I'm Day Dreaming about Sausage

I’ve been craving a certain type of Thai sausage that’s spicy and sour. I’ve never seen it on a menu here in the States, but it should be. Fortunately, there is a Thai woman my mother knows who can make these incredible sausages. Unfortunately, it’ll be 10 more days before I visit home and get my sausages.

In the meantime, I’ve decided to try my hand at sausage making. I’ve never used casings, and quite frankly, I’m a little intimidated by them. So I did a steamed sausage wrapped in foil. Easy and no mess!

Homemade Thai-inspired Sausage

• 2 green onions, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
• 6 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped
• 1 ½ tbs fish sauce
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 pound ground chicken or pork (I used a mixture of the two)

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients well. Split the mixture in 2 or 4, depending on the size of the sausages you want.

Lightly oil pieces of aluminum foil for rolling. To get the best shaped sausage use a flexible cutting board (or similar) to help you roll. It reminds me of rolling sushi. When you’re finished rolling, twist the ends shut. Place the sausages, seam side up, in a steamer set above boiling water. Steam for 15-20 minutes (if you don’t have a steamer that can fit the sausages, throw them into 375º for about 20 minutes). At this point, the sausage is done and can be served (let it sit for 5-10 minutes before opening and slicing). However, I like to pan fry them to give them a crispy outside.

Serve as an appetizer with dipping sauce* and lettuce leaves to wrap. Also makes a nice entrée with steamed white rice and your choice of veggie.

*My standard dipping sauce is 1 tbs fish sauce, 3 tbs rice vinegar, ½ tbs sugar and sambal oelek to taste.