Although the 螺蛳 (luó sī) in the previous post are the most common in Liuzhou, they are not the most common across China. That duty falls upon 石螺 (shí luó), Sinotaia quadrata. The Chinese name means ‘stone snails’’, presumably because they resemble stones (?) I have found no common name in English but that’s not surprising as they are native to East and SE Asia, although they have been introduced in a couple of non-English speaking countries as invasive species.
"Stone Snails"
They are found all over China and although they are eaten by humans, most go to aquaculture to feed farmed fish and crabs.
They are popular in Isan ‘(Thai: อีสาน) areas of north-eastern Thailand. I once had a wonderful curried snail dish in Udon Thani (Thai: อุดรธานี) which used them. Very popular here in Guangxi is this dish of stone snails with roast tilapia, usually served to groups of beer drinkers (including one depraved Scottish man).
There is a whole roasted tilapia under the sauce and toppings
Then we have 田螺 (tián luó), Pond snails, Lymnaeidae. As the name implies these live in ponds and rivers but the Chinese name means ‘field sails’ as they also like to hang out in rice fields / paddies, where they eat things which prey on the seedlings. They can also appear in the tilapia dish above.
