Liuzhou Luosifen

[liuzhou]

For reasons only known to their avaricious fevered imaginations, the local authorities have, in their wisdom, erected a statue to luosifen out side the main railway station. A bowl of the aforementioned.

 

Of course, it looks nothing like the real thing.

 

 

Edited November 23, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

According to the Meituan food app I use, there are 319 luosifen shops offering delivery to my home within 30 minutes. Not all such places offer delivery, so how many shops sell it remains a mystery, at least to me.

 

This only includes those selling the traditional rice noodles in snail soup variety. There are 284 others offering such delights as fried luosifen, which is the same ingredients and flavours as a dry noodle dish. Some offer luosi jiaozi or luosi wontons. Then there are the luosifens with chicken feet, with duck feet, with pig foot, with crayfish, with fish balls (surimi) , etc, etc. The list goes on.

 

One of the rarest is luosifen with snails! (They are used to make the broth but then discarded).

 

They are all mad!

 

[Alex]

I just ran across this article in the Washington Post, from nearly three years ago, about a restaurant in the DC area that specializes in luosifen. The chef-owner is a native of Liuzhou.

 

And here's the restaurant, Yanzi Noodle, now in a new location in Fairfax, Virginia, also near DC.

[donk79]

4 hours ago, Alex said:

I just ran across this article in the Washington Post, from nearly three years ago, about a restaurant in the DC area that specializes in luosifen. The chef-owner is a native of Liuzhou.

 

And here's the restaurant, Yanzi Noodle, now in a new location in Fairfax, Virginia, also near DC.

I'm very curious to hear your thoughts,  Liuzhou.  I will be within striking distance this weekend,  and am tempted to give this place a try!

[liuzhou]

2 hours ago, donk79 said:

I'm very curious to hear your thoughts,  Liuzhou.  I will be within striking distance this weekend,  and am tempted to give this place a try!

 

I have no thoughts on luosifen shops in the USA. I've never been. I have concerns about how they obtain certain ingredients or whether they are using substitutes. I'd love to hear your impressions should you fall into luosifen temptation.

[donk79]

I made it out to Yanzi Noodle for lunch today.  It was a bit more than a hole-in-the-wall, but only a bit.  The hostess was quite excited by the food she was serving, and repeatedly claimed that they were one of only two lousifen restaraunts in the United States.  She talked plenty about the "special broth" but played down the snail side of things.  The only mention I heard was when another customer asked.

 

She advised getting the milder version of the dish, as it was "tastier."  I took her advice, and found no need to resort to the jars of spicy sauce (hot oil?) on the table.

 

I heeded Lizhou's admonition and did not seek snails in my bowl.  I did give in to the temptation to have shrimp added.  Honestly, though, the shrimp did not add much to the dish.  They definitely were an "add on."

 

The broth was nicely savory, with an opening hit of what I believe was star anise, followed by pepper heat.  The lettuce was a bit unexpected (it will be hard to persuade me that it was cabbage, and not Romaine!) but was very enjoyable.  The peanuts were quite enjoyable also, along with what I suspect was wood ear mushroom (the dark noodley looking bits on the right side fo the bowl.  I have a harder time identifying the almost crunchy looking pieces at the top of the bowl, but I wonder if they might have been fried tofu skin.  By the time I ate them, there was no crunch present.

 

One of my favorite parts of the dish was the fermented bamboo.  Almost pickle-like, it was a nice contrast to the rich heat of the rest of the dish.  I had a couple of bites, and expected to find more, but unfortunately did not.  The waitress/hostess talked up the "special vinegar" in the pot on the table, and I found that also provided some nice contrast after sprinkling a bit on top of the broth.  I wonder if the "special vinegar" might have been the liquid from the fermented bamboo.  It had lots of unidentifiable white bits floating around the bottom of the pot.

 

I probably won't drive 30 minutes to have this again, but if it were 10 minutes away, I would probably become a regular.  It was a nice meal, served by people enthusiastic about the food they were offering.  If you happen to be in Northern Virginia, I would certainly recommend stopping in to give it a try!

 

Edited January 21 by donk79 (log)

[donk79]

On 1/16/2024 at 2:52 PM, Alex said:

I just ran across this article in the Washington Post, from nearly three years ago, about a restaurant in the DC area that specializes in luosifen. The chef-owner is a native of Liuzhou.

 

And here's the restaurant, Yanzi Noodle, now in a new location in Fairfax, Virginia, also near DC.

