Have you tried any of our posted Liberian homemade recipes? Well, you can start with the popular pepper snails – can be served a side dish or used as sauce to serve white rice, boiled yam or plantain. Pepper snails are rich with earthy aromatic flavors.
Oh, my goodness! I loved and enjoyed eating snails as a child growing up in Liberia and till now in my adulthood and forever, I guess lol! My first introduction to West African snails, were at a younger age when my mother cooked them in Kittley Torborgee, hmmm my mouth is watering just talking about it. I enjoyed those two – three pieces of snail in my torborgee dish and that’s how my craving for snails began.
The giant West African snail or banana rasp snail (Archachatina marginata) is a species of air-breathing tropical land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Achatinidae. They can grow up to 20 centimeters (8 in) long and live up to 10 years or more.
Snails are a delicacy in West Africa, we flavor soups with them, prepare as barbecue, any which way, they taste good! I cooked this pepper snails and ate the entire plate within less than an hour and was still craving more lol! Snail is a highly nutritional seafood containing calcium, potassium, protein, carbohydrates and vitamins. Plus, they’re also an excellent source of iron and other essential minerals, including potassium and phosphorus. Long Live the African Giant Snails!
Pepper Snails (Liberian Style)
Ingredients
- Snails in desired quantity
- Hot peppers/scotch bonnet (or your preference)
- Vegetable Oil
- Minced Onions
- Chicken flavour bouillon or maggi cubes (2) to taste
- Cayenne Pepper Powder
- Water
Instructions
- If you have unshelled snails, break the shells of the snails and clean – wash the snails with lime and salt till all the slime is gone. For this recipe, I am using pre-shelled frozen snails for an ethnic market.
- Cook the cleaned snails with little water. Season with sliced onion, minced onions, cayenne pepper powder and seasoning. On high heat, allow to cook for about 30 minutes till the snails are thoroughly done. Remove from pot and set aside.
- Roughly blend the peppers together with onions.
- Heat vegetable oil in a saucepan or deep pot. Add sliced onion and fry for about 2 minutes. Add the blended mixture and fry together. Stir in seasoning and any extra spice of your choice for flavor and taste. Combine thoroughly and leave to simmer-fry for 20-30minutes. Stir regularly to prevent burning.
- Then turn the heat down to medium, add the cooked snails. Stir and combine, then leave to cook-fry for a further 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.
- Your pepper snails are ready. Serve with freshly cooked white rice, or pasta, plantain, yam or potatoes. Enjoy!
Video
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