liuzhou

To find something almost as popular as a duck’s neck, we just have to move up to its end. For the most pointless food ever look no further than duck’s heads. The only thing vaguely edible about them is the skin; the rest is just cartilage and bone, but many Chinese like little better than gnawing on the inedible. Uncooked Duck Heads The heads, stewed in a mix of 30 Chinese herbs and barley rice, are only outsold by the duck necks at 久久鸭 (jiǔ jiǔ yā), a successful retailer of cooked poultry viscera and offal with branches (and copycats) across China’s major cities. They are also stir fried with spices as a popular beer food. Heads are especially popular in Shanghai. 久久鸭 (jiǔ jiǔ yā) - Image by N509FZ, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Duck heads with necks. Image by Ben Stephenson, licenced under the Creative Commons Attribution 2/0 Generic license.

For many, Christmas is a time of making wishes, often made after pulling on a wishbone. The person getting the larger part gets to wish; or is it whoever gets the smaller part? The tradition varies from place to place. But beyond that we don’t think much about wishbones. Unless you are Chinese; in that case you might be craving some. The clavicles are your collarbones and you have two of them. One on either side. The name comes from the Latin clavicula, meaning ‘a small key’ “according to Littré ‘because it was compared to the key of a vault, or, as others think, because its form is that of the ancient bolts’.” They are the most commonly broken bones in the human body. Poultry and other birds also have clavicles, but unlike you and I, their clavicles are fused into one, being joined by what is termed the furcula, again from Latin and this time meaning ‘a little fork’. The two clavicles and the furcula together make the wishbone. The furcula not only holds both sides of the bird together, but acts as a spring aiding the bird in flight. As the wings descend the wishbone extends, then springs back helping the bird to raise its wingsfor the next flap. It is also believed to help pump air into the bird’s air sacs. From medieval times, the clavicle and furcula of geese were used to make divinations, usually about the weather, but also regarding the likelihood of victory in war. The practice of making wishes based on whoever wins the wishbone pulling game is much more recent, only appearing in the 17th century. Initially, wishbones were known as ‘merrythoughts’ which “alludes to the playful custom of two persons pulling the furcula of a fowl until it breaks; according to the popular notion, the one who gets the longer (in some districts, the shorter) piece will either be married sooner than the other, or will gain the fulfilment of any wish he may form at the moment.” That was considered to be a merry thought; hence the name. ‘Wishbone’ is only recorded from 1860 onwards, after which ‘merrythought’ all but disappeared. It remains in a few English dialects. The Chinese are not aware of this wish granting property, they see the 鸭锁骨 (yā suǒ gǔ), the clavicle or furcula more as something to gnaw on! Duck clavicles are a popular snack, usually braised in a number of different ways. Five-spice clavicle, salt and pepper clavicle, sweet and sour clavicle, mala* clavicle etc. Clavicles are more meaty than some parts of the bird that are gnawed on. The wishbone from the Christmas or Thanksgiving turkey usually has meat attached; same with ducks. Duck Clavicles from a Liuzhou supermarket deli counter. * 麻辣 (má là) is the Sichuan ‘hot and numbing’ flavour sensation derived from chilli and Sichuan peppercorns.

doesn't traditionally have pork, either! Who cares about tradition all the time? Not me.

