Krabi Food: Hoi Chak Teen
Krabi Restaurants | Krabi Hoi Chak Teen, something special to eat from Krabi
One of the specialties found in Krabi is the famous Krabi Hoi Chak Teen. The Krabi Hoi Chak Teen is basically a wing shell belonging to the Strombus Canxarium family. This is a shell that resembles a conch, but is only smaller and brown in color.
The Krabi Hoi Chak Teen is delicious to eat
The special characteristic of the Krabi Hoi Chak Teen is its dark brown walking legs, referred to as 'feet' or 'teen' in Thai. You can find lots of Krabi Hoi Chak Teens in the sea surrounding Krabi, and its nearby provinces. The locals love the Krabi Hoi Chak Teen for the taste it exudes in a dish that only Krabi locals cook with expertise.
To prepare this wonderful dish using the Krabi Hoi Chak Teen, the wing shell is cooked in salty water for about half an hour. This water is made spicy by adding some crushed chilies to it. Pretty soon the Krabi Hoi Chak Teen starts moving by pushing its feet out, and while expelling the mud found inside it.
Pull the feet out before eating your Krabi Hoi Chak Teen
You then have to rinse the Krabi Hoi Chak Teen a few times after which you place it in a pot of cold water. This pot of water is then placed on the stove, and while the water starts getting warm you find that Krabi Hoi Chak Teen starts pushing its feet out. Once the Krabi Hoi Chak Teen is cooked, you can serve it.
You have to pull the feet of the Krabi Hoi Chak Teen to pull the mollusk out. You can then eat it by dipping it in a dip of garlic, sugar, chilies, fish sauce and lime juice. On tasting this dish of the Krabi Hoi Chak Teen, you will realize why this is considered to be a very popular savory snack dish in Krabi.
Besides using the Krabi Hoi Chak Teen for cooking, its shells are also made into decorative items that can be used at home or sold as souvenirs to take back home.