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Sichuan xiang chang (spicy cured sausage)
Red, chilli-flecked pork sausages with Sichuan pepper, cured and air-dried for the Spring Festival
When the weather turns cold in Sichuan, families buy pork by the shoulder, season it with chilli and Sichuan pepper and stuff it into casings, so that xiang chang hang in every home by the Spring Festival. Plates of sliced sausage beside la rou signal plenty for the year to come, and every household swears by its own spice blend. The pork is coarsely chopped, so the sausage is chewy and juicy with pockets of sweet fat, fiery, numbing and a little sweet. Steam and slice it to serve with rice, or stir-fry with cabbage. This home method uses pink curing salt and dries the sausages in the fridge for safety; they must always be cooked before eating. Chef's tip: keep the meat and your equipment cold throughout; warm fat smears and the sausage turns crumbly.
- Total time
- 245 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
For the sausage
- 4 ⅜ lb pork shoulder, about 30% fatwell chilled, cut into 1 cm dice or coarsely minced
- 1 ⅜ oz fine sea salt
- ⅛ oz curing salt (Prague powder #1 / pink curing salt no. 1)2.5 g per kg of pork, or as the packet says
- 1 oz sugar
- 2 ½ tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp ground Sichuan pepperfreshly toasted and ground
- 1 tsp five-spice powder
- ¼ cup iced water
For filling
- 4 m natural hog casings (32–36 mm)soaked in cold water 30 minutes, rinsed inside
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What you'll need
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Weigh 1 ⅜ oz fine sea salt and ⅛ oz curing salt (Prague powder #1 / pink curing salt no. 1) carefully and mix with 1 oz sugar, 1 oz Sichuan chilli powder or chilli flakes, 2 tbsp ground Sichuan pepper and 1 tsp five-spice powder so the curing salt is evenly spread.
5 minStep 2: Put 4 ⅜ lb pork shoulder, about 30% fat in a large chilled bowl, add the spice mix, 2 ½ tbsp light soy sauce and ¼ cup iced water, and mix with your hands for 3–4 minutes, until the meat feels tacky and sticks together.
10 minStep 3: Cover and leave in the fridge for 2 hours so the cure gets to work.
120 minStep 4: Fit one of the 4 m natural hog casings (32–36 mm) onto the nozzle of a sausage stuffer (or a wide funnel), knot the end and fill evenly but not tightly, easing the meat along with your hand. Common mistake: packing them too hard; tight sausages split as they dry.
40 minStep 5: Twist into 15 cm links, tie each twist with kitchen string, and prick any air pockets with a clean needle so the sausage dries evenly.
15 minStep 6: Hang the sausages on a rack in the fridge, or somewhere airy that stays below 50°F, for 7–10 days, until they are firm, dark red and have shrunk by about a third. Add a few hours of wok-smoking as for la rou if you like.
Step 7: Wrap and keep in the fridge for up to 3 weeks, or freeze for up to 3 months. They are not ready to eat raw.
5 minStep 8: To serve, steam whole links over a high heat for 20–25 minutes, until the fat turns glossy and the centre reaches 160°F on a probe thermometer. Cool for a few minutes and slice thinly on the diagonal.
25 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 380 kcal
- Protein
- 22 g
- Carbs
- 4 g
- Fat
- 31 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sichuan xiang chang (spicy cured sausage) take?
- About 245 minutes in total: 215 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of light soy sauce?
- Tamari, same amount (gluten free).
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