In 1998, my then 25-year-old daughter came to China to visit me, flying from London to Shanghai, where I met her. We stayed there overnight and next day set out on a 36 hour train journey to Hunan*, where I was then living. At one point in the journey, a China Rail employee came along pushing a trolley cart, as they did all the time, selling snacks and drinks. Warm beer, mostly. My daughter decided to lean over and look into this particular cart to see what was on offer and I’ll never forget her reaction. She leapt back as if scalded, with a look of horror on her face as it drained to white. The cart was piled high with braised chicken’s feet, complete with toenails. My daughter was no fussy eater but that normally placid young woman was in shock! Chicken's Feet This is something most westerners visiting China comment on – the Chinese people’s love of chicken and duck feet. They happily chew on these meatless collections of bone, tendon and sinew all the way across China. There are variations in this gelatinous diet. Five-spice feet, chilli feet. The only flavour is in the sauce or spice rub. Soy Braised Chicken's Feet Euphemistically, the chicken’s feet are known as 凤爪 (fèng zhuǎ, literally ‘phoenix claws’), they are more technically 鸡爪 (jī zhuǎ, ‘chicken claws‘) or 鸡脚 (jī jiǎo ‘chicken feet‘). Pickled Chicken's Feet They are sold as snacks and as beer food, but also turn up in soups and noodle dishes. They are served as dim sum. Here in Liuzhou, 鸭掌 (yā zhǎng), duck’s feet are considered by most people to be an essential addition to the city’s signature dish, 螺蛳粉 (luó sī fěn), being an ideal pairing with snails. In fact dishes of snails and duck feet appear on many menus. Duck's Feet with Snails Also the likes of 绝味鸭脖 (jué wèi yā bó), the chain of duck part shops mentioned in my last post, and its imitators do a roaring trade in feet. Convenience stores and supermarkets sell packaged feet for snacking on. Indeed, such is the demand that China runs out of feet and has to import them from Europe and the USA, where they are not wanted. Feet are a huge multi-million dollar business. Duck's Feet The gourmet end of this market focuses on goose feet, highly popular in Hong Kong and other Cantonese cuisine strongholds. They are often served with more expensive goodies such as abalone, truffles or rare mushrooms. Goose Web Goose feet are usually referred to as 鹅蹼 (é pǔ) or 鹅掌 (é zhǎng) meaning ‘goose web’, mere ‘feet’ being too downmarket for such a wonderful treat! Like all feet, they are gelatinous and have next to no meat. You use more calories eating them than they replace! Cooked Goose Web Of course, other places also partake in feet food, mostly in Asia. Indonesia has a popular soup, soto ceker, which is chicken’s feet served in a clear, yellow-tinged broth with spices such as ground shallot, garlic, galangal, ginger, candlenut, bruised lemongrass, daun salam (Indonesian bayleaf) and turmeric for colour. It is often served with noodles and vegetables. Vietnam has most of the Chinese preparations, but serves them intheir own fashion, with herbs. Korea serves chicken’s feet (닭발 – dakbal) grilled with a chilli sauce as beer food, while Malaysia curries them. The Philippines has spicy grilled feet as a street food, bizarrely called adidas after the sports shoes brand. In the Americas, Jamaica has a slow -cooked chicken’s foot soup and the feet are also curried or stewed and served as a main course in a meal. Mexico also has its foot soups as well as stews using the chickens feet. They can even rustle you up a chicken’s foot mole As for me, the only feet I do is pig’s feet, but I do buy chicken’s feet to make chicken stocks. The gelatin is welcome there! * Today, on China’s incredible bullet trains, it now takes a mere eight hours. Whether they still sell feet, I don’t know

I more or less gave up on Christmas when I moved to China; it's a normal working day here. However, I usually cook myself something a bit out of the ordinary. This year I decided to do some roast quail. Still trying to decide how many I will eat. Anyway, I ordered some online and they just arrived. 20 of them! That should cover it! They are now residing in the freezer. They were delivered frozen in two bags of 10 (inside a further insulation bag inside a polystyrene insulation box also containing a couple of ice packs. I've removed the bag from the top layer of 10 for the sake of clarity in the photo. I have since replaced it.

Oops. Sorry. Misunderstanding. My wording is ambiguous. It is the congee that is home made. I've never made century eggs. It is a long winded process and given that every shop and market stall here that sells regular eggs also sells century eggs, tea eggs and salted eggs, why bother?

Search Google for ‘duck necks’ and 90% of the results are for people trying to sell them to pet owners. There is even one site selling what they describe as “100% Human Grade Organic Duck Neck Bones” – for dogs! Duck Necks Search Baidu, China’s foremost search engine, for the same and there isn’t a pet to be found. Instead you get dinner! You don’t get the duck’s neck inside your bag of giblets. You buy them separately. Markets and supermarkets all carry them and all over town there are small kiosks and shops selling braised necks to peckish passers-by. 绝味鸭脖 (jué wèi yā bó), operating out of Changsha, Hunan, is one of China's largest retail snack food companies with over 10,000 stores, mainly in China, but also SIngapore. The name means 'superb taste duck neck', which is what it mainly sells. Duck Neck There is a lot you can do with a few duck necks. I guess most people outside China use them to make stocks and that is fine, but I feel that feet and wing tips do that job better. Or , of course, the carcass of a (preferably) roasted or unroasted bird. And there better things to do with necks. Although duck necks do contain bones, they are soft bones and totally edible. Just skin the necks and you are ready to cook. Probably the most popular way here is to braise them. I prefer to cut the necks into 1½ to 2 inch sections, but they can be and often are braised intact. The necks should be blanched for three minutes and cleaned of any scum before proceeding. They are then braised with slices of ginger, bay leaves, dry red chilli, cassia bark, star anise, green onion and Sichuan peppercorns. Rice wine (preferably Shaoxing) and soy sauce are added to the braising liquid along with salt and, sometimes, sugar. Fresh chillies can also be added for a spicy kick. MSG optional. Soy Braised Duck Neck The necks can also be roasted alongside the bird or separately. There is a “recipe” on the internet which deep fries them, but it just consists of coating them in spices and deep frying them. Goose necks are better boned, but otherwise can be cooked in the same ways. In France, they are often boned then stuffed.

