Teasing The Palate With The Exotic Conch Snails

By Fadzli Ramli KOTA KINABALU (Malaysia), Dec 27 (Bernama) -- Many Malaysians are turned off by the dish of edible snails as they may get squeamish. However, conch snails (Laevistrombus Canarium) are not the kind of snails normally found in places such as gardens, drains and ponds. These edible molluscs are one of the favourite seafoods among visitors to Kota Kinabalu. Recently, this writer had the opportunity to visit a stall here that offers seafood, including conch snails, and talked to Anni Saree, 27, one of the stall helpers. According to Anni, the snails can be cooked in various ways. "They can be fried with vegetables, made into soups, cooked with noodles and even cooked in curries. But many prefer to have the snails steamed and eaten with black soya sauce with chili," she said. In East Asia, the snails are usually steamed or fried, while in Bahamas the snails are made into soups and eaten with salads. In Grenada, the snails are cooked in curries, while in Puerto Rico they are eaten raw after being soaked in lime juice. PALATING THE CONCH SNAILS Anni showed this writer the way how to extract the snails from their shells by using a small splinter shaped like a tooth pick. "Use this splinter to probe the opening at the shell until it touches the snail's flesh, and then try to extract out the snail slowly. "Another method is to stab its tail-end and withdraw it from the shell," she said, adding that the snail's flesh is rich in proteins. Anni said the female mollusc usually is bigger than the male snail. SABAH'S WATERS According to Anni, apart from being available in the waters off Sabah, conch snails can also be found off the Johor coast, at locations such as Tanjung Adang and Tanjung Surat. The snails can also be found in the waters off Port Dickson, Negeri Semmbilan and Pulau Langkawi in Kedah. "Conch snails prefer the sandy patch on the seabed and areas close to the peninsula and big islands, such as Borneo. They will not thrive near small islands," she said. The snails breed between November and early March. The female conch snail will produce a cylinder-like pouch with some 50,000 eggs, and the pouch will stick to the seabed until all the eggs are hatched. SEAFOOD Apart from the Sinsuran night market, located next to the Filipino Bazaar here, another favourite haunt to obtain seafood is the dried fish market, where all sorts and forms of dried seafoods are available. The price depends on the type of seafood. The fish variety sells at between RM15/kg and RM40/kg while rare delicacies such as sea cucumber are sold at RM500/kg and RM750/kg. Roslan Aminuddin, 48, who has been trading in dried seafood at the market since 1990, told this writer that both local and foreign tourists have been streaming almost non-stop into the market. "Many tourists from Peninsula Malaysia prefers to look for the salted terubuk (Toli Shad) here, while others look for the sabah keropok (fish crackers). Foreigners prefer to look for delicacies such as the dried sea cucumber. "Sabah dried fish is ideal for various dishes, such as sweet-sour, and not simply fried. My family and I prepared for ourselves the dried fish that I sell and this fish can last for almost one year," he added. (US$1=RM3.16) -- BERNAMA