What is Lap Cheong?
If you visit any decent-sized Chinese grocery, you'll find an impressive array of Chinese sausages, known commonly by its Cantonese name lap cheong (simplified Chinese : 腊肠 ; 臘腸 traditional Chinese). The term, in fact, is generic and covers a broad range of Chinese sausages, both fresh and smoked, and extends to sausages from Northern and Southern China. What unifies all kinds of Chinese sausages is an extremely sweet flavor and an emulsified texture that makes even the fresher links taste like meat candy.
Choosing Quality Chinese Sausages
The Best place to get started is to visit your local Chinese Grocery. You can ask what lap cheong they stock, the ingredients, and fat content. In Singapore's local wet markets near Bugis, there are a lot of sellers and distributors selling several varieties of chinese sausages. The best types of lap cheong are the ones with a rich-red color with a crispy casing. If they are too dark or too light coloured and have a sour odour or bland smell, don't buy it. You may have to engage in some trial and error to find the seller that has the flavor that works for you.
One of Singapore's best selling and authentic Hong Kong style Chinese sausage is "Double Happiness" ('Jing Mei' 精美腊肠). Currently, it's only sold at Teck Sang, located in Hong Kong Street (Singapore), or online at their store. Prior to the pandemic, Singaporeans would make their annual pilgrimage with their families to purchase a few bunches of their locally handmade Chinese sausages. They've been making it for fifty years, and it has even been beloved by the former Prime Minister's (PM Lee Kwan Yew) mother.
Vacuum Packed Chinese Sausages
Vacuum packed Chinese Sausages are affordable, however, they lack the flavour. When cooking Chinese Cuisine, don't settle for something that lacks flavor! When shopping for cooking lap cheong, it's best to take your time and experiment with the ones from your local Chinese grocery or Asian grocery store. To test the full flavor of it, try cooking lap cheong rice with vacuum packed and the ones purchased from the butcher or Chinese grocery. You will have steamed lap cheong, and that's when it's flavor and aroma will be at it's best.
Enjoy cooking lap cheong by cooking the traditional chinese recipes, such as claypot rice, lap cheong fried rice, and even having them sliced up on their own. If you want to go beyond chinese cuisine and experiment, you can also try substituting some cut meats in your dishes with slices of lap cheong.
