Vietnamese Escargot with Basil Chili Sauce Recipe – Ốc Xào Rau Quế

I love Vietnamese escargot dishes! This is my recipe and it’s close enough to the escargot basil dish at Bistro B in Garland, Texas. My first time eating at that restaurant had me determined to figure out how to make this dish on my own. They posted a picture of 14 escargots on their picture menu for $11.99. I ordered the dish and they brought out a plate with nine small escargots. I felt I got ripped off. So here is my recipe for Vietnamese stir fry escargot with basil chili sauce.

Ingredients:

1. 1.5 cup of Thai basil leaves (chopped up)
2. 12-20 frozen cooked whelks
3. Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce bottle (Caravelle brand)
4. 1 Tbsp minced garlic
5. 2 Tbsp olive oil
6. 1 Tbsp salt

Note:

I made this pictorial when I was in Texas at mom’s house. I love her fancy stove. I bought the frozen whelks at Hiep Thai supermarket in Garland, Texas.

Unfortunately, I don’t see the frozen cooked whelks in Orlando. Some Asian markets in Orlando do sell the fresh whelks…but this mama haven’t found a way to prep fresh whelks. I tried, but couldn’t find the trick to how to get rid of the slime. Some people said to soak fresh live whelks in vinegar, salt water, blah blah…that didn’t work for me. The frozen cooked whelks is good for me.

Directions:

1. Thaw the frozen whelks. Rinse and soak it in water with 1 TBsp of salt. Drain.

2. Heat up deep skillet with olive oil and sizzle minced garlic.

3. Add in chopped basil leaves.

4. Pour enough Thai sweet chilli sauce in to cover the basil leaves.

5. Cook for about 1 minute on medium heat. Stir occasionally.

6. Add the whelks into the skillet. Add more Thai sweet chilli sauce to cover the whelks halfway.

7. Since the whelks are already cooked, you just need to cook this for like 2 to three minutes on high so the sauce thickens a bit. Stir often so that the whelks cooks evenly with the sauce. Turn off stove and transfer onto place.