The Clerk Who Added Noodles
Legend has it that a clerk at a shop in Liuzhou put rice noodles into a snail vendor's soup, and the pairing caught on.
Told in: Told in Liuzhou; Chinese Wikipedia lists it as one of four competing origin stories.
Rice Noodles · FFET10118
Luosifen (Liuzhou River Snail Rice Noodles)
Liuzhou's luosifen: a broth of snails and pork bones, rice noodles with sour bamboo shoots and peanuts, sour, hot and savory, seldom with snail meat in the bowl.
Mural guide
A white porcelain bowl holds thin flat rice noodles in a glossy red broth, topped with sour bamboo shoots, pieces of tofu skin, black wood-ear, peanuts, greens and scallion.
Strand-shaped foods made of rice, either round strands pressed out or flat ones cut from a steamed rice sheet.
Luosifen is a rice noodle dish of Liuzhou, Guangxi: a sour, hot, savory broth of snails, pork bones and spices, with sour bamboo shoots, peanuts, wood ear, tofu skin and greens on the noodles and chili oil on top; the snails are usually used just for the broth, and the bowl seldom holds snail meat. In 2021 the Liuzhou luosifen craft was listed among the national representative intangible cultural heritage items. No dated text was found: a 1988 Liuzhou business license reportedly names luosifen as the main business, but the license was not seen, and accounts differ on when the dish took shape. Packaged luosifen has been made since 2014, and a March 2026 report puts the industry chain's 2025 sales at over 80 billion yuan.
What
Luosifen is a rice noodle dish of Liuzhou, Guangxi: a sour, hot, savory broth made from river snails simmered with pork bones and spices, with sour bamboo shoots, peanuts, wood ear, tofu skin and greens on the noodles. The snails are usually used just for the broth, and the bowl seldom holds snail meat.1,2,3,9
When
A heritage account traces eating snails and rice noodles in Liuzhou to the Ming and Qing, with the craft taking shape between the late Qing and the early Republic. Other accounts place its formation in the 1950s and 60s and establishment in the early 1980s, or its creation in the 1970s and 80s. A 1988 Liuzhou business license reportedly reads mainly luosifen. These origin accounts differ; the heritage account cites no document, and the license itself was not seen. Packaged luosifen has been made since 2014.1,2,3,4,6
Where
Liuzhou, Guangxi, at street stalls and in shops, later also in Liuzhou's luosifen industrial park, and across China.1,2,3,4,5
How
The broth is made from snails, pork bones, fennel, perilla and other seasonings; sour bamboo shoots are a key topping, and the whole craft has nearly 100 steps. The snail and bone broth is boiled for about 8 hours with 12 or more spices, and the sour bamboo shoots ferment for about half a month, giving them a pungent smell. Hot noodles go into the bowl, then the broth, sour bamboo shoots and other toppings, with chili oil on top.1,9
Why
Liuzhou's mountains and terraced fields, red soil and spring water supply the snails, rice and bamboo shoots; the sour, hot and savory taste comes from fermented bamboo shoots and the snail broth.1,9
Impact and influence
A Bite of China brought luosifen wider attention in 2012. After the 1990s layoffs in Liuzhou's auto sector, many former workers opened luosifen stalls, helping spread the dish. Packaged products have been made since 2014, and the Liuzhou luosifen craft was listed as a national heritage item in 2021. A March 2026 report puts the industry chain's 2025 sales at over 80 billion yuan.1,2,3,4,5,6
The Late-Night Noodle Stall That Ran Out of Bone Broth
Another telling has some travelers reach a Liuzhou noodle stall late at night as it was closing. The bone broth had run out, so the stall keeper cooked their noodles in leftover snail soup and added greens and peanuts.
Told in: Told in Liuzhou; Chinese Wikipedia lists it as one of four competing origin stories.
Sources (1)
Grandma Li
This is a simplified home version, not the traditional restaurant method.
Masters in Liuzhou simmer stone snails with pork bones for many hours. My simpler home way is to make a broth from pork bones and chicken frames, add a bought snail soup sauce, and use bagged sour bamboo shoots. The amounts and timings below are my own choices at home, drawn from two recipes. When I buy the sauce I read the ingredient list, because it contains snails, so anyone allergic to shellfish should take care, and it may hold other allergens too. The chicken frames and pork bones must be simmered until the meat falls from the bone, which is how I know they are cooked through.
Ingredients
- Pork leg bones 500 g
- Chicken frames 1, about 300 g
- Ginger 4 slices
- Star anise 2 pods
- Cassia bark 1 small piece
- Sichuan peppercorns 1/2 teaspoon
- Water about 2 liters
- Snail soup sauce (bought ready-made) about 1 big spoonful per bowl, 1 to 2 in all
- Dried flat rice noodles 200 g
- Bagged sour bamboo shoots 100 g, drained
- Dried tofu skin 20 g, soaked and cut into pieces
- Cooked peanuts 30 g
- Leafy greens 150 g
- Red chili oil to taste; I use about 2 teaspoons
- White vinegar 1 teaspoon, about 5 ml
Steps
- Soak the dried noodles in cold water for at least 4 hours, until soft.
- Put the pork bones and chicken frames in cold water, bring to a boil, cook for a few minutes, skim off the scum, then lift them out and rinse.
- Put the rinsed bones, ginger, star anise, cassia, Sichuan peppercorns and about 2 liters of water in the pot. Bring to a boil, turn to low, cover and simmer. I give it about 2 hours, then lift out a piece of the chicken frame: it is cooked through when the meat falls off the bone.
- Drain the bamboo shoots and stir them in a dry pan with no oil for a few minutes, until the steam clears and the smell is less sharp. Soak and cut the tofu skin, and blanch the greens in boiling water.
- Strain out about 800 ml of the broth, add 1 spoonful of snail soup sauce, bring it to a boil, taste for salt, and add a second spoonful if needed.
- In a separate pot of boiling water, cook the soaked noodles. I give them about 8 minutes and bite one; when there is no hard core, drain them.
- Divide the noodles between two bowls, pour over the boiling broth, add the sour bamboo shoots, tofu skin, peanuts and greens, drizzle over the red chili oil and a little white vinegar, and eat while hot.
Tips
- Sour bamboo shoots smell very strong, so I open a window while I fry them; this is my own habit.
- The sauce is already salty, so I add one spoonful, taste, and then decide whether to add a second; this is my own way.
Allergens: shellfish, peanut, soy