Processed meat is any meat that has been cured, smoked, salted, or preserved in any way. This includes Chinese sausages, sausages, ham, canned meat, bak kwa (dried pork), salted fish, anchovies, and dried shrimp. Pork is the most popular meat used for making sausages in China and it is believed that their love for pork prevented them from converting to Islam. A pig is one of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac calendar and although most Chinese sausages are made from pure pork, other meats such as beef, chicken, duck or lamb are often added.
Pork liver or duck liver are also added to liver sausages. It is generally accepted that the Chinese were already making sausages 2000 years ago. Any reliable information about sausage manufacturing in China dates back to the 5th century and some of the techniques are still used today. Each region of the country has its own variation of sausages, even though the name remains the same.
The Chinese name for sausages is “Lap Cheong” which means “winter filled intestine” or “waxed intestine”. This sausage is normally dried in air or over low heat. Sausage is used as an ingredient in many dishes in parts of southern China, such as Hong Kong and Southeast Asian countries. It is used in fried rice dishes, noodles and other dishes. Chinese sausage formulations are unique and based on a long tradition.
Ingredients such as soy sauce and sugar are added to sausages at very high levels. Chinese rice wines, distilled spirits, whiskey or sherry are also commonly added to sausages. Traditional Chinese recipes have been passed down from generation to generation without much understanding of the underlying processes. They are modified today to comply with the safety regulations of the China Meat Safety Department. Sausage consumption is highest in February during the Chinese New Year. The strongest evidence of foods that increase the risk of bowel cancer are processed red meats such as bacon or salami.
Any meat or fish that has been altered in any way to extend its shelf life or add flavor is considered processed. Ingredients such as starch, dye, or soy protein concentrate are generally not added to high-quality sausages. They used to massacre animals to worship them which contains a step that uses animal blood to make the sausage. This brief fermentation will produce a negligible amount of acidity and the sausage will not develop any noticeable sour taste. The flavor of Chinese sausage varies slightly depending on the ingredients used but in general it tastes sweet and savory. Because Chinese sausages are generally filled into small diameter casings (~25 mm), the drying process is relatively short and the drying temperature can fluctuate within a wide range but must be kept below 50°C (122° F).
Since traditionally made Chinese dried sausages develop a pleasant and shiny appearance, it was accepted to call them La Sausages. The two main ingredients in sausages are meat and fat which means that there are very few carbohydrates in sausages. In both the sausage diet groups and the NDMA group, the changes in serum metabolites were predominantly disorders of lipids, amino acids and energy metabolism. Also don't forget the Chinese New Year condiments, the hundred-year-old eggs, the sweet sauce soaked in peanuts (check the sauce labels for sugar which isn't recommended on the ketogenic diet) and a bit of fun: a little lap cheong or Chinese food. For processing Lap Cheong sausages, the best sources of lean meat are the back legs (ham) followed by the front legs of pigs (lean cuts of butts and picnics). Eastern European-style sausages were manufactured in Harbin, the largest city in Heilongjiang Province in northeastern China. In conclusion, Chinese sausage is a type of processed meat due to its curing, smoking, salting and adding chemicals processes. It is used as an ingredient in many dishes in parts of southern China such as Hong Kong and Southeast Asian countries.
The flavor varies slightly depending on ingredients used but it tastes sweet and savory overall.
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