Oc buou hap hem is at its best when the snails smell of rice wine lees and the banana turns starchy sweet instead of astringent. Grit is the whole problem, because sandy snails ruin the entire pot.
The snails soak for 1.5 to 2 hours in a metal basin with 2 liters of rice washing water and a few slices of bird's eye chili. After that they are scrubbed with coarse salt, rinsed, and the tip of each shell is snipped off so the seasoning gets inside.
This batch weighs about 4.5kg, at roughly 39 calories per 100g.
Method
Put the snails in a metal basin, cover with 2 liters of rice washing water, cut 2 bird's eye chilies into it and soak for 1.5 to 2 hours so the snails release their grit.
Lift the snails out and scrub them with 1 tablespoon coarse salt, then rinse several times under running water. Snip the tip off each shell so the seasoning gets in and the meat comes out easily.
Peel the green bananas thinly, cut them into slices about 1cm thick on the diagonal and drop them straight into a basin of water with 1 tablespoon coarse salt so they do not darken and lose their astringency.
Bruise 5 lemongrass stalks and cut them into 6cm lengths, and shave the remaining stalk finely. Peel the ginger, slice one piece and pound the other. Crush 3 kaffir lime leaves and shred the other 7.
Line the base of the pot with half the bruised lemongrass and the sliced ginger, tip in the snails and lay the banana on top. Add the rest of the lemongrass and ginger, 3 crushed kaffir lime leaves, a few slices of red horn chili, 150g hem ruou, 1 tablespoon seasoning powder, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 2 tablespoons kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and 1/2 bowl water.
Cover tightly, bring to a hard boil, then lower to medium and steam for 15 to 20 minutes. Season with 2 teaspoons MSG and stir gently just before turning off the heat.
Pound the remaining ginger with 2 bird's eye chilies, put it in a bowl and stir in 2 tablespoons kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 4 tablespoons fish sauce and 3 tablespoons warm water until dissolved.
Squeeze the juice of 2 calamansi into the sauce, then scatter the shaved lemongrass, shredded kaffir lime leaf and a few calamansi slices on top.
Spoon the snails and banana into a bowl, pour the hot steaming liquid over them and serve with the ginger, lemongrass and calamansi dipping sauce.
Tips
Soaking the snails in a metal basin with rice washing water and a few slices of bird's eye chili draws the grit out faster.
Snipping the tip off each shell before steaming lets the wine lees soak in and makes the meat easy to pull out.
Dropping the banana into salted water right after slicing keeps it pale and takes away the astringency.
Medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes is enough, because longer steaming shrinks the snails and turns them rubbery.
Mix the dipping sauce with warm water until everything dissolves, then squeeze in the calamansi, since adding it too early loses the sourness.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.