Noodle Journey Episode 36: Hau Huan Luo (Happy Snail) Liuzhou Snail Rice Noodles

To celebrate hitting the 200-subscriber milestone, I’m finally diving into something I’ve been saving for a special occasion: Happy Snail (also labeled Hao Huan Luo) Liuzhou Snail Rice Noodles. This dish is known as luosifen, a regional specialty from Liuzhou, China, made with a fermented snail-based broth, slippery rice noodles, and a huge assortment of intense, funky garnishes. It’s notorious online for its divisive smell and flavor, with some calling it the “world’s stinkiest soup,” but I’ve had snails before and I’m not intimidated.

Read more: Noodle Journey Episode 36: Hau Huan Luo (Happy Snail) Liuzhou Snail Rice Noodles

This massive package runs about $4–5 at Asian grocery stores or online via places like YamiBuy. If you live near a Hung Vuong Asian market, they carry a lot of luosifen and sometimes puts it this sale for as low as $3. But here’s the kicker: this thing contains 6,300mg of sodium in a single serving, which is 270% of your daily limit. That’s the highest of any product I’ve reviewed, so if you’re sensitive to sodium, this is going to need to be a hard pass for you. Otherwise, you’re in for a wild ride.

Inside the pack are seven separate components:

• Rice noodles made with added corn starch for a signature slippery texture
• Concentrated snail soup base, which includes actual snail meat, bean paste, green onion, garlic, ginger, and Chinese spices
• Pickled bamboo shoots, widely blamed for the soup’s reputation as “stinky”
• Pickled cowpeas and radish, adding brine and crunch
• Fried peanuts and Yuba (tofu skin), for nutty richness and textural contrast
• Chili oil for heat
• Vinegar with garlic and salt for acidity

Total prep time is about 12 minutes, and the instructions offer two methods: one with full broth and one using only half the soup packet for a saucy variation. I’m going full soup for this first try.

Noodles:
These rice noodles are thick, chewy, and extremely slippery, almost like they were coated in butter. They don’t clump at all, which is impressive for rice noodles. The texture may not be for everyone, especially if you have food sensory issues, but I personally love them.
• 9/10

Spiciness:
The broth itself isn’t spicy, but once the full chili oil packet goes in, things get serious. My lips and throat were tingling, and my nose was running. It’s not Samyang-level, but it’s close. Thankfully, the spice level is customizable; just use less chili oil if you don’t want or can’t handle something this spicy.
• 7/10

Overall:
Before mixing in any garnishes, I gave the base broth a taste by itself. The flavor reminds me of hoisin sauce mixed with clam or mussel, kind of a sweet, savory, gingery, concoction with Chinese five-spice. There’s no real heat in the broth alone, and I personally think the funk is massively overhyped at this stage. Once everything was added in, this turned out to be one of the most complex bowls I’ve ever had. The snail broth is rich, sweet, and funky in the best way, almost clammy in its flavor, and a little earthy with just the right amount of five-spice. The vinegar cuts the richness with sharp acidity, and the garnishes all contribute something: the peanuts and Yuba add crunch, the bamboo shoots and cowpeas bring salt and sourness, and the chili oil ties it all together with heat and depth. Even the “infamous” bamboo shoots are just mildly pungent, and I found nothing even remotely off-putting to me. I wouldn’t eat this every day due to the salt and intensity, but it’s an outstanding, unforgettable bowl.
• 9.5/10

This is absolutely worth keeping around as an occasional treat. Because each packet is separate, you can customize it however you like or skip ingredients that don’t appeal to you. If you’re adventurous and open to trying something new, don’t let the internet horror stories scare you off. This tastes amazing. I’ll definitely be seeking out more luosifen products in the future.

Notes since filming: I fully admit that I only reviewed these as a subscriber milestone gimmick, but holy shit do I love luosifen after tasting it here for the first time. I try to limit it to only a few times a year because it is astoundingly bad for you nutritionally, but it is so damn tasty. If you are at all adventurous with food, I urge you to give this or any other luosifen you might find a try.