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Sichuan Sausage makes its Way

Meizhou Dongpo is one of the top Sichuan restaurant franchise brands in Beijing with 15 outlets in the capital, and it's a place to go for authentic Chengdu fare.

As one diner said, "The snacks here taste exactly like Chengdu's street food." At the turn of 2005 and 2006, this catering giant is making a new effort to market its Sichuan sausages.

Sichuan sausages are not as famous as the province's mouth-watering water-boiled fish (shuizhuyu) or fried sliced pork with chilli and pepper (huiguorou), but it is a favourite for Sichuan people. It is such a common dish that it has become a must-have for most Sichuan style banquets, especially those during the Spring Festival season.
It is not as hot and spicy as typical Sichuan dishes, nor is it sweet as its Cantonese counterpart.

Ways of making Sichuan sausage vary widely even within Sichuan Province. Different families and restaurants follow their own secret recipes handed down from the older generations, and this is the case with the Meizhou Dongpo restaurants.

Meizhou Dongpo is planning a cooperative venture with the Hormel Foods Corporation, the multinational manufacturer and marketer of consumer-branded meat and food products, to produce Sichuan sausages under the Meizhou Dongpo brand. Soon, diners all around the world will be able to enjoy authentic Sichuan sausages even when there's no Sichuan restaurant in their neighbourhoods.