"Silky Chicken" (with black bones and skin)

[Busboy]

One of those odd coincidences. My wife wants to make one of our occasional jaunts to a deep-suburbs Chinese grocery store, for the really cheap live lobsters they're selling these days, and she sends me a recipe for lobster with pasta, sherry and salmon roe from today's Times to print out, so I'm thinking further ahead than usual.

In the mean time, I'm thinking really far ahead, about cassoulet next month, and I need duck fat so I can get going on the confit, which comes cheap from a place called Bella Bella and while working my way around their slightly-hard-to-navigate site I see that you can buy "Silkie Black Meat Chicken" from Bella Bella, as well (Within the ad, there's a link to a Times article, if you look close).

But I recall seeing Silkie Chicken at Great Wall and wondering "what's up with that?" and so I'm figuring on buying one or two when we head out for the lobsters.

My question is, does anybody have any experience, advice or recipes that go beyond the Times article concerning how best to dispose of this odd bird?

Edited December 10, 2008 by Busboy (log)

[Andrew Fenton]

My understanding (which might be incorrect) is that black chicken is usually served as a soup. In another coincidence, I just had it for the first time last week, in soup with ginseng. It was a very mild broth, much less seasoned than other Chinese broths I've had, with a hint of herbal/medicinal flavor from the ginseng and a slight bitterness (either from the ginseng or the chicken, I'm not sure.) Tasted like something your Jewish grandmother would make, if she were Chinese.

[liuzhou]

As Andrew says, the black chicken is used for soup. It's very common around here and I've never seen it served any other way.

Last night, at a banquet, I had a black chicken soup with mushrooms and a normal chicken was also served as a meat course.

[jkim]

From what I can see, Andrew has described the traditional heuk sam gye tang, the korean chicken soup. The black bird sam gye tang is usually much more expensive than its white counterpart, and is said to have medicinal and stamina providing properties. I guess thats what all Asians say about all delicacies...

[aprilmei]

I've only had it in soup too. It makes a good tonic broth for "women's problems".

[jkim]

BTW I've actually had black chicken as a roast.

[jo-mel]

BTW I've actually had black chicken as a roast.

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What did it taste like? (chicken?)

[junehl]

I have black chicken braised with mushrooms, bamboo shoots, mung bean threads, nappa cabbage in a sauce made with fermented beancurd

[aprilmei]

BTW I've actually had black chicken as a roast.

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was it dry? whenever I make it into soup, there's very little fat floating on the surface.

[Kent Wang]

I think the question we're all dying to know is: how does its taste differ from normal chicken?

[peony]

Other than the skin is black, it tastes like normal spring chicken.

it is used mainly for soup in Chinese cooking cos it has very little fat. we always used it before it grows to adult size.

[liuzhou]

Here's what the chicken looks like.

And here it is partly chopped, almost ready for the stock pot. On the right, you can see I have removed the skin from the breast to let you see the meat colour.

Edited December 20, 2008 by liuzhou (log)

[weinoo]

I've only had it in soup too. It makes a good tonic broth for "women's problems".

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So, is it a good soup for a man who is having trouble finding a woman?

[aprilmei]

I've only had it in soup too. It makes a good tonic broth for "women's problems".

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So, is it a good soup for a man who is having trouble finding a woman?

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No, LOL. I'll bet a lot of men wish that finding a woman were as easy as drinking soup.

[liuzhou]

So, is it a good soup for a man who is having trouble finding a woman?

Hold on! I'll ask my wives (and concubines).