Chinese sausages are many different types of with ties to China, the Sinosphere or the Chinese diaspora.
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.
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Lap cheong (Cantonese, or l=preserved sausage) is a dried, hard sausage usually made from pork and pork fat. It is normally smoked, sweetened, and seasoned with rose water, rice wine and soy sauce.
[CNN Go 40 Hong Kong foods we can't live without 13 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-09]
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Yun chang (links=no) is made using duck liver.
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Xiang chang (links=no) is a fresh and plump sausage consisting of coarsely chopped pieces of pork and un-rendered pork fat. The sausage is rather sweet in taste.
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Nuomi chang (links=no) is a white-colored sausage consisting of glutinous rice and flavoring stuffed into a casing and then steamed or boiled until cooked. The nuomi chang of some Chinese cultures have blood as a binding agent similar to Korean sundae.
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Xue chang (links=no) are Chinese sausages that have blood sausage.
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Bairouxue chang (links=no) is a type of sausage popular in northeast China that includes chopped meat in the blood mixture.
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Guan chang (links=no) is a long, red sausage made of fresh meat.
Regional
Lap cheong
Lap cheong, or Chinese sausage, is a type of cured meat product commonly found in southern regions of China such as
Jiangsu,
Zhejiang,
Sichuan, and
Guangdong.
[广式腊肠的历史起源_加工 Origin and Processing of Cantonese Lap Cheong. *www.sohu.com*. March 27, 2019.]
The southern flavor of Chinese sausage is commonly known by its Cantonese name ' (or ', links=no). Chinese sausage is used as an ingredient in a number of dishes in the southern Chinese provinces of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Sichuan, and Hunan, and also Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Sichuan sausage
Sichuan sausage contains and is flavored by red chili powder, Sichuan pepper powder, and Pixian bean sauce. Two common examples of such dishes include
fried rice and
lo mai gai. The traditional unpackaged forms are usually found in
or
.
Harbin-style sausage
In
northeast China, especially
Heilongjiang's largest city
Harbin,
Harbin-style sausage (links=no), a popular regional specialty, is a coarsely ground, smoked savory red sausage similar to Polish "country"
kielbasa and Lithuanian
skilandis. It was first manufactured in March 1909 by
Lithuanians staff in a Russian-capitalized factory named
Qiulin Group, located in Harbin's Daoli District. An alternative name is
lidaosi (links=no),
from Russian колбаса литовская (kolbasa litovskaya, "Lithuanian sausage").
Harbin-style sausage subsequently became popular in China, especially in northern regions.
A sweeter dried version similar to southern Chinese sausages is also produced.
Production
Traditional Chinese sausage is made by stuffing seasoned
pork into natural casings made from animal intestines, then air-drying it naturally. However, in modern factory production, artificial casings are often used, and hot-air drying is employed to enhance production efficiency.
[天然肠衣和胶原蛋白肠衣哪些事儿 All About Natural Casings and Collagen Casings – 重庆市市场监督管理局.Chongqing Municipal Administration for Market Regulation. *scjgj.cq.gov.cn*. January 27, 2025.] Lap cheong can be eaten on its own and is also widely used as an ingredient in various Cantonese dishes.
[腊肠. Lap Cheong. *www.28228.cn*. September 21, 2021.]
Chinese sausage is believed to have originated during the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties, or even earlier. Its earliest documented method appears in the *Qimin Yaoshu*, an agricultural text from the Northern Wei period.
The main ingredients for Chinese sausage are pork and Sausage casing.[手切腊肠尝真味 Hand-Cut Chinese Sausage for Authentic Flavor ( archived copy, stored at the Internet Archive), *Apple Daily*, December 13, 2013.] First, the pork is finely chopped and mixed according to the desired ratio of fat to lean meat. Salt, sugar, rice wine, soy sauce, and other Seasoning are added. The seasoned meat is then stuffed into casings, compressed, and segmented using string into desired lengths. One end is tied off, while the other end is fitted with a string for hanging. The sausages are then Dehydration using either natural air drying or hot-air drying, allowing for long-term preservation.
Uses
Compared to other types of preserved meats, Chinese sausage retains its pork fat better due to the casing that encases the meat mixture. In Guangdong and Hong Kong, Chinese sausage is a key ingredient in making
lap mei fan (claypot rice with preserved meats). Whole sausages are placed on top of uncooked
rice and steamed together. Once cooked, the rich, flavorful oils from the Chinese sausage infuse the rice, giving it a distinctive aroma and taste.
