Wuyou Drunken Mud Snails 伍佑醉螺
Wuyou Drunken Mud Snails is featured among the local specialties of Jiangsu.
Wuyou Drunken Mud Snails (伍佑醉螺) are mud snails (泥螺) from Wuyou town (伍佑镇) in Yancheng (盐城), Jiangsu, cured in brine and then steeped in sugar and wine.
How it is made
Salted mud snails were already being made in the Ming dynasty. The drunken version came later: generations of pickling masters at the Hechengchang (合成昌) sauce and pickle works in Wuyou worked on the process until they arrived at a method in which the snails are first cured in brine and then steeped in sugar and wine. The Yancheng city government credits this method with making the snails famous.
Flavour and texture
Wuyou Drunken Mud Snails are known for a strong wine aroma, a balance of salt and sweet, a crisp bite and tender flesh. The Yancheng culture and tourism bureau singles out the drop of milky, oily protein inside each snail and calls the snails the "soft gold" of the Yellow Sea tidal flats. It presents them as something to eat with a meal or with drinks, and as a gift.
Where it comes from
The products section of the Continued Yancheng County Gazetteer (续修盐城县志) names Wuyou's drunken snails, drunken crabs and shrimp oil among the goods known near and far. In 2011 the Hechengchang drunken snail making technique (合成昌醉螺制作技艺) was entered on the Jiangsu provincial intangible cultural heritage list.
Questions before you order
Why are they called drunken snails?
After curing in brine, the snails are steeped in sugar and wine, and a strong wine aroma is the first quality the Yancheng city government lists for them.
Sources & reading
Written from the linked sources and fact-checked against them on 2026-09-25. Recipes and servings vary between kitchens.