手工皮蛋瘦肉粥 (shǒu gōng pí dàn shòu ròu zhou) Homemade Century Egg and Pork Congee

I know what you mean, which is why I usually make my own wraps. However, when I first came out the hospital, I didn't feel up to it so I bought these three. They are Malaysian. The 'original wraps' were a bit boring, but the other two are actually quite good. When I've used them all, I'll switch back to homemade, though.

Yes. To pet food manufacturers.

Combining two of my interests – historical linguistics and stuffing my face with the bits of animals many people run away from – I have decided to attempt to clear up some confusion. Every website I look at has a different answer, few of them correct. What is the difference between viscera, offal and giblets? Viscera is from the Latin viscera, the plural of viscus, meaning “the soft contents of the principal cavities of the body; esp. the internal organs of the trunk; the entrails or bowels together with the heart, liver, lungs, etc.” internal being the operative word. Couldn’t be clearer, unless you aren’t sure what organs are! To my surprise the original meaning of organ is the musical one, although it meant any musical instrument as far back as 1000 AD. The anatomical and culinary meaning didn’t turn up until the early 15th century and was defined as “a part of an animal or plant body adapted by its structure for a particular vital function, as digestion, respiration, excretion, reproduction, perception, etc.” So one would be justified in saying that the penis is an organ by dint of its reproductive ability but not viscera for want of being internal. Testicles, too in many animals, but not in chickens and other poultry where the testicles are internal and therefore visceral organs. ‘Offal’ is derived from the English ‘off fall’. In our context, that means “the parts which are cut off in dressing the carcase of an animal killed for food; in earlier use applied mainly to the entrails; now, as a trade term, including the head and tail, as well as the kidneys, heart, tongue, liver, and other parts” so, anything except flesh in most modern western usage. In other words, the parts people have to be persuaded are food! Although which parts that entails varies from culture to culture rendering the term almost meaningless. Sometimes it entails tails. My local supermarket sells penises of various animals and they have been cut off the carcase so here they are offal. In much of the USA and Europe they are awful. Historically, the word is roughly concurrent with ‘viscera’ and there is a lot of overlap. I guess penises are viscera or offal depending on the softness! “Giblets” is slightly older and originally (c 1300 AD) only applied to geese entrails. The word is from the French and meant ‘an unessential appendage’. Whether that includes penises falls under sexual politics and we don’t discuss politics of any kind here! In modern usage it tends to mean the liver, gizzard and hearts of poultry, but also often includes the neck which almost no one knows what to do with. 63.27% of people have cooked the plastic bag they came in, unaware it was there. 99% of poultry necks go to dog food. Except in China, where they go to me. Usually, if you find a bag of giblets in a bird, unless you bought it direct from a poutry rearer, it won't be the parts from that particular bird. Indeed they may be from several different birds. But many suppliers have abandoned giblets altogether and only sell maybe the livers separately. China never included the giblets in a whole bird. They are too valuable and are always sold separately. Poultry penises are in short supply. So that clears that up! You are welcome.

A simple chicken and mushroom with green chilli, garlic, Shaoxing, soy sauce. Rice.

