Mandarin Monday: A Meaty Guide to Chinese Sausages

Katie Coy, Managing Editor | Mar 10, 2025 5:30 pm | Add a comment | 136 reads

Mandarin Monday is a regular series where we help you improve your Chinese by detailing fun and practical phrases and characters.

With tickets for Sausage Fest 2025 now on sale, we thought we'd take a dive into the world of Chinese sausages. The general word for sausage in Mandarin is 香肠 xiāngcháng, which literally means "fragrant intestines" (appetizing, right?). But there are plenty of regional varieties. From the sweet and smoky Cantonese lap cheong to the spicy and garlicky Hunan sausage, there are quite a few to explore…

Cantonese Lap Cheong 广式腊肠 Guǎngshì Làcháng
This is the most well-known variety, made from pork mixed with sugar, soy sauce, rice wine, and salt. It has a slightly sweet flavor and a firm, dense texture.

Liver Sausage 膶肠 Rùncháng
A variation of Cantonese lap cheong, liver sausage is normally made from duck liver but can also be made from pork liver and has a deeper, more intense taste.

Sichuan Spicy Sausage 川味香肠 Chuānwèi Xiāngcháng
Flavored with Sichuan peppercorns, chili, and garlic, this sausage has a numbing, spicy kick. It is often smoked for extra depth and is commonly used in stir-fries or rice dishes.

Harbin Red Sausage 哈尔滨红肠 Hā'ěrbīn Hóngcháng
Often just shortened to 红肠 hóngcháng (red sausage), this is a product of Russian influence in northeastern China. It is made from coarsely ground pork mixed with garlic, salt, and spices, then smoked for a distinctive aroma. Unlike southern Chinese sausages, Harbin sausage has a savory, slightly tangy taste without added sweetness. It is commonly grilled, pan-fried, or eaten cold as a snack.

Hunan Sausage 湖南腊肠 Húnán Làcháng
Hunan-style sausage is saltier, smokier, and spicier than its Cantonese counterpart. Made with fatty pork, chili, and garlic, it delivers a bold, complex taste.

Yunnan Xuanwei Sausage 宣威火腿肠 Xuānwēi Huǒtuǐcháng
Made using the famous xuanwei ham, this sausage has a deep umami flavor and is popular in Yunnan cuisine. It is often used in soups, stews, or eaten on its own.

Duck Blood Sausage 鸭血大肠 Yāxuè Dàcháng
Popular in Jiangsu and Zhejiang cuisine, this sausage is made by stuffing duck blood and glutinous rice into a pig's intestine. It has a soft, bouncy texture and absorbs flavors well when cooked in soups or stews. A well-known dish featuring this sausage is Nanjing duck blood soup (鸭血粉丝汤 yāxuè fěnsī tāng).

Guan Chang 贯肠 Guàncháng
A popular street snack in Beijing that dates back to the Ming dynasty. Traditionally, it was made by stuffing a mixture of starch and minced meat into pig intestines, but nowadays it primarily consists of starch, red yeast rice and spices, and is formed into long, red sausages. It's normally boiled and then cut into cubes or slices to be fried.

Glutinous Rice Sausage 糯米肠 Nuòmǐ Cháng
This white-colored glutinous rice sausage is made by stuffing glutinous rice and seasonings into a casing before being steamed or boiled. Some variations, especially in certain Chinese cultures, include blood as a binding agent. It's particularly popular in Taiwan and Guangdong.

Taiwanese Sausage 台式香肠 Táishì Xiāngcháng
Sweeter and juicier than Cantonese-style sausage, Taiwanese sausage is often grilled or pan-fried and served with raw garlic cloves for extra punch.

Teochew Sausage 潮州腊肠 Cháozhōu Làcháng
This variety has a pronounced five-spice flavor and is commonly used in braised dishes or Teochew-style clay pot rice.