Moving on, I’m going to guess everyone knows how to deal with chicken livers. In fact you probably know a lot of uses that I don’t. However, I am wondering how many people have ventured outside the chicken coop.
Chicken Livers
Here we get chicken livers (鸡肝 - jī gān), but also easily available are duck livers (鸭肝 - yā gān). In fact, some vendors mix them together; they taste so alike it doesn’t really matter. We also see pigeon livers (鸽肝 - gē gān) and even tiny quail livers (鹌鹑干 - ān chún gān). Going to the other extreme, goose liver (鹅肝 - é gān) is also available.
Uncleaned Duck Livers
These livers are normally fried or grilled as snacks and added to hotpots etc. Fried rice with diced livers are not uncommon. The interwebs are full of recipes for “Chinese Chicken Liver”, but nearly all are western adaptations and unknown in China.
Pigeon Livers
Goose Liver Fried Rice
I often serve them (chicken and duck livers) with pasta and, of course, make liver pâté but none of my friends know what it is. It is made in Hong Kong, probably due to the foreign influence.
Chicken Liver Pâté and Toast
Talking of goose livers, China is now producing foie gras (酱鹅肝 (jiàng é gān) or 鹅肝酱 (é gān jiàng)) by the French method for the luxury market, although in very limited quantities – about one twentieth of what France produces. French and other imports are also available, but pricy. Japanese restaurants (all Chinese owned here in Liuzhou) often have excellent goose liver sushi.
French Foie Gras Imported to China
Foie Gras and Toast
Goose Liver Sushi
