La rou, or preserved meat, is a winter season specialty in China. There are many kinds of preserved meat in China with incredibly diverse ingredients and recipes, resulting in a wide range of flavors from sweet to spicy.
They are customarily made during la yue – the last lunar month on the traditional Chinese calendar – when the temperature is cool but not freezing to dry and preserve these staples. La rou in general refers to pork products while other cured meat, la wei, is made across China depending on local availability, using goose, duck, rabbit, and even seafood.
The preserved meat is considered to be a form of cultural heritage in many places. Similar to bacon and sausages, the Chinese preserved meat is made with large quantities of salt, and some of them are smoked over with fire to achieve more flavor.
