Rice Noodle Making Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
The craft of making luosifen took basic shape in the late Qing and the early Republican period; through continuous improvement it gradually matured, and it spread widely among privately run restaurants and eateries in Liuzhou.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The craft of making Liuzhou luosifen is the technique of simmering a broth with stone snails (commonly called "luosi", snails) as the main ingredient, blanching "dry-pressed noodles" (ganzhafen) in it and adding garnishes to make a rice food; it is widely distributed through the towns and villages of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and reaches out to the whole country. Liuzhou lies in north-central Guangxi and was historically known as "Longcheng" (Dragon City). The craft of making Liuzhou luosifen arose, developed and has been transmitted to the present thanks to favourable timing and terrain. Liuzhou luosifen takes its name from the snail broth and has a flavour that is sour, hot, fresh, refreshing and scalding; attention is paid to the choice of ingredients and to the control of heat, and to the control of details. Stone snails are best about the size of a thumb, with plump, sweet flesh, and can be eaten once the weather turns warm in early spring; for the rice noodles, rice from the previous year is blended with freshly oiled glutinous rice and ground with mountain spring water into a slurry, which both preserves the nutrients and gives toughness and a smooth bite; for the sour bamboo shoots, tender fresh spring shoots are chosen and soaked in mountain spring water for 72 days of natural fermentation, giving a tender, sour, refreshing taste with a character of its own. The processing of luosifen involves nearly a hundred process steps, and the snail broth is the essence of them; stir-frying the snails is the key to making the broth and determines its fresh savour. After the snails have been blanched they are dry-fried in an iron wok to bring out their flavour, then stir-fried over a fierce fire with a dozen or more spices that have already been heated in oil so that the snails take in the foreground aromas; water is added to cover the snails and the liquid is reduced over a gentle fire so that they take in the background aromas and the savour of the snails becomes more intense. Water is added again and the broth is simmered together with pork leg bone and seasonings such as fennel and perilla until the essence comes out; finally chilli oil is poured into the broth base and it is finished over a gentle fire into the snail broth, which is fresh, hot and scalding and has a sweet aftertaste. The people of Liuzhou have a long history of eating and processing snails, bamboo shoots and rice noodles. In the handling of ingredients and the mixing of proportions for Liuzhou luosifen, almost every household has its own secret formula that it does not pass on.
Archival Records of Process Steps
The processing of luosifen involves nearly a hundred process steps, and the snail broth is the essence of them; stir-frying the snails is the key to making the broth and determines its fresh savour.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The area is mountainous with many terraced fields, and the fertile red soil nourishes high-quality rice; because it is damp and rainy with many underground springs, it abounds in stone snails that "feed on stone and make their home in springs", whose flesh is plump and sweet and rich in trace elements; the hot, humid climate and the fine water quality favour the growth of bamboo shoots, and the sour bamboo shoots fermented in mountain spring water are more tender and refreshing; this unique and superior natural environment has also nurtured raw materials such as wood ear fungus and bean-curd skin and aromatics such as perilla. Since the Ming and Qing dynasties the local people have ingeniously combined snails and rice noodles, the two great Liuzhou foods, into a distinctive local speciality. The craft of making Liuzhou luosifen carries the local people's collective memory in matters of taste perception and the handling of ingredients; it is a vehicle for exploring the local culture and the spiritual outlook of the people, and it has become a regional calling card and a bond of cultural connection.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Rice Noodle Making Craftsmanship · Rice Noodle Making Craftsmanship.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
In modern times the craft has been transmitted through families and through master-apprentice relationships, and more and more shops producing and selling luosifen have appeared in the trade, gradually giving rise to trade organizations such as the Liuzhou Luosifen Association; the community of transmitters has accordingly continued to grow. The diffusion and transmission of this craft has outstanding value in driving the development of related industries and in providing employment, and it has contributed to the sustainable development of the local economy.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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