Pungent snail noodles from south China now enjoyed around the world
Luosifen, or river snail rice noodles, a pungent and tasty street food from Liuzhou in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, has become a global food phenomenon and a multi-billion yuan money spinner for manufacturers of the distinctive dish.
Luosifen features rice vermicelli soaked in a spicy broth flavored with river snails and topped with ingredients such as pickled bamboo shoots, string beans, peanuts and fried tofu skin.
The delicacy has taken China by storm and has also wowed foodies around the world, with adverts appearing on giant screens in New York City's Times Square during the recent Spring Festival.
In the last 10 years, manufacturers of packaged luosifen have sold a staggering 60 billion yuan (about 8.9 billion U.S. dollars) of the noodles.
Restaurants that sell river snail rice noodles can be found in almost every alley of Liuzhou, and tourists from other parts of the country or from overseas flock here to taste the delicacy in its traditional setting.
"I am from Nanning and arrived in Liuzhou yesterday. I have come here only to eat a bowl of river snail rice noodles. Afterwards, I will return home," said a tourist from a nearby city.
"I eat them almost every day. I have waited for more than 30 minutes, but I think the delicious food is worth the time," said a resident.
In Liuzhou, the eating of river snails has a long history dating back more than 20,000 years, but people only started to combine them with rice noodles in the 1950s
In May 2012, Liuzhou luosifen became a household name in China thanks to the documentary series "A Bite of China".
"In the last few years the luosifen industry has become a new signature for Liuzhou. The industrial chain around the humble snack is estimated at around 60 billion yuan, comprising of 130 entities and 20 ingredient bases. To ensure food safety, we have adopted 600 standards and there have been no safety issues during the last decade," said Lu Shichang, director of the River Snail Rice Noodle Industry Development Center.
The large-scale production of luosifen is an example of how the smooth integration of primary, secondary and tertiary industries can not only boost industrial activity but also spur rural vitalization.
Suppliers and producers of luosifen employ more than 300,000 people, and have lifted an estimated 28,000 people out of poverty.
"We started building our brand in 2015. For the whole year of 2022, our online and offline channels either take up half of our sales. We saw orders rising before the Spring Festival period, a continuation of the trend in the last few years. I think it indicates that our Liuzhou Luosifen is becoming a new type of Spring Festival essential for customers," said Wang Hongxing, General Manager of Guangxi Shanyuan Food company.
Today luosifen is not only a prized delicacy in the domestic market, but is now exported to more than 40 countries and regions.
"Luosifen exports increased by 68 percent on a yearly basis last year, while demand in the ASEAN region continued to grow steadily. We also applied for an experimental zone for cross-border e-commerce, and cooperated with platforms like Lazada, and Shopee to help make connections for our companies," said Lu.
With the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) driving trade, and inbound and outbound travel policies easing, the humble river snail rice noodle industry has set its sights on over 90-billion-yuan in sales by 2025.