Dongbei Cured Meats

Dongbei Cured Meats

Dongbei cured meats are a protected geographical indication product.

　　The cured meats of Dongbei are renowned across Guangdong, Hong Kong, and various countries in Southeast Asia, often a source of local pride. The people of Dongbei are ingenious artisans—their cured meats come in a wide variety and are produced using unique methods. Here are just a few examples.

　　Cured Egg: Can an egg be cured? Yes, cured egg is one of the well-known Dongbei cured meats. As early as the 1930s, cured eggs, cured dog meat, and wind sausage from “Suichang Hao” in Dongbei were exported to Malaysia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Macau. It uses lard (pork caul fat) as the casing and egg yolk as the filling.

　　The production process of cured eggs is extremely intricate. First, the pork caul fat is soaked in salt water—this step seasons and whitens it and takes about a day, after which it’s set aside. Then, choose eggs—chicken or duck—and separate the whites from the yolks. Season the yolks with salt, sugar, and liquor. When making cured eggs, cut the pork caul fat into appropriately sized pieces, place them on small porcelain plates, then add the egg yolk, slices of wind sausage, and coriander (for “Silver Jade Eggs,” lean pork is also added around the edges). Shape them into flat rounds. Next, sun-dry them until the surface is slightly dry, then cover with another plate, flip the dish, and sun the other side. Once both sides are about 30–40% dry, move them to a bamboo tray to continue drying. At 80% dryness, hang them up with string to air. Cured eggs can be steamed. As for the taste? Fragrant and refreshing.

　　Cured Dog: Among Dongbei’s cured meats, the cured dog from “Suichang Hao” in Guanwu is especially esteemed. Guan Zuoxian, an elderly man over 80 years old, recounts that in 1912, when meat was scarce and traditional cured meat ingredients were lacking, his grandfather experimented with using dog meat. He first made cured dog strips, then whole cured dogs, thus pioneering the tradition of “Dongbei cured dog.”

　　To make cured dog, select a plump, 2.5 to 3.5 kg puppy. After butchering and cleaning, remove the bones, then cure it with stir-fried crushed salt. Once cured, rinse it with warm water, dry it, then apply ginger wine, sugar, and sand ginger powder. Shape it, then air-dry.

　　Dongbei cured dog is tender, refreshing, fragrant, and neither fishy nor greasy. It can be steamed or stir-fried.

　　Wind Sausage: Elsewhere it’s called “cured sausage,” so why is it called “wind sausage” in Dongbei? It turns out that Dongbei wind sausage relies on mountain winds for drying. The Xixi Stream, emerging from a canyon to the northwest, flows gently to the edge of Dongbei Town, bringing with it cool mountain breezes. At the break of dawn, families who make wind sausage take their sausages out of the covered racks and hang them outdoors to “catch the cold wind.” At noon, when the sun is strong, they bring the sausages back under the shelter.

　　The ratio of fat to lean meat in Dongbei wind sausage is carefully calibrated. Those with 30% fat and 70% lean meat are called “3-7 sausages”; those with 20% fat and 80% lean meat are called “2-8 sausages.”

　　The shrewd businesspeople of Dongbei understand the art of modesty and don’t flaunt their curing techniques. When complimented on their cured meats, they simply say, “Cured meats depend on the wind—we just have good wind here.” There’s even a more mystical saying: “The wind on Dongbei Street is different on the east side than on the west side.”