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Luosifen
螺蛳粉 (luósīfěn) — Liuzhou rice noodles in a pungent river-snail and pork broth with sour bamboo shoots
Liuzhou, an industrial city in Guangxi, turned its late-night snail noodle stalls into a national obsession, and the smell alone makes luosifen famous: sour fermented bamboo shoots give it a funky, love-it-or-hate-it aroma that fills the kitchen. The broth itself is rich and savoury from pork bones and river snails, red with chilli oil, and the bowl is piled with crunchy fried tofu skin, peanuts, pickled beans, greens and slippery rice noodles. Taste-wise it is hot, sour and deeply savoury all at once. It is a meal in a bowl, best eaten with the window open and a cold drink. Chef's tip: use only snails sold ready-cooked and cleaned, frozen or canned, never wild-gathered ones, and still boil them in the broth for at least 15 minutes; if you can't find them, dried shrimp make a good snail-free broth.
- Total time
- 120 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the broth
For the toppings
Method
0/10 doneStep 1: Put 2 ¼ lb pork bones or pork ribs in a large pan of cold water, bring to the boil and boil for 5 minutes. Drain, rinse off the scum and wash the pan.
10 minStep 2: Rinse 10 ½ oz cooked river snails (frozen or canned) well under cold water. Heat 3 tbsp neutral oil in the clean pan over a medium heat and fry ⅔ oz fresh ginger, 4 cloves garlic and 5 perilla (shiso) leaves for 1 minute, then add the snails and stir-fry for 3 minutes to drive off any muddy smell.
4 minStep 3: Add the bones, 2 star anise, 1 cinnamon stick or cassia bark, 1 tsp fennel seeds, 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp white peppercorns and 2.5 litres water. Bring to the boil, then simmer, partly covered, for 90 minutes, until reduced by about a third and rich. The snails get far more than the 15 minutes of boiling they need for safety.
90 minStep 4: While the broth simmers, soak 14 oz dried thick rice noodles (luosifen type) in cold water for at least 1 hour, or as the packet directs. Thick luosifen noodles need a long soak; under-soaked ones stay hard in the middle.
60 minStep 5: Heat 1 ¼ cups neutral oil, for frying in a wok to 350°F. Fry 1 ¾ oz dried tofu skin sticks straight from dry, a handful at a time, for 20–30 seconds, until puffed, blistered and golden. Drain on kitchen paper.
4 minStep 6: Fry 2 ⅞ oz raw peanuts in the same oil over a low-medium heat for 3–4 minutes, until golden; they crisp further as they cool. Drain.
4 minStep 7: Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the oil and stir-fry 5 ½ oz sour fermented bamboo shoots over a medium heat for 4–5 minutes, until dry and very fragrant (open the window). Add 3 ½ oz pickled long beans and toss for 1 minute.
6 minStep 8: Strain the broth, discarding the bones and spices (keep the snail meat in the broth if you like) and season with 1 ½ tsp salt. Stir in 4 tbsp chilli oil and keep it simmering.
2 minStep 9: Cook the noodles in boiling water for 6–10 minutes, until soft right through, adding 7 oz choi sum or pak choi and ⅓ oz wood ear mushrooms for the last minute. Drain.
10 minStep 10: Divide the noodles and greens among 4 large bowls, ladle the boiling broth over, then pile on the bamboo shoots and pickles, peanuts and fried tofu skin. Eat at once, before the tofu skin softens.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 720 kcal
- Protein
- 30 g
- Carbs
- 88 g
- Fat
- 28 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does luosifen take?
- About 120 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 100 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- What can I use instead of fresh ginger?
- ¼ tsp ground ginger per tbsp fresh (add it with the spices).
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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