I wish I had read the article closer before visiting.  Keenan, whose picture is in the article, was indeed the host, and I suspect this may still primarily be a one person operation.  Amazing!

[liuzhou]

Thanks for the report.

 

I'd be surprised if there are only two in America, though. I know for sure there is one in Seattle in the other Washington. Did your server say where the second one she had in mind is?

 

Lettuce is not unusual in Chinese noodle dishes. There was some in my breakfast noodles this morning (not luosifen).

 

The dark ingredient will be woodear as you guessed.

 

The crunchy stuff is 腐竹 (fǔ zhú)*, rolled, dried tofu skin, always found on luosifen.

 

The fermented bamboo is what gives luosifen its notorious scent. Essential! But, yes, it absorbs the broth rapidly and loses the crunch.

 

I'm less sure about the 'special vinegar. The bamboo is simply fermented in a basic brine using ambient yeasts to do the work. I wouldn't call the liquid 'vinegar' myself but maybe that's what it was.

 

Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed the experience. Now you'll have to come here to compare with the real thing on its native soil. Head northwest from Hong Kong.

 

* Fu zhu is the Mandarin name. Also, known as yuba, the Japanese name.

 

 

[donk79]

1 hour ago, liuzhou said:

 

 

I'd be surprised if there are only two in America, though. I know for sure there is one in Seattle in the other Washington. Did your server say where the second one she had in mind is?

 

 

 

She talked about a two-table in New York.  She also talked a fair bit about the Washington Post article from three years ago.  So yeah, talking it up a bit to those who have already decided to come.  But on reflection further, I do expect to visit again in the future.  Probably not soon (I am in NOVA maybe 6 times a year), but some time in the next year or two.   Certainly if I am in the area looking for lunch!

[KennethT]

I passed this place by today. One day I might try it but I don't know how close it would be....

 

[liuzhou]

7 hours ago, KennethT said:

I passed this place by today. One day I might try it but I don't know how close it would be....

 

 

Is that shrimp in the picture? Unheard of!

 

The overall colour seems a bit strange, too. It's usually less brown and more red from chillies. That could be bad printing, suppose.

[KennethT]

2 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

Is that shrimp in the picture? Unheard of!

 

The overall colour seems a bit strange, too. It's usually less brown and more red from chillies. That could be bad printing, suppose.

I'm not racing to try it... the restaurant bills itself as "Asian Fusion"... I think they saw a pack of luosifen instant noodles and said, "hey, we can make that!".

 

This is the restaurant:

https://ricebirdnyc.com/

[liuzhou]

7 minutes ago, KennethT said:

I'm not racing to try it... the restaurant bills itself as "Asian Fusion"... I think they saw a pack of luosifen instant noodles and said, "hey, we can make that!".

 

This is the restaurant:

https://ricebirdnyc.com/

 

Bizarre. They say they're Cantonese (Luosifen sure isn't Cantonese) then the only non-English language on the website is Japanese!

 

They seem more interested in Instagram than their food. 

 

I can't even open the menu (which they don't even hold on their own website)!

 

Doesn't quite inspire confidence!

 

 

[liuzhou]

I give up. 

 

Some cretin has decided not only to make Luosifen sausages, but also turn those into Luosifen sausage rolls with 'juice'. 

 

These screen grabs are from Chinese antisocial media. 

 

 

 

The ad assures me they are chilli hot and smelly!

 

I'll take their word for it. The Luosifen moon cakes were bad enough.

 

 

[liuzhou]

In the never-ending attempt by the local authorities to turn the city into a luosifen theme park, more and more luosifen shops continue to open. Some even stay open more than a few weeks. 

 

However, standing out from the crowd isn't easy. Increasingly bizarre gimmicks are the order of the day.

 

One of the recent openings is this place near my new home. The name of the place is 乾跃螺蛳粉, the first two characters of which are essentially meaningless. The next three are luosifen.

 

For some inexplicable reason, they have themed their restaurant on shop signs. Random shop signs. The one to the left of the door even says 'shop signs'. Inside, the walls are littered with irrelevant signs. 

 

 

They are promoting the place with videos on China's version of TikTok showing signs and the food. I haven't been but I'm told the luosifen is good. I hope that's a good sign.

 

 

[Katie Meadow]

@liuzhou  I know the snails for the broth are river snails, but is there more than one species used? Are the snails farmed? If the soup is so popular now how do they regulate the harvest? Or do they? Just curious.

