It’s rare for an unusually smelly dish to become a national favorite, which is exactly 【小题1】 has happened with Luosifen or river snail rice noodles, now one of the 【小题2】 (hot) food trends in China.

Luoshifen, known for its infamous smell, is 【小题3】 iconic soup dish originated in Liuzhou, a city in China’s north-central Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. It features rice noodle soaked in a spicy soup flavored by river snails and 【小题4】 (top) with locally grown ingredients including bamboo shoots, string beans, peanuts and tofu skin. While some say the scent should be classed as a bioweapon, those 【小题5】 favor it say they can never forget the magical taste. Despite 【小题6】 (have) the word “snail” in its Chinese name, it is actually a 【小题7】 (combine) of river snails and rice noodles, where snails don’t commonly appear in the dish, but are used to flavor the soup.

Thanks to the efforts of people and government officials in Guangxi. Luoshifen 【小题8】 (list) as national intangible cultural heritage, as well as getting UNESCO recognition since 2021. In the past, it would have been hard for non-locals to share locals’ enthusiasm for this strange regional dish — or even to try it. But luosifen’s magic has【小题9】 (unexpected) spilled beyond its birthplace and overtaken the entire country, owing to a DIY packaged form — which many describe 【小题10】 the “luxury version of instant noodles” — usually comes with eight or more ingredients in vacuum-sealed packets

Low-Hanging Fruit

If you are the first person to arrive at an apple tree during harvest time, you can easily find some low-hanging fruit. These are the apples that 【小题1】 (be) on the branches closest to the ground. Low-hanging fruit describes the most obvious or 【小题2】 (easy) things to do to help you reach a goal. Anyone or anything 【小题3】 can be won over or gained very easily is low-hanging fruit. Here is an example: “Changing the company logo is low-hanging fruit. It won’t cost much, and I can do it in an hour.”

I walk into Prince’s Hot Chicken, and order hot fried chicken legs. “Oh, enjoy it,” says the hostess. Her reply is a commonly 【小题1】 (hear) Southern expression.

My chicken arrives and is too hot 【小题2】 (touch), but I don’t care about it. As I take a bite, the taste hits my mouth. It’s 【小题3】 (horrible) spicy. There’s sweetness before the heat hits. The taste is surprisingly amazing, as the spices dance inside my mouth. Although I’m sweating (出汗), I can’t stop 【小题4】 (eat).

How does a dish so challengingly hot become well-received? Like so many Southern foods, fried chicken has a long history. Hot chicken first appeared in the 1930s, when a man 【小题5】 is named James Thornton Prince 【小题6】 (begin) serving it at his BBQ Chicken Shack.

After a few years, 【小题7】 restaurant moved close to the Ryman Auditorium, where it became popular 【小题8】 the city’s country music stars. In the following years, Prince relocated his restaurant several times around the city, eventually changing 【小题9】 (it) name to Prince’s Hot Chicken in 1980, when André Prince Jeffries, his great-niece (侄女), took over.

These days, you’ll find hot chicken all over the city. I feel at home with the 【小题10】 (taste) food as it is a symbol of the city’s culture.