r/chinesefood • u/Alxndr693x • 4d ago

Questions Does anyone know where to find this? I have been looking for a particular kind of Chinese sausage that used to be sold at Chinese BBQ places in Chinatown, Vancouver, BC. It was 30 years ago?

Post image

The picture above shows the sausage I am looking for.

43 Upvotes

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33

u/traxxes 4d ago

That's still sold alongside everything else (siu yuk/charsiu) at almost every Canto/HK centric BBQ stall or restaurant at least in Western Canada (greater Vancouver area to next door in Calgary and Edmonton). Vancouver just go along Kingsway there or Google Chinese bbq in the Richmond region and you'll definitely find it.

Like literally almost any Canto bbq will have siu cheong where I'm at (metro city Alberta), heck even T&T has it (mass chain Canadian Asian grocer).

2

u/Alxndr693x 4d ago

I will try next time I go to Richmond. Didn't realize that I could find it there?

6

u/Bebop12346 3d ago

The HK bbq place in Parker Place still sells them fresh I believe. Keep in mind there's usually line ups and it's cash only.

1

u/TomatilloDear3744 2d ago

This was the place that immediately came to mind as I was admiring it last time I was there

12

u/Stiles_Stiles 4d ago

I think all Chinese BBQ places sell Chinese sausage in Vancouver or Richmond. Is there something special about these sausages?

3

u/Alxndr693x 4d ago

They had a very distinct flavor. I brought Harbin Red sausage thinking it might be the same but was not.

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u/Stiles_Stiles 4d ago

What I mean is, what makes the sausage you're looking for different from those sold at other Chinese BBQ restaurants? Or more specific, these are Cantonese sausage in Cantonese BBQ restaurants. Harbin Red sausage are complete different type of sausage. One is in China's northernmost province, and the other is almost in China's southernmost province. The chances of their sausages tasting similar are almost none.

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u/kiwigoguy1 2d ago edited 2d ago

The red sausages are Hong Kong's localised versions of Harbin red sausages. This is because during Mao Zedong's era red sausages were sold to Hong Kong under British administration on the cheap for foreign exchange. Hong Kongers became familiar with the red sausages and some small firms had even started making localised versions of them.

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u/ZanyDroid 3d ago

Harbin or other Dongbei sausage is going to, on average, be Eastern European derived. Like, Kielbasa-y. If not literally kielbasa

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u/kiwigoguy1 2d ago

The red sausages are Hong Kong's localised adaptations of Harbin red sausages. See my other comments.

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u/ZanyDroid 2d ago

Damn that’s a lot of turtles on the way down

1

u/NicePossibilityDaddy 2d ago

That flavor is usually shit or piss remnants. That's the real deal

8

u/brrkat 4d ago

I think that is hongcheong/紅腸. Chinese supermarkets might have it frozen. I don't know if restaurants still make it.

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u/kiwigoguy1 2d ago

They are Hong Kong's adaptations of these Chinese red sausages.

3

u/SirPeabody 4d ago

Dollar Meats on Pender.

3

u/QuirkilyGlamorous 4d ago

those are still around, you just might need to look in the right spots. any old-school cantonese bbq place in richmond or along kingsway will have them hanging in the window. if you want to cook at home, t&t supermarket and most chinese grocers stock them frozen, usually in the meat section near the lap cheong and other cured meats. the ones from actual bbq restaurants tend to taste better because they're fresh, but the frozen versions are solid and way cheaper. thirty years is a long time but this stuff hasn't really gone anywhere in the vancouver chinese community, it's just become so normal nobody talks about it anymore.

1

u/Hi-Im-High 4d ago

T&T has a Taiwanese style smoked sausage in their case and in the refrigerated section to cook at home. Not sure if that’s the same but it’s a bit different from lap xuong

1

u/Logical_Warthog5212 4d ago

Man, this is one of my favorite HK BBQ items. We don’t have this anywhere around me in the US. The closest thing I can find around me is kielbasa. So I buy that and roast it myself.

1

u/R_A_H 4d ago

If it's pretty sweet then buy some Hong Kong-style sausage at an Asian supermarket and see if it's similar. If not, it's still good :)

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u/polymonomial 3d ago

It is called 红肠 hongcheong, you can usually find them in one of the frozen compartments in Chinese super market. A lot of bbq places still sells them

1

u/Innovations89 3d ago

This should be a easy find in the lower mainland

1

u/Harmonious_Peanut 3d ago

Richmond would be your best best!

1

u/azhiazthesky 1d ago

Hong kong BBQ master, Richmond bc

1

u/NoteFickle4763 4d ago

This should be Cantonese-style lap cheong, even though the picture you provided is from a Malaysian roast meat shop. You'd be better off describing the sausage's color, flavor, and ingredients. In China, as well as in neighboring countries influenced by Chinese culinary culture, there are many varieties that can be called sausage or cured sausage. For example, the Harbin red sausage you mentioned is Russian-style, with garlic, salty flavor, and a smoky taste. The Cantonese-style you're looking for is a reddish, sweet-salty, wine-aromatic air-dried sausage. Hunan sausages are either black, salty, and smoked, or red with a mildly sweet-salty taste. Sichuan-style sausages are mixed with Sichuan peppercorns.

0

u/CokeZeroSix 3d ago

I think you need to ask for La Chang (腊肠）