score with a cross-hatch pattern, then cut into 3 cm cubes. Rinse with water to remove slime and drain well.
Add 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp cooking wine, half an egg white, and 1 tsp cornstarch to the snail meat. Mix well with your hand until sticky, then marinate for 10 minutes.
Slice ginger, cut scallions into sections, slice garlic, cut red pepper into diamond shapes, and cut broccoli into florets. In a bowl, combine broth (or water), soy sauce, sugar, a pinch of salt, white pepper, and 1 tsp cornstarch to make the sauce.
Bring water to a boil, add 1 tsp salt and a few drops of oil. Blanch broccoli for 1 minute, then drain and refresh in cold water. Drain and arrange on a serving plate.
Heat a wok over high heat, pour in 500 ml oil. When the oil reaches 150°C (moderate), add the marinated snail meat pieces, gently stir with chopsticks, and slide for about 20 seconds until they curl into balls and turn white. Quickly remove and drain.
Leave about 1 tbsp oil in the wok over medium heat. Sauté ginger slices, garlic slices, and white scallion sections until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Splash 1 tsp cooking wine along the edge.
Stir the prepared sauce again and pour into the wok. Turn to high heat and cook until the sauce thickens and can coat the back of a spoon, about 30 seconds.
Add the oiled snail balls and red pepper slices back to the wok. Stir-fry over high heat for about 20 seconds until well coated with sauce. Drizzle sesame oil, give a final toss, and transfer to the plate with broccoli.
Tips
Score the snail meat evenly so it curls properly; do not overheat the oil during poaching to avoid toughness; prepare the sauce in advance; use only a thin layer of egg white for marinating.
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