Woah! Do you know what this food is? 🤔 It is one of the exotic foods in our province. It is called “takyong”, and in English, it is known as a forest snail because it is commonly found in forests, on trees, leaves, and wood. Sometimes, it is also called “korakol”or “taklong”.
Takyong is considered a delicious exotic food and is easy to find in the forest, especially on trees. You can easily gather it if you are hardworking and willing to walk around the area. It is not hard to find if you are observant enough.
There are many takyong to hunt during the rainy season. Most of them are found at the base of trees, on tree trunks, and sometimes on the leaves of shrubs.
Some people are confused about the difference between the snails found on rocks or soil and the forest snail, since both are called snails in English. I was confused too. However, in our province, snails found on rocks or on the ground are not eaten. There is a belief that eating those snails can cause poisoning. That is why we do not try them, although in other provinces, they believe those snails are edible.
The forest snail, on the other hand, is very delicious—haha! It is one of my favorites no matter how it is cooked. Forest snails also have many believed health benefits. Since they feed on leaves, my ancestors say that the broth or juice from takyong is good for cough and asthma. I am not sure if this is scientifically proven, but they have long used it as traditional medicine.