Caterina de’ Medici (1519 – 1589) was Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to King Henry II and was mother to the next three French kings (although she really ruled in their name). Apart from her reputation as a cruel, murderous tyrant which earned her the sobriquet ‘the black queen', she also has a reputation for being something of a gourmet and having introduced several foodstuffs, cooking techniques and even the fork from her native Italy to the French court and from there to the masses. The problem with that is that it is mostly nonsense. France had been absorbing influences and foods from Italy since long before she was born. Her own father-in-law ran among the Italian elite and sampled the best Italy and France had to offer. The Romans probably introduced the fork into what was then Gaul, which became modern France. But still the myths persist. Among which is one, reported by Guliano Bugialli in 'The Fine Art of Italian Cooking (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)’, which says she so enjoyed one dish that she nearly ate herself to death on it. Cibreo is a rich Italian sauce, but so much more. Very different from the familiar Italian sauces, it is a riot of poultry offal. Bugialli gives a recipe which includes chicken’s crests, combs, wattles, livers, testicles, and unlaid eggs. from The Fine Art of Italian Cooking What, you may ask, are unlaid eggs. Well, almost every time I go to the market or buy a whole or half chicken, I find unlaid eggs. Before laying her eggs, the hen has to make the things. At first only the yolk is formed and only later the shell and white form. If the bird is slaughtered during this process the yolks can still be inside. In most western farms, they will be removed before the chicken is put on sale in order not to upset anyone’s sensibilities. However, in certain parts of the world they are valued. I know they are here, but apparently they were, too in Renaissance France and Italy. The yolks are thicker and richer than in a full-term egg. They are excellent for thickening sauces which is how they are employed here, but can also be added to soups, stews or hotpots Supermarket Chicken with Unlaid Eggs I’m sure Bugialli’s recipe is a fine one, but this is one of those dishes that every cook makes slightly differently. In fact, maybe no one makes it exactly the same every time. It’s a use whatever bits of the chicken you have dish! Most recipes today, leave out the unlaid egg or, at best, substitute a laid egg yolk. Here is another very different recipe. The sauce can be served with pasta or with bread, toasted or not.

A bit odd, I know, but it's what I wanted to try and I don't regret it. Boiled duck eggs in a spinach flavour wrap. Boiled egg burrito, if you like.

One highly visible external part of poultry, you’ve probably never even thought of eating. Both the hens and the cocks have them but the cocks’ are much larger and more prominent. I’m referring to the combs, that usually bright red crown they wear on their heads and which are believed to have evolved to aid in the choice of mates. They are often referred to as cockscombs as, due to their size, it only usually those of the male which are harvested and eaten in some cultures, including the one I find myself in. Cock with Comb - Image by Muhammad Mahdi Karim licensed under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 When I first came to China, I made a decision to start learning the language by studying menu Chinese, so that I could get myself a decent meal. One of the first words I learned was 鸡 (jī), meaning chicken. A few days later, I was in a restaurant and spotted the relevant character on a menu and thought I’d have some chicken for dinner. In no time at all, I was served a steaming hot plate of stir fried combs! I realised I still had a long way to go in my language learning endeavour. But I had learned another new word. 冠 (guān) meaning ‘comb’ in the anatomical sense. Stick the two together and you get 鸡冠 (jī guān) which was what I had failed to read correctly and was about to eat. They were somewhat gelatinous, but richly flavoured and slightly gamey. The French used to use them a lot as garnishes for dishes and their neighbours, the Spanish and other Latin countries often added them to their salpicóns. Italy uses combs in their cibreo served with tagliatelle (of which more in another post to come). However, their use seems to have dramatically declined. In 2017, chef Antoine Westermann added them to his menu at New York’s Le Coq Rico. It perhaps failed to delight the locals as the place seems to have disappeared and their website is down. Anyone know if it is still alive? One place you can find them is on the shelf of my local supermarket. Cock's combs in Liuzhou Supermarket They are often served as dim sum and the place I first ate them is still there 25 years later with the same dish still on the menu. Outside of China, nearly all combs end up in landfill or are used in pet foods. Pity.

There is a nice, short history of mince pies as mentioned in the first post of this topic, here.

There is something decidedly strange about that website. First of all they claim it's 100% Authentic Filipino (Filipino Portuguese Sardines?), but then you look at the delivery information and find everything is shipped from the USA. The sardines (without delivery) cost more than double per can what I have been paying with delivery to my door. I don't really feel like paying to ship sardines from Portugal (to the Philippines?) to the USA to China on top of that outrageous price. But sincerely, thanks for trying.

Thanks but I'm not in the Philippines.

Some Highlights of Poultry Blood around the World 3. THE REST OF THE WORLD Away from Europe and Asia, blood in any form as a food becomes rarer and rarer, especially that of poultry. In fact, I have only found one in all the Americas, other than versions of European and Asian dishes I’ve already mentioned. If anyone knows of any in North or South America, please let us know. Giblet pie, anyone? Peru has come to the rescue with sengrecita which is fried chicken's blood with Welsh onion, usually served with rice, corn, yucca, or potatoes. It is believed that the ancient Peruvians used llama blood out of necessity. It was simple, nutritious and inexpensive survival food in hard times and high in protein and iron, combatting anaemia in a place where it is not so easy to find these nutrients. Sangrecita with Yucca - Image by MiguelAlanCS licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license

Have spoken to my friend. She confirms the filling was sweet, but has no idea how it's made, either.

