Chinese sausage

Chinese sausage is a generic term referring to the many different types of sausages originating in China. The southern flavor of Chinese sausage is commonly known by its Cantonese name lap cheong (or lap chong) (simplified Chinese: 腊肠; traditional Chinese: 臘腸; pinyin: làcháng; Jyutping: laap6 coeng2; Cantonese Yale: laahp chéung).

Dried Chinese sausages
Dried Chinese sausages
Alternative nameslap cheong, lap chong
TypeSausage
Place of originChina
Main ingredientsfresh pork or liver
Chinese sausage
preserved sausage
Traditional Chinese臘腸
Simplified Chinese腊肠
Literal meaningpreserved sausage
liver sausage
Traditional Chinese膶腸
Simplified Chinese膶肠
Literal meaningliver sausage
Vietnamese name
Vietnameselạp xưởng
Thai name
Thaiกุนเชียง [kūn t͡ɕʰīa̯ŋ]
RTGSkun chiang

Varieties

There is a choice of fatty or lean sausages. There are different kinds ranging from those made using fresh pork to those made using pig livers, duck livers and even turkey livers. Usually a sausage made with liver will be darker in color than one made without liver. Recently, there have even been countries producing chicken Chinese sausages. Traditionally they are classified into two main types. It is sometimes rolled and steamed in dim sum.

Chinese sausages drying

Regional
Short Cantonese dried sausages

Northern
Smoked sausages from Harbin

In northeast China, especially Heilongjiang's largest city Harbin, Hongchang (simplified Chinese: 红肠; traditional Chinese: 紅腸; pinyin: hóng cháng), a popular regional specialty, is smoked savory red sausage, similar to Lithuanian and German sausages and mild Russian sausages with more "European" flavours than other Chinese sausages. It was first manufactured in March 1909 by Lithuanian staff in a Russian-capitalized factory named Churin Sausage Factory, located in Harbin's Daoli District.[2] Harbin-style sausage subsequently became popular in China, especially in northern regions.[3] A sweeter dried version similar to southern Chinese sausages is also produced.

Southern

Chinese sausage is used as an ingredient in quite a number of dishes in the southern Chinese provinces of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Sichuan, and Hunan, and also Hong Kong. Sichuan sausage also contains red chili powder, Sichuan pepper powder, and Pixian bean sauce, to characterise the sausage with a special flavour. Two common examples of such dishes include fried rice and lo mai gai (糯米雞). The traditional unpackaged forms are usually found in street markets or wet markets.

Taiwan

Taiwan also produces a similar form of sausage; however, they are rarely dried in the manner of Cantonese sausages. The fat and meat may be emulsified, and a larger amount of sugar may be used, yielding a sweeter taste. These sausages are usually produced by local butchers and sold at markets or made at home. This variant of Chinese sausage is known as xiangchang (香腸) in Mandarin Chinese, literally meaning fragrant sausage.

Vietnam

In Vietnamese, Chinese sausage is called lạp xưởng or lạp xường. It has been incorporated into a variety of dishes from simple omelets to more complex main courses. Due to the salty taste of the sausages, they are used in moderation with other ingredients to balance the flavor. The sausages are made from pork (lạp xưởng heo) or chicken (lạp xưởng gà), the latter of which yields a leaner taste.

Myanmar

In Burmese, the sausage is called either kyet u gyaung (chicken sausage; ကြက်အူချောင်း) or wet u gyaung (pork sausage; ဝက်အူချောင်း). The sausages made in Myanmar are more meaty and compact compared to those in Singapore or China. They are usually used in fried rice and along with fried vegetables, mostly cabbage.

Philippines
Chinese sausage chow pao with egg from Chowking in the Philippines[4]

In the Philippines, Chinese sausage is an ingredient in some Chinese-Filipino dishes like siopao bola-bola. It is sometimes confused with and used in place of the native sausage Chorizo de Macao (which is also sometimes known as "Chinese chorizo"). The latter is not derived from the Chinese sausage, but derives its name from the use of star anise, which is associated with Chinese cuisine in the Philippines.

Singapore

Singapore produces innovative Chinese sausages that are healthier than the traditional variety. Examples include low-fat, low-sodium, and high-fibre Chinese sausages.[5][6]

Thailand
Yam kun chiang, a Thai salad made with la chang

In Thai, Chinese sausage is called kun chiang (Thai: กุนเชียง) after its name in the Teochew dialect (kwan chiang in Teochew), the dominant Chinese language within the Thai Chinese community. It is used in several Chinese dishes by the sizeable Thai Chinese community, and also in some Thai dishes such as yam kun chiang, a Thai salad made with this sausage. There is also Chinese sausage made with snakehead fish (pla chon; Thai: ปลาช่อน).

Suriname

In Suriname, Chinese sausage is referred to by a Hakka Chinese word rendered as fatjong, fachong[7] [8] fa-chong, fashong, or fasjong in colloquial spelling. It is part of the dish moksi meti tyawmin (mixed meat chow mein).

Other regions

Chinese sausages are generally available in Asian supermarkets outside Asia, mostly in a vacuum-packaged form, although some Chinese groceries sell the unpackaged varieties as well. These tend to be made locally; for example, many of the Chinese sausages sold in Canada are produced by a number of manufacturers based in Vancouver and Toronto. Lap cheong is also a very popular sausage in Hawaii due to large numbers of Chinese in Hawaii who have incorporated it into local cuisine.

See also

References
  1. CNN Go 40 Hong Kong foods we can't live without Archived 2012-11-05 at the Wayback Machine 13 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-09
  2. 胡英男 (29 September 2011). "Bǎinián hā'ěrbīn hóng cháng fāzhǎn shǐ" 百年哈尔滨红肠发展史 [Development History of Harbin Red Sausage]. www.my399.com. 哈尔滨新闻网. Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  3. "31 dishes: A guide to China's regional specialties". CNN Travel. Archived from the original on 25 February 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  5. Low Fat Sausages - Singapore Polytechnic Archived 2016-04-01 at the Wayback Machine.
  6. Shitake Sausages - Singapore Polytechnic Archived 2016-04-02 at the Wayback Machine.
  7. Man A Hing, William (1992). "Eigen verenigingen en integratie" [Own associations and integration]. In Van Binnendijk, Chandra; Faber, Paul (eds.). Sranan. Cultuur in Suriname [Sranan. Culture in Suriname] (PDF) (in Dutch). Paramaribo: Vaco N.V., Uitgeversmaatschappij. p. 77. ISBN 99914-0-049-4. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 8, 2018. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  8. Grijpma, Paul (November 30, 1981). "Bont feest van Surinamers" [Colourful festival of Surinamese]. Het Parool (in Dutch). Amsterdam. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
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