Brussel Sprouts with Chinese Sausage

I visit my local Asian market about once a month or so.

I have a list of items that I buy pretty regularly:

• Baby Bok Choy
• Mushroom
• Lemongrass
• Soy Sauce
• Rice Wine Vinegar
• Sesame Oil
• Rice
• Sweet Chili Sauce
• Fish Sauce
• Frozen Dumplings
• Won Ton Wappers
• Noodles Galore
• Lap Xuong

I had you up to that last one right?

Lap Xuong - Chinese Sausage.




I LOVE it. I mean I love it in the same way that I love figs and caramelized onions and chocolate. I am totally addicted to it.

It's a good thing it's usually in the freezer until I'm ready to use it cause I swear I would cook it up and eat it every night.

What is it? Well let me allow Jaden from Jaden's Steamy Kitchen tell you:

"I should probably compare Chinese Sausage to pancetta, as it’s more like pancetta than bacon. But it’s much sweeter and not quite as salty. Each sausage is dotted with fat…lot of it. Is that a good thing? Well, I believe that sausage without fat is just pork. The fat is where the flavor is, but I do understand the fine line between full-flavored and too fatty. I’ll show you exactly how to deal with this and let you decide how much of that fat to keep or discard".

You know when you order take out fried rice and you see those little bits of reddish sausage? That's it. It's a little sweet and a tiny bit chewy and a whole lotta delicious. You just don't get the full spectrum of it in those little tiny bits in the fried rice.

If you haven't visited your local Asian market, I strongly recommend that you get out there and find it and explore all the amazing foods that Asian markets offer.

So you get that I love Lap Xuong. Imagine how happy I was when I saw Jaden made Brussel Sprouts with Chinese Sausage. I think I let out a gasp of joy when I first saw it. One of my favorite veggies with my favorite sausage!

I used my slicing blade on the food processor to shred the sprouts. If you don't have a food processor you can cut each brussel sprout in half and then finely chop.

I've made this twice since this posting. It's pretty quick and easy to make. I did cook mine for a bit longer than Jaden's recipe specifies.



Brussel Sprouts with Chinese Sausage
recipe from Jaden's Steamy Kitchen
1 1/2 pounds brussels sprouts (I used 1 pound)
6 ounces Chinese Sausage (or substitute with 4 ounces pancetta), diced
1 teaspoon fish sauce (or soy sauce)

Add the Chinese Sausage to your wok or large saute pan. Turn heat to medium low and let the sausage cook gently for 5 minutes. Watch the heat - don't let the Chinese Sausage burn. Move the Chinese Sausage up the sides of the wok to let the fat drip down. Remove the Chinese Sausage to a plate, use a slotted spoon to keep the fat in the pan.

Turn the heat to medium-high and add in the brussels sprouts. Toss to coat the brussels sprouts with the fat. Stir fry for 2 minutes. Add in 1 tablespoon of water and toss. Let the brussels sprouts cook for 2 minutes. (I cooked mine for about 10 minutes).

Add in the fish sauce. Toss in the cooked Chinese Sausage. Taste and add season with additional fish sauce if needed. Remember, the Chinese Sausage is very salty, so when you're tasting, get a bite with both ingredients.