La rou, or preserved meat, is a winter season specialty in China. There are many kinds of preserved meat in China with incredibly diverse ingredients and recipes, resulting in a wide range of flavors from sweet to spicy.
They are customarily made during la yue – the last lunar month on the traditional Chinese calendar – when the temperature is cool but not freezing to dry and preserve these staples. La rou in general refers to pork products while other cured meat, la wei, is made across China depending on local availability, using goose, duck, rabbit, and even seafood.
The preserved meat is considered to be a form of cultural heritage in many places. Similar to bacon and sausages, the Chinese preserved meat is made with large quantities of salt, and some of them are smoked over with fire to achieve more flavor.
See below for an overview of the different types of Chinese preserved meat.
In many cities across China, you'll be able to easily find chunks of homemade pork belly and sausages hanging from apartment balconies and windows, right alongside rows of laundry.
The cured pork belly looks a lot like jerky but it has a savory taste after smoking. They are used as an ingredient in many Chinese dishes to create more layers of flavor but are seldom cooked as the main attraction.
Each region's sausage has its own seasoning and flavor profile. The Cantonese variation is sweet, flavored with sugar, rice wine, and soy sauce. In Sichuan Province, the sausages tend to be spicier. It is seasoned with chili pepper and Sichuan pepper powder. Both of them are great choices as ingredients for dishes like fried rice and vegetable stir-fry.
The dry-cured ham from Jinhua, a city in East China's Zhejiang province, is a renowned delicacy that has a history of more than 1,000 years. Unlike the soft, fresh ham found in many shops, Jinhua dry-cured ham packs an intense umami flavor.
The pig thighs are marinated in salt for more than 35 days. Then the salt is washed off and the legs are hung up to dry for a few days. The final product can sell for about $80 a piece, depending on its size and how long it's been aged for.