Great article here on the joys or not of herpetophagy and the history of consumption of reptiles and amphibians. All Shakespeare's fault, as usual. Reptile Amphibians

This isn't my breakfast. A friend sent me the pictureand I thought it was interesting enough to share. 白粥 (bái zhōu), plain rice porridge/congee; 酸菜 (suān cài), pickled mustard greens, 牛乳包 (niú rǔ bāo). Apart from the last item, this is a fairly typical Chinese breakfast. Ignore the lemons; they weren't part of breakfast. The 牛乳包 (niú rǔ bāo) are some sort of steamed bun containing a filling made from milk. I've never seen them so I've never eaten them so I can't say much more about that at this stage. I suspect however, they are sweet. I'll ask later. My friend is a teacher and in class now. I often eat congee and baozi buns for breakfast, but I stick to 肉包 (ròu bāo), pork buns.

Some Highlights of Poultry Blood around the World 2. SOUTH-EAST ASIA Much of SE Asia has been influenced by Chinese cuisine and poultry blood appears there, too. It is often used in noodle dishes in Thailand, home to China’s largest and oldest emigrant population. In Bangkok’s famous Don Wai floating market you wind past pots of congealed duck blood and, should you stop for a bite, among the dishes on offer are noodles with spicy duck blood or plates of stewed blood to have with rice. The spices used are very reminiscent of those in 5-spice powder, showing the Chinese influence. In 2015, chicken’s blood was briefly banned by the Thai government after around 100 people suffered food poisoning in Changmai after eating the popular dish ข้าวมันไก่ (khao man gai, a Thai version of Hainanese Chicken) infected with the bacterium Vibrio parahaemolyticus. After investigating, the authorities announced that the outbreak had been caused by the dish having been cooked then left sitting around for hours waiting for someone to order it. I have few rules about my restaurant eating, but I never eat dishes that are pre-cooked and laid out buffet style in Asia. Khao Man Gai - Image by Calliopejen, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International, 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license. The authorities stressed that the dish, which often contains chicken blood tofu (see above) must only be served when freshly made and hot. A Dr. Sopon Mekthon of the Department of Disease Control confirmed Vibrio parahaemolyticus had been found only in the chicken blood tofu. People could still eat chicken but should avoid blood tofu, which is not sterilised. He also recommended that cooks use separate knives and chopping blocks for chicken blood tofu from other equipment to prevent food poisoning. Neighbouring Laos sensibly prefers its ducks. ລາບ (laab, larb, larp, laap, larp or lahb all are alternative spellings), meaning 'salad', is the national dish in Laos and laab baeng pet or colloquially ‘paeng pet’ is a kind of duck salad with blood. It comes in two versions, cooked or raw. The people of Laos have a love of raw meats and prepare the salad with raw duck meat, not somewhere I advise you to follow. The cooked version of the salad also contains raw duck blood but give it a go. It is an amazingly delicious dish and you’ll soon stop worrying about what you are eating. The dish also contains minced / ground duck meat and copious amounts of fresh herbs. Finished with peanuts, green onions, chopped chillies, and crispy fried shallots, this is a dish to remember. True heroes will cover their dish of laab with freshly squeezed lime juice – the limes are there on your table waiting, then take a raw chilli (also waiting) and dip it into the shrimp paste provided to consume as a chaser. Lab Baeng Pet - licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. In Malaysia, curry mee often contains duck blood, although in some places, especially Penang, they use pig blood instead. Check, if that is an issue for you. The dish is made with rice noodles in a spicy broth with coconut milk and seafood along with cubes of coagulated duck blood. Last but far from least, Vietnam also uses blood extensively. It features in noodles from Hue, the ancient capital, and they have their own version of blood sausage, similar to the French boudin they encountered in colonial times. Blood congee is sometimes eaten for breakfast. But their most famous poultry blood dish has to be tiết canh vịt or duck soup made by mincing duck neck (including the bone) and boiling that with the bird’s liver, gizzards and anything else they find inside except the muscle flesh. It is finished with the duck’s blood which has been kept liquid by the addition of lemon juice and nam pla, fish sauce. The bright neon-red soup also contains grilled onion, saw-leaf herb, basil, lemon leaves, and chilli and is topped with the boiled liver and peanuts. As ever in Vietnam, it will be served with a side of green herbs and lemon. Tiết Canh Vịt - Image by Petr and Bara Ruzicka, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. I miss Vietnamese food so much! ...to be continued