How to Clean & Boil Sea Snails (Korean Sora)
A clean way to prepare sea snails by boiling them with soju to remove any fishy smell. Pull out the cooked meat and enjoy it dipped in chojang (spicy vinegar sauce) or sesame oil with salt.
Ingredients
Main
- Sea snail (turban shell)As needed
- Soju (Korean distilled liquor)5 tbsp
Directions
- 1
Scrub the sea snail shells clean with a brush or a disposable scouring pad to remove any debris, then rinse.
- 2
Put the cleaned sea snails in a pot, pour in enough water to cover them, then add 5 tablespoons of soju.
- 3
Once the water comes to a boil, simmer for about 15 minutes. If boiled too long, the innards and body can separate and break apart.
- 4
Twist the meat out of the shell with chopsticks, then peel off the operculum (the hard cap) attached to the snail.
- 5
Separate the body from the innards. Cut the body in half and remove the toxic salivary gland. You can also press it out with your fingers instead of cutting it in half.
- 6
Cleanly separate just the meat. Set aside the innards and the bits of meat attached to them; chopped up and cooked into porridge, they make a tasty dish.
- 7
Cut into bite-sized pieces and enjoy dipped in chojang (spicy vinegar sauce) or sesame oil with salt.
Tips
Boiling with soju reduces the sea snail's characteristic fishy smell. Be sure to remove the toxic salivary gland at the end of the body, and don't boil too long so the innards come out whole without breaking off.