River snails rice noodles

River snails rice noodles
螺蛳粉

A sudden hit on the snack market in recent years, river snails rice noodles from Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region are winning more and more advocates, even while being cursed for their "destructive" flavors. To find out the key to this dish's huge success, we first need to discuss two beguiling questions.

1. Q: Why are river snails absent from this snack?
A: They are cleaned and boiled to make the broth base and then they are discarded. That’s the reason people can taste the fragrance of the river snails when sipping the soup.

2. Q: How does it give off such an odor while it really seems like nothing special?
A: The reason is the sour bamboo shoots, an indispensable ingredient and the soul of these noodles.

To make authentic river snails rice noodles, you need to pickle quality sour bamboo shoots. The ideal time to acquire them is spring. Peel off their shells and cut them into pieces, then pickle them with salt and water in a jar for around one month. You can use them when a sour smell starts coming out.

The orthodox recipe involves multiple ingredients. Besides boiling the noodles and adding the river snail soup and sour bamboo shoots, the addition of pickled cabbages, peanuts, dried turnips, mushrooms and many other flavors also contribute to this featured snack that combines freshness, smoothness, sourness, spiciness and stinkiness in one perfect union.

Or, for convenience, we highly recommend you either try the packaged ones or go to the emerging themed restaurants to gorge yourself!