Kaihua Freshwater Snails

Kaihua Freshwater Snails

　　Kaihua Freshwater Snails, also known as clear-water snails, are a traditional Han Chinese delicacy from Kaihua County, Zhejiang Province. Unlike common snails, they have long, slender black shells with grayish-green flesh inside. These snails live in the clean, fast-moving waters of streams originating from the Qianjiangyuan area in Kaihua. Due to the minimal mud and high cleanliness of their habitat, locals call them "clear-water snails."

　　Kaihua Freshwater Snails are a traditional aquatic product in China. Known for their tender, delicious taste, unique flavor, and rich nutrition, they are often praised as the "pearl of the plate." These snails have very high requirements for water quality and are generally not suitable for artificial farming. However, one aquatics enthusiast in China has successfully bred them artificially; these cultured snails are used in aquariums to help control algae.

　　The most delicious Kaihua Freshwater Snails come from the small, clear streams in Qixi Town at the source of the Qiantang River. The better the water quality where they grow, the larger the snails, the darker their shells, and the greener their intestines—making them even tastier. Outside of Kaihua, it's rare to find these snails in rivers because they have very specific needs: clean, fast-moving water that isn’t too deep or polluted. Without such conditions, you won’t find “clear-water snails,” which also taste distinctly different from the rounder river snails.

　　It’s said that Kaihua Freshwater Snails can be enjoyed year-round, and they’re sold almost daily in local markets. In winter, villagers use wooden rafts and special tools to fish for them in the river, or wear waterproof suits to search shallow streams—though the snails tend to hide during this season, resulting in lower yields. By summer, however, it’s common to see groups of villagers bending over in the streams, baskets, buckets, or plastic bags in hand, carefully searching for snails. Kids living near the river often gather some while swimming, and their parents just need to trim the snails, rinse them, and toss them into a pot. Then, they add ginger, scallions, garlic, perilla leaves, chili, and other seasonings, pour in water, splash in a bit of rice wine, and in just five minutes...

　　Water temperature, water quality, and the surrounding environment greatly affect the snails. Generally, they prefer hiding under rocks or near mountain cliffs in streams. When the sun is strong, they stay beneath rocks or in crevices. But by evening, they all crawl up onto the rocks. In summer, during the hottest part of the day, if you throw a bunch of willow branches into the shallow parts of a stream, by evening you’ll find the branches covered with snails. Aside from Kaihua, many rivers in Changshan also have them, especially several tributaries upstream of Furong Reservoir.

　　Snails can be cooked in various ways—stir-fried plainly, sautéed with sauce, or braised with scallion oil. What makes the Kaihua style special is the addition of perilla leaves. Not only does perilla help remove the muddy smell, but it also balances the naturally cooling properties of the snails.