Mmm... yummy chicken feet, to go!
My favorite food of China travel to look at, giggle at, and photograph… but never, ever actually EAT, is the popular snack of chicken feet.
And duck feet.
Really, any edible poultry tootsies at all send me into gales of laughter. I’m never sure which foot belongs to which bird, but they all remind me of witches and tickles.
During our visit to Gareth’s Peace Corps site in Yunyang, Central China, we took a trip to the local supermarket.
Gareth and her roommate were there for practical matters: to buy groceries.
But I was there for two selfish purposes:
1) To purchase and eat as many poofy white buns filled with delicious meat and veggies as possible, and…
2) To take photos of chicken feet and giggle.
Missions accomplished!
Raw chicken feet on ice, next to um... lung? Intestine?
I bought about eight downy white buns (the correct Mandarin term, Gareth tells me, is bao-zi), and scampered hither and thither photographing bird feet.
You will see from these photos that chicken feet come in all sorts of exciting incarnations in China.
You can buy them raw, to cook yourself.
If you have a busier lifestyle and time is short, you can buy the feet cooked and seasoned… and sitting out in the tepid air. (Oh FDA, where are you when we need you?).
Alternately, if you are a highly active chap or lass on the go, you can buy the feet packaged in shrink wrap, mysteriously not needing refrigeration, and doused in either fresh blood or hot peppers (or both). Wouldn’t those be cool to take to your next intramural soccer game to pass around with the Pringles?
Live chickens, next to the non-live feet!
And then here is the best part, for those of us who like freshness to the maximum: in many supermarkets in China, no matter how glossy and modern they are, there is a wing labeled “FOWL POULTRY” in which there exist, bopping around… a whole bunch of live chickens!
How delightful to know that the raw chicken feet turning blue on ice were likely dancing around just hours before in a coop a few feet (hahah!) from the display table.
Should I have gotten a bunch of packets of the Feet To Go to bring home as gifts for friends? Would American Customs officers at the airport even permit them into the country?!
“Anything to declare, miss?”
“Why, yes, sir. These.”
“AAAAAGHHH!!!!”
I watched one of my mom’s co-workers eat chicken feet once…
I don’t think I ate much that day proceeding that event.
Yes ,I tried these chicken feets in china,two months a go when I visit to south china,it’s good not too bad,and that’s the famous Chinese snack,those comes in ready made as well as you can take from restaurants and its a famous acompaniment with beer.
Interesting!
I LOVE CHICKEN! Although chicken legs is not a favorite.
That really creeps me out. XP GROSS!
I hate those they are horrible. In Dim-Sum they taste better than others but I still hate them.
Ewe! That’s gross! How do they eat that stuff?
There are things we eat that other cultures think are gross!
Chicken feet actually tastes quite good. The properties of the skin on the chicken’s foot have healing properties for the face, since it tells our bodies to make more of this elastic-like substance to make our face look younger. The skin is the only thing that you can eat on the bony frame and is like jello. O:)
Fascinating!!! I had no idea!!!
That’s nasty! I lost my appetite from looking at the raw chicken feet.
Ew. Intestines? Chicken feet? Ugh, that’s gross. They kind of look like crab legs but I’ve never tried them so I can’t say if they really are nasty.
Chicken feet tastes pretty good. My sister loves eating it during dim-sum. You just have to cook them the right way. Live chicken is probably healthier for you than what the American supermarkets offer for sale. My family does not buy live chicken though! I feel kind of bad for the chicken. They live their life stuffed up in a cage, waiting to be chosen.
I am pretty sure most of the chicken feet is feeling bad because most of their feet are artificial flavored.
Hey Jun Hao, don’t you eat fong zao?
When I saw the pictures of the chicken feet I wanted to throw up. Did you ever try one of the chicken’s foot? Did you ever see anyone eating the chicken feet? I just feel bad for the little chickens. Did they actually kill the chickens?
I didn’t eat one, but my travel partner did: http://www.aroundtheworldl.com/2011/09/17/a-vegetarian-trains-to-eat-meat-in-prep-for-china-travel/ ! Yes, a chicken is killed to get its feet… but you have no problem with killing chickens when it comes to yummy American fried chicken, though, right?
That picture looks so gross.you really put a picture of chicken feet.Maybe if you put frog legs.poor chickens!Chill with the feet.(still looking at the feet).Awful picture.
Love your blog, Lillie, but— I now most certainly have one foot out the door!
They eat them in Korea as well, but only (as far as I know) in with their fried chicken. You get the regular mix of legs, wings, and breast – and then BOOM, massive chicken foot covered in KFC like crumbs. It’s weird.
Ahhhhh!!! Really?!
Ha ha! This is on my bucket list of things to eat. But, I think I will deep fry them, everything dee-fried tastes pretty good
HA!!!!!
I remember seeing lots of chicken feet when I was in China last summer. I have eaten one (well sort of), and it wasn’t in China. I live in Kore and years ago I was teaching a group of adults. They got in the habit of bringing in Korean food and we would snack after class. Of course, it turned into a bit of a competition to see who could bring in the “best food”. One night someone brought in enough chicken feet to feed an army! I’m sure I turned green. I did do a bit of a nibble on one, and can’t remember being impressed. If I remember right; very tough!
Ahhh! A pile of chicken feet to feed an army?! Whoa! The thing that gets me is it seems there is NO meat on them. Like, what’s the point? It’s a lot of work for very little. (This is the ignorant judgement of a woman who has never tried this food, so others: feel free to explain how wrong I am…)