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Sucuk or sujuk is a semi-dry, spicy sausage with a high fat content, popular in Middle Eastern, Balkan and Central Asian cuisines. It is traditionally prepared with ground beef and spices such as cumin, salt, paprika, and garlic. The sausage should be dried for at least three weeks before consumption.
It can be served cold and sliced thinly, but it is more commonly fried and paired with eggs and vegetables. In Lebanon, it is often consumed with tomatoes and garlic sauce in a pita bread, while in Syria, Egypt, Iraq, and Israel, sucuk is often used as a pastry topping.
MOST ICONIC Sucuk
View moreSai oua is a spicy pork sausage infused with an array of aromatic local herbs and spices. Popular in Laos and northern Thailand, the sausage is usually served alongside another regional favorite - sticky rice - to create a contrasting and layered dish.
The sausage is made from ground pork shoulder in a standard natural casing, mixed with some of the most commonly used herbs and spices in Lao cuisine: shallots, lemongrass, chilies, kaffir lime leaves, and garlic. Some recipes also include padaek, which is a special kind of fish sauce made in Laos.
MOST ICONIC Sai oua
View moreSai krok Isan is a fermented sausage from the Isan region. It is made with a mixture of ground pork meat and fat, combined with garlic, sticky rice, salt, and pepper in a natural encasing. The sausage is then allowed to dry and ferment for several hours or sometimes even for up to 2-3 days in a blazing hot sun, a method that provides this sausage with its unique sourness.
Salty with a hint of sourness, these flavorful sausages are usually grilled or fried and served alongside raw chilis, fresh ginger slices, garlic, and fresh vegetables. Thais consume them for breakfast or buy them from local street carts as delicious snacks that are grilled on a stick and consumed on the go.
MOST ICONIC Sai krok Isan
Renowned for being flavor-packed, sai ua is a type of Northern Thai sausage that combines pork with a red curry paste and a variety of herbs and spices. The meat mixture is prepared with ground pork, green onions, kaffir lime leaves, and cilantro stems, which are all finely chopped and combined.
It is then mixed with a curry paste usually composed of galangal, kaffir lime zest, lemongrass, garlic, fermented shrimp paste, chilis, shallots, and fish sauce. Traditionally, sai ua is added to an intestine wrapper and formed into a coil that is typically grilled.
MOST ICONIC Sai ua
Makanek are small Lebanese sausages made with lamb, beef, or a combination of both. The sausages are seasoned and spiced with cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg, pine nuts, vinegar, and white wine. The combination of ground meat and spices is stuffed into sheep casings.
These Lebanese sausages are either fried or grilled before serving, and they're traditionally accompanied by pomegranate molasses.
Kazy is a Kazakh horse sausage that is also prepared in other Central Asian countries such as Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Traditionally, the sausage is made with meat and fat taken from the ribs. It is usually seasoned with garlic, pepper, and salt before being stuffed into natural casings.
The sausage can be sold raw or lightly smoked, and before consumption, it is usually boiled and served sliced. Although it is mostly enjoyed as an appetizer, kazy can also be incorporated into various dishes.
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Lap cheong is a type of dried, cured Chinese sausage commonly used in various Chinese cuisines, especially Cantonese. It's made primarily from pork meat and fat, seasoned with a mixture of sugar, salt, soy sauce, and often rice wine or rose water, among other seasonings.
The sausage is then left to air-dry in a cool environment for a period of time. Lap cheong has a sweet and savory flavor profile, and its texture is relatively firm compared to many fresh sausages. It is usually used in stir-fries and rice dishes or steamed and baked.
Korean sundae is a traditional blood sausage that usually consists of rice, glass noodles (dangmyeon), and pig’s blood, while the variations may also incorporate barely, bean sprouts, kimchi, perilla leaves, soybean paste, or scallions. Some regional varieties may even consist of squid or fish.
Sundae can be steamed and enjoyed on its own, but it is also incorporated into various dishes such as the hearty sundaeguk soup or the sundae bokkeum stir fry. It is believed that sundae originated sometime in the Goryeo period (918–1392).
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Qazı is a traditional sausage made from horsemeat, commonly found in Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and among Tatar people. It is considered a delicacy in these regions, where horsemeat has long been an integral part of the diet.
The sausage is typically prepared using the rib meat and fat of horses, which is stuffed into natural casings (usually horse intestines). The meat is seasoned with salt and sometimes light spices, and it can be either boiled or dried. Qazı has a rich, fatty flavor and a firm, chewy texture, making it quite robust in taste.
Ian-chhiâng is a traditional air-dried sausage and a street food favorite in Taiwan. Renowned for its exquisite flavor, this sausage is typically made with a mixture of fatty pork and garlic, flavored with rice wine, soy sauce, five-spice blend, sugar, salt, and black pepper.
It can optionally be seasoned with chili powder and red pepper, while the rice wine can be replaced with Kaoliang, or sorghum wine. A staple at Taiwanese night markets, this savory snack can be grilled, pan-fried, or baked, and it is always eaten with raw slices of garlic.
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