Chinese Sausage

We were at one of the big Asian marts in Denver this past weekend. We usually try to go a couple times a year to stock up on bulk stuff you just can't get anywhere else (like good rice, etc.). Plus, they have a spectacular selection of fresh vegetables you never see either. Anyway, normally when we go I pick up a few packages of the Chinese dried sausages. They last forever (refrigerated and unopened), and they're a great addition to dishes like plain rice, fried rice, soups and stir-fry.

If you've never tried Chinese sausage you're in for an experience. They're definitely different from western sausage. They don't look like it, but they are. They have a very unique flavor which is a cross between sweet, spicy and almost tart.

It had been a while since I'd last gotten any, so for lunch I decided to whip up a batch of Jasmine rice, cooked in a mushroom broth and I added in one sliced Chinese sausage. The sausages aren't very big, but a little goes a long way with these. And, they need to be cooked before eating. So, I just toss one into the rice cooker and it makes for a really nice lunch dish (or dinner if you like). There's a million different ways you can use these things.

One of the things which is unique about these sausages is how different they are from any other kind of sausage most have eaten. The tangy, sweet and almost sour taste to them really adds to any dish. If you ever get a chance to try them, I highly recommend it. Just don't expect a flavor like a traditional sausage, because these things are anything but that.

The recipe here is pretty simple. Just whip up a batch of the rice of your choosing in your rice cooker, cooked how you normally cook it. Slice up one or more of these sausages into about 1/4"-3/8" slices and add it to the cooker so it cooks with the rice. That's it. Then you can figure out all the other dishes you might like these sausages with.

Great dish, and I didn't see any posts here about it, so I thought I'd share.

Love to hear recipes and/or comments from others for these sausages!

ETA - Just a side note; I topped my rice off with a tiny dollop of spicy crab paste for a little zing. The crab paste with the Jasmine rice just adds an extra dimension to all the flavors.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I've never actually tried Chinese sausages before. I only learned recently they actually had them when I got lost in a Wikipedia hole about meat curing one day.

Sounds like there's a few different varieties, and they all sound pretty good. Like you say though, fairly different to European style sausages.

a reply to: dug88

The ones I cooked up today are Xiang chang type (generally pork).

I picked up several different kinds when I was at the big market.

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
We were at one of the big Asian marts in Denver this past weekend. We usually try to go a couple times a year to stock up on bulk stuff you just can't get anywhere else (like good rice, etc.). Plus, they have a spectacular selection of fresh vegetables you never see either. Anyway, normally when we go I pick up a few packages of the Chinese dried sausages. They last forever (refrigerated and unopened), and they're a great addition to dishes like plain rice, fried rice, soups and stir-fry.

If you've never tried Chinese sausage you're in for an experience. They're definitely different from western sausage. They don't look like it, but they are. They have a very unique flavor which is a cross between sweet, spicy and almost tart.

It had been a while since I'd last gotten any, so for lunch I decided to whip up a batch of Jasmine rice, cooked in a mushroom broth and I added in one sliced Chinese sausage. The sausages aren't very big, but a little goes a long way with these. And, they need to be cooked before eating. So, I just toss one into the rice cooker and it makes for a really nice lunch dish (or dinner if you like). There's a million different ways you can use these things.

One of the things which is unique about these sausages is how different they are from any other kind of sausage most have eaten. The tangy, sweet and almost sour taste to them really adds to any dish. If you ever get a chance to try them, I highly recommend it. Just don't expect a flavor like a traditional sausage, because these things are anything but that.

The recipe here is pretty simple. Just whip up a batch of the rice of your choosing in your rice cooker, cooked how you normally cook it. Slice up one or more of these sausages into about 1/4"-3/8" slices and add it to the cooker so it cooks with the rice. That's it. Then you can figure out all the other dishes you might like these sausages with.

Great dish, and I didn't see any posts here about it, so I thought I'd share.

Love to hear recipes and/or comments from others for these sausages!

ETA - Just a side note; I topped my rice off with a tiny dollop of spicy crab paste for a little zing. The crab paste with the Jasmine rice just adds an extra dimension to all the flavors.

Yup, quite a delicacy—pretty much a Chinese comfort food. I had a Chinese friend back in the 70s who used to cook with this stuff all the time. Unlike western sausages, they put some alcohol in the curing mix, which helps give it that unique flavor.

a reply to: 1947boomer

Yep, usually a wine or other kind of spirit. Often a red wine, oddly enough.

Sometimes they will use a Shao Xing, which is a rice wine that they make with some kind of a berry to turn it red. I'm not sure if it's grape skins though.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I was trying to figure out which it would have been that you had, i was thinking either the Lap cheong or the Xiang chang.

I.m going to have to see if I can find some Chinese sausages somewhere now. I definitely want to try them.

a reply to: dug88

They're both actually really good. Yun Chang is really good too. All of them are really.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Not sure that I'm familiar with these sausages specifically, but the slightly tart sour type flavor sounds like it could be sumac.

If you like that flavor you could try some za'atar. I'm not sure how available sumac is in general grocery isles, but you could also look for that.

Sumac grows wild all over. Smooth and staghorn (and their hybrids) both produce the hairs on their fruit that provide the zing. Taste almost like a plum crossed with nectarine, or some variant of stone fruit.

a reply to: Ksihkehe

The sour taste generally comes from tamarind and some other spices. Lots of different spices in these sausages.

I don't think I've seen a lot of sumac in Asian cooking. I'm aware of it as a spice, but I'm not sure I've ever tasted it.

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
a reply to: Ksihkehe

The sour taste generally comes from tamarind and some other spices. Lots of different spices in these sausages.

I don't think I've seen a lot of sumac in Asian cooking. I'm aware of it as a spice, but I'm not sure I've ever tasted it.

I don't know how common tamarind is in traditional Chinese foods.

I don't even know if they use sumac. I expect they do, I think sumac grows almost everywhere and the Chinese aren't ones to leave culinary stones unturned.

ETA: I'm fairly certain central asia uses a fair bit of sumac, should have been more specific. I'm just not super familiar with a lot of traditional Chinese dishes. More of a SE Asia food fan.

a reply to: Ksihkehe

Tamarind is widely used in SE Asia.

This is largely due to the central Asian influence of India and the like. Also, don't forget that the great spice routes came around SE Asia also.

Again, I can't speak for sumac because I'm just not familiar with it and just don't know. I've just never seen it as an ingredient in Chinese sausage. It could be there, I just haven't seen it.

Today, India is the largest producer of tamarind.[15] The consumption of tamarind is widespread due to its central role in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and the Americas, especially Mexico.

Tamarind

As far as the sausage is concerned, I guess I've always viewed much the Chinese sausage we know today as originating in northern SE Asia and southern China.

I have never seen Chinese sausages anywhere in a store. Never even heard of them. I wonder if they had Chinese sausages at one of the chinese buffets I have gone to over the years, if they had something with it in it, I never took any.

I'd say I will have to try it but don't have a clue where I would find them, there are no oriental markets around here at all.