Periwinkle snails and I go a long way back. I don’t remember exactly when I first had Cantonese-style periwinkle snails in black bean sauce, but it was when I was a kid growing up in the Catskills in upstate New York. In fact, back then I didn’t even know what they were called in English. I only knew them as “sac luo,” in Cantonese, which translates to “rock snail.”
Childhood Memories
Back in my day, fish markets in Chinatown sold periwinkle snails in large, round wooden baskets. We usually ate them out at restaurants, where they would clip off the ends of the shells so you could slurp them out easily. I know it doesn’t sound very civilized or appetizing, but periwinkle snails were a delicacy, and it wasn’t always easy to find them fresh!
I do remember the time I learned that these little sea snails we had been eating are called “periwinkles” in English… A high school friend of mine came over for dinner and my mother announced that one of the dishes that night was going to be the sac luo snails in black bean sauce.
While my friend was a little weirded out about eating snails, he still stayed for dinner after I explained that these little snails were good eating! (As was the fermented black bean sauce, another first for him.) After one taste, he was on board and even got pretty skilled at using a toothpick to extract them out of the shells, which is how we always did it.
Years later, we met up again in Connecticut where he had started working. That weekend, we went to his friend’s house to help pull some lobster traps, and I saw the same “rock snails” on the trap! Of course, I shared our childhood story with everyone and his friend said he would pull up “periwinkle snails” all the time, but never knew that people actually ate them!
So you can imagine how I reacted when I saw plenty of good eating-sized periwinkle snails on the beaches and shores of Newfoundland, Canada during low tide. Where else can you find such fresh snails?
Our family is good at foraging, whether we’re picking wild watercress to cook up a garlic watercress stir fry in upstate New York or picking wild blueberries in Alaska. So it’s should come as no surprise that we foraged about a pound of periwinkles!
Of course, the easier way to find these snails is to go to your local Chinese market––if you’re lucky enough to live near a Chinese market that keeps periwinkle snails in a live tank, even better!
I know this recipe is not for everyone, but if you feel adventurous, give this classic Cantonese recipe a try!
Periwinkles in Black Bean Sauce: Recipe Instructions
If you purchased your periwinkles from a live tank at your local Chinese fish market, then all you need to do is give them a quick rinse since they purge and clean themselves in the live tank.
After we gathered our periwinkles, we gave them a good rinse and then stored them in a bowl without any water overnight in the refrigerator. The next day, we soaked them in cold water for 10 minutes, and gave them another good rinse. Pour the periwinkles into a colander to drain.
Heat your carbon steel wok or metal pot over medium heat. Make sure you don’t use a non-stick pot, or you will risk damaging your nonstick coating. The shells on these periwinkle snails are thick and hard!
Add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and 2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger.
Stir the ginger for 10 seconds to infuse the oil, and add 1 tablespoon of chopped garlic, ¼ cup chopped onion, and 1½ tablespoons ground black bean and garlic sauce.
Stir everything together until combined…
And add the periwinkle snails.
Turn the heat up to high, and stir the snails into the sauce for 10 seconds. Add 4 tablespoons of Shaoxing wine. Continue stirring at high heat for another 15 seconds, and add sesame oil, sugar, soy sauce, and dark soy sauce. Stir and cover the pot or wok.
Cook for another 4 to 5 mins, covered, depending upon your stovetop heat. The periwinkle snails and sauce mixture should be steaming when you take off the cover. Add ground white pepper.
Next stir up your cornstarch slurry until it’s well combined. (Remember that cornstarch separates from water after sitting for more than a minute.)
Pour the cornstarch slurry over the periwinkle snails and use your spatula to quickly mix the slurry with the sauce.
Add the scallions, and continue to stir for another 30 seconds. Transfer to a bowl to serve.
These periwinkle snails are great with a nice cold beer!
So, how do you eat periwinkle snails?
Toothpicks.
Some people also use pins or needles but we have always used toothpicks (they’re much safer).
We didn’t have the time, knowledge or skill to crack the ends of the periwinkles snails to make them easy to eat like I described earlier in the post. My understanding is that Chinese restaurants used pliers to crack the end of the snail off before cleaning them so they could be easily slurped right out of the shell after cooking.
The substitute for this lack of skill? Use a toothpick to first pick off the snail’s “trap door” or the “lid,” also known as the operculum). After the snail is exposed, use the toothpick to pluck the snail out of the shell and eat it! If you’re still curious and want more information, you can read more about periwinkle snails on wikipedia.
Cantonese-Style Periwinkle Snails in Black Bean Sauce
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds periwinkle snails
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger (peeled and finely chopped)
- 3 cloves fresh garlic (chopped)
- ¼ cup chopped onion
- 1½ tablespoons ground black bean & garlic sauce
- 4 tablespoons Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
- 1½ teaspoons cornstarch (mixed with 3 tablespoons water)
- 1 scallion (chopped)
Instructions
- If you purchased your periwinkles from a live tank at your local Chinese fish market, then all you need to do is give them a quick rinse since they purge sand in the live tank.
