This is to follow up my last post on Turnip Cake with Chinese Sausages, where I received a message from Patty of zomppa.com asking me to describe the Chinese sausage. So motivated to provide Patty with an organized piece of information, I am going to put up here a separate post on Chinese sausages, containing both my interpretations and some good quotes from the web.
I like the way Wikipedia describes Chinese sausage, ‘it is a generic term referring to the many different types of sausages originating in China and is commonly known by its Cantonese name ‘Lap Cheong’ (臘腸)’. Very often, however, I also see them being labeled as ‘Chinese Preserved Sausage’ or simply ‘Preserved Sausage’ in English.
As Wiki also suggested, there is a choice of fatty or skimmed sausages. In general, the skimmer the sausage is, the higher is its price. Despite of the type, they are hard, look wrinkled, and taste slightly sweet and salty, measuring about 1.5 centimeters in diameter but varying in length from few centimeters to 15 centimeters or so.
It is also correct to say that there are different kinds of Chinese sausage ranging from those made using fresh pork to those made using pig livers or duck livers. But do take note that they are different in colors. The ones in dark red is the pork sausage usually referred as the ‘Lap Cheong’; those in brownish black on the other hand are the liver sausages and they are called ‘Yun Cheong’ (膶腸) in Cantonese.
The sausages are available in pre-packaged and naked. When not in package, they are hanging in pairs with strings for display.
Pork sausage and liver sausage have been produced by wind-dried, but such kind is less found today as this weather-dependent process is increasingly replaced by machines for mass production.
Pork sausage is commonly used in
– Fried Rice (炒飯),
– Turnip Cake (蘿蔔糕) and,
liver sausage in
– Glutinous Rice in Lotus Leaf Wrap (糯米雞),
– Clay Pot Rice (煲仔飯) – often comes with pork sausage as well
Preparing
Rinse sausage before use. If it is directly from the fridge, you may want to briefly rinse them in hot water to soften it before chopping or slicing.
Storing
Wrap and store sausage inside fridge (coolest spot preferred) for up to 6 months or according to the expiry date on package. Do not wet it before use.
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All my years of using this, I never thought to rinse in hot water to make the chopping easier. A great tip!
Thanks for this! I just purchased some dried sausage at one of our local Asian markets and was perplexed by the huge selection. The sausage I ended up buying is quite sweet (almost like the filling of a BBQ pork bun), and while I will use it, I’ll have to try another brand.
I was inspired by a recent meal at my aunt’s favorite Malaysian restaurant where they serve a wonderful Chicken & Chinese Sausage Claypot. It seems more Chinese to me than Malaysian, but its so yummy I don’t care! Do you have any good claypot recipes you’d like to share? Thanks!
I love Lap Cheong! It’s a recently acquired taste for me because I don’t used to like it as a child. Now I must have them in my lo mai kai =D
I love lap cheong with soft scrambled eggs with a splash of soy sauce/sesame oil at the end…
i love love love chinese sausage!! talk about comfort food for the asian soul. LOL. i love it in fried rice.
I prefer the fresh Chinese sausage verses the packaged ones because they are a lot fresher and less oily. The packaged ones, which are air-tight packaged, are much more oily probably to keep the sausage from becoming too during its shelf-life in supermarkets. In San Francisco, there is only a few stores in Chinatown that makes the best sausages and they sell out pretty fast.
I did put a lot of Chinese sausage in my fried rice over New Year’s (regular New Year mind you)….and I thought they had a bit too strong a taste…..Maybe I need to rinse and soften them before using!
Lovely post. It must have been many years since I last ate Chinese sausages. My Chinese friends here (from China) make their own sausages! Too much work…I give up 😛
It’s quite beautiful. Its sad when we lose these artisan things to be replaced machines that crank out htings in mass quantities.
I would love to try these. You really know how to capture the essence of your subjects.
I love Lapchiong! I love to add this to my chinese fried rice too! 🙂
Great information. I love them with egg (omelette)
Growing up in Jamaica, we ate Fah Cheong from air-tight plastic packages.
Living in Miami, I later came across the liver version which is of a much harder texture when eating. The simplest way for serving was to steam the Fah Cheong on the top of rice. This would plump up the sausage and infuse the rice with the oils from the sausage.which would then be sliced and served with a bottled picked onions, ginger, carrots and some other ‘stuff’. My preference is the pork over the liver version.
My father used to make Laap Chrong, and i helped to cut meat and Fat; How i miss the home made sun dried suasages ;-(
This is incredible! Thanks so much for offering up so much detailed information. Very helpful, indeed! The descriptions of the different sausages are making me very hungry and I just ate my lunch! Thank you again!
Wow – I never knew there was so much involved in the humble sausage!
I am trying to gather fifty sausage recipes from around the blog – to put together a recipe book eventually – and I’d love to post one of yours on my blog. If you would like to donate one (full credit to you will be given) please drop one in the comments box of my blog.
Thank you.
anyone tried Home made “WINE” Chinese sausages (臘腸, lap cheong) For those love to eat them, MUST TRY~ its TASTY!
i like Chinese sausage, but i not like to eat the hard skin, how to take the skin off?
@zamara,
Excuse me, I don’t take the skin off, what I usually do is to soften it with hot water.