Snail Rice Noodles (Luosifen)

Luosifen is the signature noodle of Liuzhou in Guangxi, a city that produced one of the more surprising Chinese food-culture exports of the 2010s. The dish's international profile owes as much to its distinctive smell as to its flavour: the pickled bamboo shoots (suan sun) that form the backbone of the broth give it a sour-fermented aroma that is immediately recognisable in any corridor where luosifen is being cooked.

The broth is made by simmering river snails with pork bones, herbs and the fermented bamboo shoots for several hours; the snails contribute mineral depth while the bamboo shoots provide the acid and the dominant nose. The round rice noodles (similar to rice vermicelli but firmer) are a Guangxi staple and absorb the broth readily.

The topping is elaborate for a noodle dish: fried tofu skin (youzhi), pickled long beans, wood-ear mushroom, dried turnip, fresh peanuts, chilli oil, garlic vinegar, coriander and spring onion are all standard. The result is textural — each topping contributes a different crunch or chew — and the overall effect is sour, spicy, rich and aromatic.

The instant-noodle version of luosifen, developed from the mid-2010s, became one of China's most-searched food items internationally and is widely exported. The instant version is an adequate reference point, but the Liuzhou restaurant version is substantially more complex. Luosifen-specialist shops have opened in most major Chinese cities.