EC Kitchen

The sign outside this newly refurbished house on Southeast 82nd Avenue, about a mile north of the dividing line between civilization and Clackamas County, promises "Chinese Traditional Delights." It does not disappoint.

EC Kitchen is, to the best of our knowledge, the only outfit in Oregon producing Chinese and Taiwanese dried sausages. Imported brands of these sweet, salty and characteristically knobby pork logs are commonly available at East Asian markets and used in fried-rice entrees around town, but EC Kitchen's are better. 

The owners are so devoted to authenticity that, faced with the unavailability in the U.S. of a 100-proof grain spirit used to make the sausages, they applied for a distillery license to start making their own. The result is a chewy, fresh-tasting sausage that's like an explosion of sunshine on a gray winter evening. EC sells them packaged or prepared in a small handful of combinations with rice or noodles. Get the noodles—they're like state-fair yakisoba in the best possible way.

1. Order this: House special fried noodle with Chinese sausage ($7.49).
2. Best deal: Two tea eggs, hard-boiled and steeped in tea and spices until they turn sweet and brown ($1.50).
3. I’ll pass: The turnip cake ($3.50, four pieces) is pretty good—for turnip cake. Stick with the eggs.

EAT: EC Kitchen, 6335 SE 82nd Ave., 788-6306, eckitchenllc.com. Noon-8 pm Tuesday-Saturday, 1-6 pm Sunday for packaged-product sales only. $

WWeek 2015