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There are certain food items that are liked by people all over the world. Some of them become famous as breakfast elements. Although you can eat them at dinner too, they taste best at the start of the day.
As the first meal of the day, your breakfast should be healthy enough to prepare you for all kinds of challenges. You can face the world with energy if you have eaten a good breakfast.
But people can only eat well at breakfast if the food tastes good, which is why sausages are the perfect choice for the first meal of the day.
If you are a breakfast person, we are pretty sure that there is always space for sausage on the plate. There are different types of sausages out there, and Chinese sausages are extremely famous.
However, finding Chinese sausages can be a pain because they aren’t readily available outside China. For that reason, we are sharing the Chinese sausage substitutes to help you out!
When certain ingredients are native to a particular country, it can be difficult to find them overseas. Although this is not true for every ingredient, it is true in the case of Chinese sausages.
Sometimes, an ingredient has a high demand in the country where it is produced, which is why it is never exported. As a result, people outside of that country have to go to great lengths to acquire that ingredient.
However, sometimes it is impossible to acquire an ingredient that is only produced and used in one country. In such a situation, substitutes can be of great help.
Chinese Sausages – What Is It?
Chinese sausages are not a specific type of sausage. It’s the generic term for different types of sausages that originate from China. In China, there are lean as well as fatty sausages out there.
Some Chinese sausages are made from fresh pork, while some are made from turkey livers. The Chinese sausages made with the liver are darker in color.
For the most part, Chinese sausages are made with chicken. Since they are made with different types of meat, they can be enjoyed by everyone. If someone doesn’t like pork, they can go with chicken sausages.
Sausages made from Turkey livers have their own fan base and go well with a number of different dishes. You can use Chinese sausages in all kinds of dishes because of their versatility.
But many people don’t ever get to enjoy the taste of Chinese sausages due to availability issues. People living outside of China also can’t make certain Chinese dishes because they can’t find Chinese sausages.
But they can use substitutes that taste similar to Chinese sausages. If you cannot find Chinese sausages, we have some substitutes outlined in this section!
Chinese Sausage Substitute
If you have a good substitute available, you don’t have to give up on making a dish simply because you can’t get your hands on an ingredient. There are many ingredients that are only available in a certain country.
When the dishes made with these ingredients become popular worldwide, people have to look for alternatives. Thanks to substitutes of ingredients, you can make an Italian dish even if you are living in India.
If you need Chinese sausages for a meal but you can’t get them in your country, here are the substitutes you can try:
1) Northern Sausages
If you want a substitute for Chinese sausage, northern sausages are great for this purpose. The northern sausages belong to Northeast China. There are different varieties of Northern sausages.
You can opt for Hongchan sausages. Hongchan sausages are famous from Harbin. These sausages are red with a smoked and savory flavor. These sausages are also confused with German and Lithuanian sausages.
Hongchan sausage goes back to 1909 when Churin Sausage Factory made this sausage. That being said, the sausage is popular in the northern regions of China.
Hongchan sausages are also available in sweet taste with a dried version.
Keep the different varieties of Hongchan sausages in mind when you are buying them. You don’t want to get the dried version if you want to try the smoked flavor of the Hongchan sausages.
2) Southern Sausages
Generally, Chinese sausages are used as ingredients in Southern dishes, such as dishes from Hunan, Fujian, and Hong Kong.
However, there are southern sausages out there as well that can be used in different dishes, and Sichuan sausage is one of them.
The Sichuan sausage is made from Sichuan pepper powder, red chili powder, along Pixian bean sausage.
These ingredients deliver a special aroma and flavor. Generally, Sichuan sausage can substitute Chinese sausages in lo mai gai and fried rice.
There are packaged as well as unpackaged Sichuan sausages out there. As for the unpackaged sausages, they are available in street markets.
If you live in the US, you can find these sausages at any Chinese market in your city. Their rich taste makes them ideal for different types of dishes.
However, they may not appeal to everyone’s taste buds. You can give them a try to figure out whether you like their taste or not.
3) Taiwan Sausages
If you cannot find Chinese substitutes, you can opt for Taiwan sausages. They have some special sausages. To make the Taiwan sausages, meat and fats are emulsified, and it uses sugar for adding the sweet taste profile.
However, the Taiwan sausages are used in wet form (they are hardly ever dried). The sausages can be easily found at local markets or butchers.
Taiwan sausages are also easy to make at home. These sausages are usually known as xiangchang, which means fragrant sausage.
If you are looking for dried substitutes, then you won’t like Taiwanese sausages. But it is still worth giving them a try because their taste never disappoints anyone.
4) Vietnam Sausage
When it comes down to the substitute of Chinese sausages, the Vietnamese sausages are great. These sausages are known as lap xuong.
The Vietnam sausage can be used for replacing Chinese sausages in main courses as well as omelets. The sausages have a salty taste profile. It’s suggested to use it in a moderate amount for balancing the flavor.
Generally, Vietnamese sausages are made from chicken as well as pork. As for the chicken variant of Vietnamese sausages, it will have a lean taste.
Due to the salty taste of these sausages, using too much of them in a dish can ruin its taste. You should add the amount of salt in a dish accordingly if you want to use Vietnamese sausages.
5) Myanmar Sausage
The Myanmar sausages are commonly found in China by the name “kyet u gyaung.” This is the chicken sausage. As the name suggests, this sausage is made in Myanmar.
Myanmar sausages tend to have a compact size and will be meatier. Generally, this sausage can replace Chinese sausages with fried vegetables, fried rice, and cabbage.
If you like meatier sausages, then this substitute is the best choice for you. But they are not easily available in Europe and America. So, if you can’t find them, you will have to look for other substitutes.
6) Philippines Sausage
Philippines sausages are a fine replacement for Chinese sausages. In particular, it’s used to replace Chorizo de Macao. This sausage is usually used in Chinese-Filipino recipes, such as siopao bola-bola.
7) Singapore Sausage
Singapore has a variant of Chinese sausages. The best thing about this substitute is that it’s healthier as compared to traditional Chinese sausages.
The Singaporean variant is available in low-sodium, low-fat, and high-fiber forms.
Due to their healthy properties, these sausages from Singapore are the perfect choice for people who are dieting. Thanks to these sausages, you can enjoy the taste of meat without compromising your health.
8) Thailand Sausage
In Thailand, the Chinese variant is known as kun chiang. This sausage can be used in various Chinese dishes as well as Thai recipes.
In particular, this sausage goes fine with Thai salad and yam kun chiang. Thailand sausages are made from snakehead fish.
Although these sausages are good in taste, they are not the best choice for people who don’t like seafood.
You also can’t eat these sausages if you are allergic to seafood. But there’s no need to worry as there are other options listed in this article that you can use as a substitute for Chinese sausages.
Conclusion
It is important to remember that not all varieties of sausages will work well with every dish. The flavor of a sausage determines what kind of dishes you can have it with.
But all kinds of sausages are ideal for eating for breakfast. Whether you are pairing them with other food items or not, they can be very fulfilling.
The substitutes of Chinese sausages mentioned above are all very tasty and can be used in a number of dishes. Give them a try and you will end up with a new favorite type of sausage.