Chinese sausage is a popular ingredient in many dishes in the southern Chinese provinces of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Sichuan and Hunan, as well as in Hong Kong and Southeast Asian countries. It takes on its red color due to the curing process in which it is marinated, salted and smoked. Some Chinese sausages are made from pork or duck liver which gives it a reddish brown color. The chemicals used to cure sausages are sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate.
These preservatives take on a red color in Chinese sausages. Reddened ingredients are essential for healing and controlling pests. It is common knowledge that meat deteriorates in a short time. Preservatives are used to keep pests away and preserve them for a long time.
The shape and color define the variety. Thin, dark sausages are probably made with pork or duck liver. The dull red ones with bright white spots are probably made with pork and pork fat. Germans add herbs and spices with alcohol to many sausages, Italians add red wine to salami, Russians often add brandy or cognac to their sausages. Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is also added by Chinese people to meat and sausages for flavor enhancement. It's always advisable to use fresh food whenever possible, but this doesn't mean that Chinese sausages aren't safe to use after a few weeks or months.
This brief fermentation will produce a negligible amount of acidity and the sausage will not develop any noticeable sour taste. Simply put, Chinese sausages taste differently to meet the demands of a local Chinese customer and their unique flavor may be unusual for customers who have never tried them before. Fry the cabbage with two Chinese sausages, cut into slices, and soy sauce to taste in hot oil until the cabbage has wilted and the sausage is well cooked. Chinese sausage is part of the rich Chinese culture that continues to thrive even today. It is an ingredient in quite a few dishes in the southern Chinese provinces of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Sichuan and Hunan, as well as in Hong Kong and Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia and Singapore. In the Philippines, Chinese sausage is an ingredient in some Chinese-Philippine dishes, such as siopao bola-bola. Taiwan also produces a similar form of sausage; however, they are rarely dried in the manner of Cantonese sausages. Chinese sausage is an important part of many dishes around the world.
Its red color comes from its curing process as well as its ingredients such as pork or duck liver, sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate preservatives, herbs and spices with alcohol, red wine for salami, brandy or cognac for Russian sausages, monosodium glutamate (MSG) for flavor enhancement. It's always advisable to use fresh food whenever possible; however, Chinese sausages can still be safely consumed after a few weeks or months if properly stored.
