Just before Chinese New Year my
friends brought me to Kowloon City to buy wax duck, pork sausages and belly. This
shop sells “laahp-méih 臘味" or wax-delicacy as
well as other types of delicacies such as abalone, fish maw (swim bladder),
scallops, shrimps, etc. Laahp-méih is
the equivalent to Western cured meats or charcuterie.
I seldom eat Chinese charcuterie. I
used not to like it (I still don’t like duck liver sausage) but I have come
to appreciate it in small quantity during the winter months. It seems that the pork sausages are not as
fatty as they used to be and I like their slight rose water flavour.
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Shop selling laahp-méih
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Wax pork
sausages - Laahp chéung - 臘腸
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Wax ducks - Laahp-ngaap - 臘鴨
Rinse laahp-méih with boiling water or blanch quickly to
eliminate fat and lessen saltiness. Sausages: Make small holes in the
sausages so that oils and seasoning (rose water, rice wine) will be released
and give the rice a sweet flavour.
Waxed duck: Cut off extra fat if
needed and slice off the meat into pieces.
Prepare rice (usually same amount of
water as rice) in rice cooker. Put laahp-méih in together with rice and water. Cook
rice as usual.
Laahp-méih with rice in rice cooker
Laahp-méih and rice are cooked
You can also prepare “laahp-méih-faahn” in an earthen pot. It is
recommended to first stir-fry the rice (to avoid the latter to become sticky)
and the laahp-méih {separately} (to release its aroma). When rice is about 80%
cooked put laahp-méih on top of rice and cook until rice is done.
Another way to cook laahp-méih (if
too oily) is to steam the waxed meat separately in a heat proof dish so you can
discard the fat.
The above photos were taken in Tung
Chung estate on our way to Tai O. As you can see some Tung Chung residents have
spread their homemade production of waxed delicacies (pork belly and sausages) to
dry in the sun on pillars along the pavement.
Bon appétit!
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