[广式腊肠煲仔饭 Cantonese Chinese Sausage Claypot Rice. 广东省人民政府门户网站 Guangdong Provincial Government Portal. www.gd.gov.cn. April.]
Chinese sausage buns ( lap cheong bao) are steamed buns made with whole sausages inside.[Ho, Christine. 迷你臘腸卷【美心特約食譜】 Steamed Chinese Sausage Rolls.[Maxim’s Sponsored Recipe] 简易食谱 - 基丝汀: 中西各式家常菜谱. Easy Recipes – Christine's Recipes: Easy-to-Follow Chinese & Western Home Cooking.] Sliced Chinese sausage can also be stir-fried with vegetables or mixed into other dishes. It is a common ingredient in a variety of Cantonese foods, including stir-fried glutinous rice, lo mai gai (sticky rice in lotus leaf), and turnip cake.[臘味：香港的冬季滋味. Preserved Meats: Hong Kong’s Winter Delicacies. MICHELIN Guide]
Health concerns
Because Chinese sausage is a processed food made from pork, it is often difficult for consumers to determine whether the source of the ingredients and the production methods meet hygiene standards. In the past, some producers were exposed for using pigs of unknown cause of death as raw material. Others added inedible
Dye or excessive
Preservative to make the sausages appear more visually appealing to consumers.
On September 14, 2006, Hong Kong’s Food and Environmental Hygiene Department released Chemistry and Microorganism test results for seasonal festive foods. One sample of "Fengcheng Sliced Pork Sausage" produced in Macau was found to contain rhodamine B, a banned dye also known colloquially as “flower red powder.” This substance can cause chest discomfort, vomiting, and damage to the central nervous system.[含“若丹明B” 恶心呕吐 奇华腊肠致癌回收 Contains "Rhodamine B" — Nausea and Vomiting; Kee Wah Chinese Sausages Recalled Due to Carcinogenic Risk ( archived copy, stored at the Internet Archive). The Sun, January 15, 2006.]
In January 2013, a business in Zhejiang was exposed for using pigs of unknown cause of death to produce Chinese sausage. A total of 7,500 kilograms of the resulting “toxic sausage” was distributed to various nearby provinces and cities. The responsible party was sentenced on August 23 of that year.[黑心老板用病死猪肉制售7500多斤“毒腊肠” Corrupt Businessman Used Meat from Diseased Pigs to Produce Over 7,500 Jin of “Toxic Chinese Sausage” ( archived copy, stored at the Internet Archive). Tencent News, August 23, 2014.]
In other countries
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.
Tung lamaow (
Cham language: ꨓꨭꩂ ꨤꨟꨯꨱꨥ
tung lamaow) is a similar sausage made from beef by the
Chams (who are
Muslim) in southern Vietnam. The province of Sóc Trăng is the largest producer of these sausages, with other production areas including Cái Lậy District. In local cuisine, dried pork sausage is commonly used as a filling in dumplings, pillow cakes (
bánh gối), wontons, spring rolls (
bánh tráng cuốn), mooncakes, and sticky rice dumplings (
bánh chưng or
bánh tét).
Myanmar
In
Burmese language, 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
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.
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
and sold at markets or made at home. This variant of Chinese sausage is known as
xiangchang () in Mandarin Chinese, literally meaning fragrant sausage.
Singapore
Singapore produces innovative Chinese sausages that could be considered healthier than the traditional variety. Examples include low-fat, low-sodium, and high-fibre Chinese sausages.
[ Low Fat Sausages - Singapore Polytechnic .][ Shitake Sausages - Singapore Polytechnic .]
Thailand
In
Thai language, Chinese sausage is called
kun chiang () after its name in the
Teochew Min (贯肠, kwan chiang), 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 cuisine such as
yam kun chiang, a
Thai salad made with this sausage. There is also Chinese sausage made with snakehead fish (
pla chon; ).
Suriname
In
Suriname, Chinese sausage is referred to by a
Hakka Chinese word (花肠, fa1 cong3, 'motled sausage') rendered as
fatjong,
fachong,
,
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 domestically due to prohibitions on import of meat products from overseas.
For example, many of the Chinese sausages sold in
Canada are produced by a number of manufacturers based in
Vancouver and
Toronto.
is also a very popular sausage in Hawaii due to large numbers of Chinese in Hawaii who have incorporated it into local cuisine.
== Images ==
See also
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Curing (food preservation)
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Ham sausage – a mass-produced sausage in China
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List of dried foods
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List of sausages
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List of sausage dishes
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List of smoked foods
