luosifen

Luosifen () is a Chinese noodle soup and specialty of Liuzhou, Guangxi. The dish consists of rice noodles boiled and served in a soup. The stock that forms the soup is made by stewing river snails and pork bones for several hours with black cardamom, fennel seed, dried tangerine peel, cassia bark, cloves, white pepper, bay leaf, licorice root, sand ginger, and star anise. It usually does not contain snail meat, but it is instead served with pickled bamboo shoot, pickled green beans, shredded wood ear, fu zhu, fresh green vegetables, peanuts, and chili oil added to the soup. Many often recognize this noodle dish as something stinky. This dish is full of umami and attracts many not just in China but also outside of China to visit just for this dish. Diners can also add chili, green onions, white vinegar, and green peppers to suit their taste.

Luosifen is known for its strong smell, which comes from pickled bamboo shoots. The dish is served in small "hole-in-the-wall" restaurants, as well as luxury hotel restaurants. In the late 2010s, many luosifen restaurants have opened in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, as well as in other countries such as the US. Instant noodle versions are also popular, with 2.5 million packets produced daily in 2019.