BALITONG

Balitong, one of the most recognise seafood in Penang island but few dares to consume it. 9 out of 10 people i know in Penang dont know how to eat balitong because well, might be the image of balitong looks weird and their sucking is not good but its not them to blame, as 9 out of 10 places serves ugly sucky tasting balitong, with the shell still attach together.

A life-crawling balitong ~

Balitong is a Chinese Hokkien words in Penang for "Cerithidea obtusa", also known as "Obtuse hornsnail". It belongs to the family of sea snail. Now balitong are conical snails that live in the mud flats and can be found along mangrove swamps. They have to be cleaned throughly to get rid of the mud. Preferably soaked overnight in clean salt water then the conical tips to clipped off. 

I love balitong a lot since I was a teenager. I remember i would went to the harbour in Penang call Esplanade with my buddy on her Honda C70. We would ordered a large plate of balitong and sucked our way through. It taste quite similar to the French cuisine of escargot but only of course, French people makes the presentation more appetite and better looking where else our balitong, comes as it is, with the original look, a bit gross but the flavour is something one cannot encountered elsewhere, plus it is so much cheaper and yummier then escargot !

I would suck it and the juicy meat will shoot into my mouth. The meat is very chewy and the gravy goes perfectly with it. Personal experience, it is not advisable to use the abdomen to create the suckling pressure, because not only the balitong meat will shoot into the throat and choke the hell out of it, the gravy itself will goes flying into the nostrils. True story, been there done it, not a very good sight.

The trick is to peel off the round bit of shell that the snail uses to cover the entrance first. Then suck the balitong using the cheeks and tongue to create the air, suck it from the conical tip first, then turn around to suck on the other end where the meat is hiding. It may sound very troublesome but it is the fun part and totally worth it once you get to chew on the meat.

I havent had Balitong for YEARS ! And damn I miss it a lot !!

(A post dedicated to my buddy Hippo, who took me to Esplanade for Balitong on her Cupchai).