tomatoes, leafy greens, diced chicken, chili oil, and chestnuts to enhance and balance the flavor. Others make it spicy by adding more peppers or chili. Some use sesame oil, red chili, jalapeños, tofu, cumin, and other spices to bring out the pungent flavor of the noodles and broth. Prepackaged instant luosifen noodles are prepared like instant ramen. The consumer boils water and adds the prepared sauce or other vegetables that comes with the package. Ingredients The ingredients of river snail noodles are sour bamboo shoots, yuba, fungus, peanuts, and dried radishes. Some noodle stalls have sauerkraut, head vegetables, and shallots. Green vegetables are also an important ingredient for river snail noodles. Side dishes include duck feet, tofu, sausage, and marinated eggs. In the summer, stalls sell water spinach and Chinese cabbage, and, in winter, they sell lettuce, Yau Ma vegetables, mushrooms, cauliflower, and pea seedlings. Luosifen is nicknamed a "bioweapon" by some due to its fecal-like odor, while enthusiasts believe that the scent gives the soul to the soup. Chemically, the scent comes from the fermentative pickling process of the sour bamboo shoots, which converts the amino acids cysteine and tryptophan to hydrogen sulfide and skatole respectively. Many locations and instant food manufacturers provide the option to exclude this topping. Preparation The dish is based on rice noodles and various ingredients including fermented bamboo shoots, Guda ears (a particular type of lignicolous mushrooms), fried peanuts, tofu, huanghuacai, fresh salad, and river snails, accompanied by sour-spicy seasonings. Luosifen soup also contains pork bones with spices, which are stewed for about two hours. The main ingredient of the soup is dried Liuzhou rice noodles. Unlike others, Liuzhou rice noodles are produced only with aged rice that has already lost its fat and gelatin component; this is why they are cooked al dente. They are immersed in cold water before they are added to the soup. Location Luosifen noodles are a combination of Han, Miao, and Dong cuisine. From the Guangxi Zhuang region in South China, they are exported to other parts of China, the US, and Canada. When the noodles are exported to the US, they are sold in ready-to-cook packages. Luosifen is popular in Guangxi Zhuang due to the region's ethnic diversity. Liuzhou is known for luosifen noodles. In Vietnam, a variation of luosifen – Bún ốc – is served. Originating in Hanoi, Bún ốc is a snail-based noodle dish usually