[liuzhou]

57 minutes ago, Katie Meadow said:

@liuzhou  I know the snails for the broth are river snails, but is there more than one species used? Are the snails farmed? If the soup is so popular now how do they regulate the harvest? Or do they? Just curious.

 

Only one species of snails is used,Viviparaidae.  These are gathered wild from the local river, the 柳江 or Liujiang, literally, Willow River.  It's a major river in southern China  and the snails breed prolifically. I've never heard of any concerns about harvesting them. I'm not aware of any snail farming.

 

 

Some of the prepackaged varieties don't even use snails, instead opting for beef and/or artificial flavours. A pox on them, as Mercutio doesn't say. The prepackaged ones are a pale imitation of the real thing though.

 

Luosifen

 

[liuzhou]

It's the end of civilisation.  

 

I've just discovered the creeping pestilence of veganism has reached out and defiled the greatness that is 螺蛳粉 (luó sī fěn)! Is nothing sacred? Are they insane? 

 

 

 

 

[liuzhou]

The bustards thought they could get them by me. Lays have redesigned their luosifen chip/crisp packaging. Fortunately, I'm alert to such malpractice and am able to warn you not to accidentally buy these.

 

 

Disgusting and still nothing like luosifen. It's the recipe that needs changing; not the packaging. In fact the recipe and the whole concept need destroying.

 

 

 

Edited May 4 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

About a week ago, Liuzhou Government held a meeting and officialy declared that they are finally doing something I've been telling them to do for 25 years!

 

They decided that from now on the only permitted offical English translation of 螺蛳粉 as used on restaurant signs and the packaging of the inferior 'instant' type is to be "Liuzhou Luosifen'.

 

This will replace some of the ridiculous translations I see such as "Liuzhou River Snail Luosi Rice Noodles" or "Liuzhou Screw Powder" or worse.

 

For some reason, they conceded that well-known Chinese dishes in western countries often use at least parts of the Chinese name: mapo tofu, kungpo chicken, egg foo-yung etc. It also helped when I reminded them that they shouldn't bow to the imperialist, capitalist running dogs and take some pride in their own language - they like that sort of rhetoric.

 

Now I'm going to work on them changing "Grandma's Fragrant Fluttering Bones". I'll post the results in another 25 years.

 

 

Edited May 14 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

After decades of search. I believe I have finally identified the Latin name of the species of snail used in Luosifen - Margarya melanioides. This appears to answer what I have often asked and been asked. They are endemic to freshwater lakes and rivers in the Yunnan-Gui plain, 'gui' being an abbreviation for Guangxi, derived from Guilin, the capital of the province in the Qing dynast and off and on again until 1949 when the capital was moved to Nanning.

 

Most English websites list these as endangered, but those studies are only looking at the snails in two lakes in Yunnan to our east: 滇池 (diān chí), Dianchi Lake near Kunming, Yunnan’s capital and 洱海 (ěr hǎi), Erhai Lake near Dali city to the east. Some studies indicate these are threatened due to chemical fertiliser seepage from the tea plantations in both areas.

 

Liuzhou snails come from the local river and are not mentioned in any endangered list I can find. I shall continue to investigate further.

 

Image - zhiimg.cn

[liuzhou]

The desecration continues apace. I came across these on my food delivery app today. No! I didn't order them! I wouldn't want them to think it's a good idea.

 

Luosifen Bao Buns. Yes. Take a bowl of noodles and shove the contents inside a steamed bun, but first dye said bun lurid red using food dye. I'm struggling to think of anything worse!

 

 

 

Edited July 18 by liuzhou (log)

[Kerry Beal]

16 hours ago, liuzhou said:

The desecration continues apace. I came across these on my food delivery app today. No! I didn't order them! I wouldn't want them to think it's a good idea.

 

Luosifen Bao Buns. Yes. Take a bowl of noodles and shove the contents inside a steamed bun, but first dye said bun lurid red using food dye. I'm struggling to think of anything worse!

 

 

 

You could put corn in them if you wanted something worse!

[liuzhou]

9 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

You could put XXXX in them if you wanted something worse!

 

[liuzhou]

For the first time that I'm aware of, a specific dish has been named at the Olympics*. When the swimming events were over in Paris, China's women's team member Zhang Yufei (one silver and five bronzes in Paris, plus two previous golds and twosilver in Japan in 2021) was interviewed and said "All I want to do now is eat Liuzhou Luosifen!"

 

Zhang Yufei - olympics.com

 

* No doubt someone will correct me if I'm unaware of previous dishes.

 

Edited August 6 by liuzhou (log)