Chinese sausage is a type of sausage that originated in China and is generally a sweetened, salted and smoked version of dried pork. It may contain ingredients such as soy sauce, rice wine and rose water.
Chinese sausage
is tasty on its own, although it's a tasty addition to stir fries and other Chinese dishes. Chinese dry sausages are not smoked, they are only dried.On the other hand, in northern European countries, such as Germany, Poland, Russia and Lithuania, almost all dry and fermented sausages are smoked. Approximately 6 inches long, Chinese sausage is darker and thinner than Western sausages. The most common variety is made with pork and pork fat, but you'll also find other varieties made with duck liver or even beef. Manufacturers are also starting to offer varieties reduced in fat and sodium; however, in the West, it is currently easier to find standard pork sausages.
Chinese sausage complements rice and vegetable dishes very well. The easiest way to cook sausage is to add it to steamed rice. The term, in fact, is generic and covers a wide range of sausages, both fresh and smoked, and extends to sausages from Vietnam and Thailand. Chinese sausages are generally available in Asian supermarkets outside of Asia, mostly vacuum-packed, although some Chinese supermarkets also sell the varieties unpackaged.
Soy sauce and sugar compensate for any sour taste that might have developed if the sausage had dried slowly. Food colorants are added to meat products such as ribs or ducks; however, their use in sausages is not widespread. A new sausage called Harbin Red, Kazakh Red or LI Dao Si has become immensely popular first in Harbin, then in other parts of China and in neighboring countries. Once you open the package and have taken the amount of sausages you need for a plate, wrap the remaining sausages tightly in plastic wrap and store them in the freezer.
Black pudding made in Poland differs from a sausage made in England, France or Spain because it includes a different combination of ingredients; however, it contains blood and is still a sausage. The driest of the group is so firm that soaking the links in water is the best way to highlight the flavors and textures of the sausage. The main difference between Chinese sausage and regular sausage lies in their ingredients and production methods. Chinese sausages are generally sweetened with sugar or honey, salted with soy sauce or saltpeter, smoked with star anise or other spices, and then dried for preservation.
On the other hand, regular sausages are usually made with pork or beef meat mixed with spices such as pepper or nutmeg. They are then stuffed into casings before being cooked or smoked for preservation. It's best to ask the retailer to explain the differences between the sausages on display so you can get exactly what you want. Lap Cheong is made from pork; however, you can find sausages made from pork and chicken or even from other meats.
This is not done to improve the flavor of the sausage but to reduce production costs.