- After we gathered our periwinkles, we gave them a good rinse and then stored them in a bowl without any water overnight in the refrigerator. The next day, we soaked them in cold water for 10 minutes, and gave them another good rinse. Pour the periwinkles into a colander to drain.
- Heat your carbon steel wok or metal pot over medium heat. Make sure you don’t use a non-stick pot, or you will risk damaging your nonstick coating. The shells on these periwinkle snails are thick and hard!
- Add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and 2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger.
- Stir the ginger for 10 seconds to infuse the oil, and add 1 tablespoon of chopped garlic, ¼ cup chopped onion, and 1½ tablespoons ground black bean and garlic sauce.
- Stir everything together until combined, and add the periwinkle snails.
- Turn the heat up to high, and stir the snails into the sauce for 10 seconds. Add 4 tablespoons of Shaoxing wine. Continue stirring at high heat for another 15 seconds, and add sesame oil, sugar, soy sauce, and dark soy sauce. Stir and cover the pot or wok.
- Cook for another 4 to 5 mins, covered, depending upon your stovetop heat. The periwinkle snails and sauce mixture should be steaming when you take off the cover. Add white pepper.
- Next stir up your cornstarch slurry until it’s well combined. (Remember that cornstarch separates from water after sitting for more than a minute.)
- Pour the cornstarch slurry over the periwinkle snails and use your spatula to quickly mix the slurry with the sauce.
- Add the scallions, and continue to stir for another 30 seconds. Transfer to a bowl to serve.
nutrition facts
I found some at our Asian market yesterday and grabbed a bag! I’m excited to try this recipe today and will report back!
oh, cool. hope you got a batch of fresh ones! Let us know what you think :)
This brings back such great memories. I used to have this all the time in Chinatown around 35 years ago. I haven’t seen it served anyplace else since moving from NYC. I never used a toothpick … there’s a certain way to suck it out of the shell that’s hard to explain, but that’s how I was taught to eat them.
Hi Ilene, you’re right, periwinkles have gone out of vogue, but you can still find them in some places. I remember that chefs in the kitchen used to grind the tails off with a grinding stone so diners could easily get them out of the shells
Some of my favorite Chinatown memories involve eating these at Hop Kee on Mott Street, usually late at night – one time on New Year’s Eve at midnight! I might have to try making them as I haven’t seen them on menus out here near Seattle. Or definitely the clams since Manilla clams are really easy to get ahold of!
Hi Jeff, periwinkles were a childhood favorite of mine but manila clams are also very delicious ;-)
Can you replace the periwinkles with clams? I seem to recall a dish that was very similar in many of the Chinatown restaurants on the East Coast.
Hi Bruce, yes you can! We also have a slightly different recipe for clams with black bean sauce here!
Hi Bruce, here is our Cantonese Style Clams with Black Bean Sauce recipe.
It looks SOOOOOOO good!!!
Hi Amily, they were very good – you should definitely give them a try yourself!
I always love to eat the Chinese snail dish. Had no idea they are called periwinkle. Will have to try this recipe one day.
This is Annie Sun, not A
Hi Annie, I bet they have these on the west coast in the 99 ranch stores!
Ah! Good to know! I will keep an eye out for them at our 99 Ranch Market. I recently saw that they had fresh conches, but I didn’t know how to prepare them, so I passed. Do you have a recipe for conches?
Do periwinkles taste like clams? I had escargot in a fancy American restaurant many years ago, and I did not care for them at all. Maybe I was overthinking it as I ate them, saying to myself, “These thing crawl around in my backyard, these things crawl around in my backyard.” Haha, I know they’re not really the same, but I couldn’t help but think that, and I grossed myself out, I guess. Never wanted to try them again after that.
Periwinkles taste distinctly different than clams. I think they are better than escargots which have a mushy texture, don’t really have any strong flavor, and are always soaked in butter.
I loved these as a child in NY Chinatown. I have no idea how you find them in LA but what great memories. Thank you for sharing
Hi Leslie, this periwinkle snail in black bean sauce is definitely a classic. Sounds like we had some similar childhood meals :)
I remember walking at Victoria peak in Hong Kong as a child and smelling these cooking in the giant woks at the bottom of the peak from miles away. My mom would let us stop and order a bunch of these snails. I’ve never had them since childhood after moving away but your post brought back delicious memories!! Thanks for sharing!
Hi C.C. Now that’s a memorable childhood story! Hope you give them a try now :)
You can pick these off the west coast of Vancouver Island. We pick them whenever we are in Ucluelet. We call them isomon in Japanese.
Will needs to try is one out next time I pick them.
Thanks.
Hi Steve, I wasn’t sure if they were as plentiful in the pacific ocean. Thanks for sharing that!
We always have these when we visit our family in Changchun – delicious!
Hi Chip, yes they are tasty!