liuzhou

Sausages were invented as a means of preservation! Typical lap cheong type sausages have been cured, smoked and dried. Three different preservation methods. So yes, the hard (dried) type usually need no refrigeration. However, any responsible vendor or brand will include that information on the packaging or inform you verbally. But it seems you are stuck with your Vietnamese sausages unless you can find a passing Chinese aunty to teach you how to make them! Amazon only sell branded "Chinese" sausages from S.E. Asia for the simple reason that few people in China buy branded sausages, so there are few brands. As I said upthread, most people make their own. The sausages in that market picture were made by the vendor. They hang there all day until she sell them. In the tropics! No refrigeration.

much more to come.

Thai green curried chicken with spinach. Made with bottled green curry paste from Thailand, augmented by galangal, makrut lime leaf and chilli. Served with rice - of course.

Most people here in the south of China make their own sausages. Every January, they smoke them and hang them everywhere to dry in the wind. Here are a few examples showing the diversity of styles. Sichuan Style These were made by a friend who lives in Guangxi, near the borderwith Yunnan. What's in my fridge right now. All home made (not by me!) Cantonese Of course, the supermarkets and regular markets get in on the act. Market Sausages Supermarket Selection ... and many more.

Sichuan sausages 四川腊肠 (sì chuān là cháng) come in various forms. Most are pork, but they also do beef*. Sichuan sausages tend to be less fatty than their Cantonese counterparts and are laced with chili in various strengths, giving them a distinct red appearance. Generally speaking the darker they get, the spicier.. The also often contain Sichuan peppercorns. Not for the faint hearted. * As often as not, the 'beef' sausages are actualy water buffalo or even yak meat.

Like this?

Well, if the steam can't get out the skins, where does it go?

I don't understand 15-2 seconds. Did you mean 15 to 20? Not that I have a microwave, anyway.

Having had an exploding potato all over my oven, I will happily contine to poke, thank you. Also, I want my baked potatoes to be baked; not steamed.

Harbin Red Sausage 哈尔滨红腊肠 (hā ěr bīn hóng là cháng) was introduced to China from Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. It resembles a smoked Polish or Lithuanian sausage much more than the well-known lapcheong Cantonese sausages. They are relatively low in fat and smooth textured. Me likes 'em.

Well, for a start your sausages are Vietnamese, not Chinese, but possibly made in a Chinese (Cantonese) style. China has many different types of sausage. I have in my fridge blood sausage from Hunan, red sausage from Harbin near Siberia. Camel sausages from Xinjiang in the far west of China. Yak meat sausages from Tibet. Are you getting your online sausage from Amazon US or a local version? That may limit availability. As to recipes for Cantonese type sausage (腊肠 / 臘腸* - lapcheong in Cantonese, là cháng in Mandarin), they tend to be cooked very simply. Just sliced and fried. Or steamed over rice in the rice cooker. And yes, of course with fried rice as you have found. Dropped into hotpots or over noodles. Also, some are very fatty; some are very lean. Some are pork; some are liver. Some are duck liver. Some are chicken. * The first, 腊肠 is written in simplified characters as used on the Chinese mainland; the second, 臘腸 is in traditional characters as used in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, as well as among much of the Chinese diaspora.)

Most fruit stalls in the markets here and across SE Asia sell their pineapples peeled and with the eyes removed using a spiral cut with the special knife. The pineapples are first thinly peeled using a regular Chinese cleaver, removing the hard skin and any green but leaving the eyes in. The eyes form a spiral pattern around and down to the root end. The pineapple tool is used to remove a small amount of the fruit and the eyes. It can be done with a regular paring knife as in the video below, but that is a slow process. The special tool allows for parallel cuts either side of the eyes and the blunt tip at the end scrapes away the debris. The woman in the video takes around 5 or more minutes to do her pineapple. The market vendors take less than a minute. The knife also has a regular peeler on the reverse which is useful for any tidying up required. It isn't pineapple season right now or I'd be able to photograph the technique which would probably be more useful than my explanation here. Maybe later! I see that Walmart has a sort of similar tool on sale here.

That is baffling me. Neon is well-known to be odourless!

I don't remember that, but he definitely said that his mother thought it strange that every town on the railway line in England was called Bovril. You can see and hear him saying so in this video.

Chinese red vinegar (大红浙醋 - dà hóng zhè cù, literally 'Crimson Zhejiang Vinegar') is a type of rice vinegar traditionally made from rice which has been infected by a red yeast, Monascus purpureus. It is thought to have been developed first in Fujian province, but today, more is from Fujian's northern neigbour, Zhejiang province, just south of Shanghai and from Guangdong province. Today, the red colour is often augmented by using red radish skins. It is mild, slightly sweet but with a hint of tartness. It is not used very often in Chinese cuisine, but is occasionally used in congees and soups, particularly Hangzhou's famous West Lake Soup. Hangzhou is the capital of Zhejiang. It is good with all seafood dishes, too. I particularly like to use it non-traditionally as a dip with sashimi. Salmon Sashimi with Red Vinegar and Soy Sauce Dips. Western red wine vinegar is not a suitable substitute!

Mine too. But never lasted long.

Forgot I had this. Lea and Perrrins' Wooster sauce with Chinese labelling as sold in China. Told ya it's a thing here. And yes, it's real.

This is fun. It's freezing here and when it's freezing I want comfort. So, this put a smile on my face this morning. I'm placing it next to my Marmite (and I don't mean a French stockpot!)

Here are the two varieties I use, plus a bonus First, Zhenjiang Vinegar. This is a 6-year old. It is my go-to black vinegar. Then the Shanxi version 陈醋 (chén cù) means 'mature vinegar'. This is favourite in dips with jiaozo or wontons etc. Here we have a three-year old version, as marked by the 3年 badge, 年 (nián) meaning 'year'. Finally a third high quality black vinegar, this time from Sichuan. Baoning vinegar (保宁醋 (bǎo nìng cù) is the Sichuan cook's first choice. I have no idea about the international availability of these particular brands. Baoning may be the hardest to find.

Zhenjiang or (Chinkiang)* is enough. It has to be the same as my ingredient list to be legally called Zhenjiang. The Shanxi* version may include different grains other than rice, including wheat, sorgum etc. It is preferred for dips. Both these vinegars come at various ages, usually 3 or 6 years. Of course, the older the better. *Zhenjiang (镇江 or 鎮江 - zhèn jiāng) is the city in eastern China where the vinegar is produced. 'Chinkiang' is the old transliteration, now really only used in America. * Shanxi (山西 - shān xī) is the province in northern China which produces this vinegar.

That is a Shanxi aged style vinegar. Famous for that smoky quality and second only to the Zhenjiang (Chinkiang) style. Good choice. I usually have both styles.

Vegetarian Wooster Sauce? Sacrilege!

What size of bottle are you all talking about? Lea and Perrins comes in various sizes ranging from 150ml to 4 litre bottles. So one bottle a year doesn't really mean much. Thanks to @Dariennefor pointing out the correct pronunciation! I cringe when I hear 95% of people on YouTube or television programs mangle their mouths trying to pronounce it incorrectly! Perhaps surprisingly, 'Wooster' sauce became very popular in China during colonial times, especially in foreign controlled Shanghai. This prompted local companies to recreate it. I regularly buy the main leading brand. It is indistinguishable from L&P's version. It comes in 630ml bottles and I get through about one a year. I can also get the original. Apart from more normal uses, I also use it on scrambled eggs!

Liver and Onions Chinese-Style with Buttery Champ.