Rice noodles with snails (螺蛳粉/Luosifen)

Luosifen, or rice noodles with snails, is a signature dish of Guangxi, combining traditional food materials of the Han people with the Miao and the Dong ethnic groups. [Photo/IC]

Snail noodles are made from river snails and pork bones, which are stewed for hours with black cardamom, fennel seed, dried tangerine peel, cassia bark, cloves, white pepper, bay leaf, licorice root, sand ginger, and star anise. In Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, luosifen is usually sold from roadside stands or in night markets. When served in luxury hotel restaurants in Liuzhou, snails may be included in the dish. In recent years, several luosifen restaurants have been established in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and even overseas.

Listed as an intangible cultural heritage for Guangxi in 2008, the dish was featured in the hit foodie-travel show A Bite of China in 2012.