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.

Other herbs and spices can be boiled for the broth, including black cardamom, fennel seeds, dried tangerine peel, cassia barks, salt, pepper, bay leaves, licorice roots, sand ginger, and star anise.

Fried dried bean curd sticks, pickled bamboo shoots, black fungus, lettuce, peanuts, and preserved cowpeas can be added for flavor.

At restaurants and food stalls, customers can order their noodles with pork, beef, chicken, shrimp, or other meat and seafood.

Many restaurants use tomatoes, leafy greens, diced chicken, chili oil, and chestnuts to enhance and balance the flavor.

Some use sesame oil, red chili, jalapeños, tofu, cumin, and other spices to bring out the pungent flavor of the noodles and broth.

The ingredients of river snail noodles are sour bamboo shoots, yuba, fungus, peanuts, and dried radishes.

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.

[3] 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.

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.

Most variations stay true to the base, while adding different toppings and proteins, including preserved vegetables, soy products, egg, pork knuckles, and duck feet.

Luosifen noodles are also becoming popular worldwide through Chinese online store Taobao, which is one of the world's top-10 most visited websites.

Luosifen noodles can also be found in other Asian countries, for example in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where Guangxi-originating immigrants own Liuzhou cuisine restaurants.