Oc gao of Phu Da

Oc gao of Phu Da

The beginning of the fifth lunar month is the season of oc gao (a small edible snail) in Phu Da in Cho Lach District, Ben Tre Province. Visitors who row to an island might witness the lively scene of people searching for snails, for this special food has created many jobs for Ben Tre residents.

Alternatively, a visit to Ba Ngoi garden in Vinh Binh Commune, Cho Lach District will reveal how locals classify snails with a home-made machine or cut shipworms from the snail shells.

Typically there are about 20 workers cutting shipworms, however, around 50 are at work at peak times in the Doan Ngo Festival (the fifth day of the fifth lunar month), according to Nguyen Van Nho, technician of Phu Da snail cooperative.

Classifying snails pays VND250 for each kilogram. Shipworms are bought at VND500 per kilogram by the cooperative for duck food. The season of oc gao lasts until the seventh lunar month.

At Ba Ngoi garden, visitors may also enjoy oc gao boiled with citronella for just VND10,000 for a large serving. The snails here live in muddy soil and are smaller and fatter, and more delicious, than those other places. Other foods to try are rice pancakes filled with mussels and bamboo sprouts for only VND8,000 each.

Crispy cake skin, greasy coconut milk and peanut-and-rice cake flour, sweet mussels and bamboo sprouts used with many kinds of garden vegetable are all well-known dishes of southern Vietnam.