Taiwanese Five-Spice Chicken Nuggets
Chicken and Three Mushrooms in a Pouch
Spicy Chicken with Ginger and Black Beans
Sizzling Chicken and Cloud Ears in a Clay Pot
Vietnamese Grilled Chicken with Lemon Grass
FOR MANY people, one of the most striking things about a walk through an Asian market is the sight of chicken feet and whole ducks spilling from boxes in shop stalls. History tells us that China was the first country to breed chickens for food, followed by ducks, squabs and quails, so it’s not surprising to find an extended list of Chinese poultry recipes. Be prepared to see both the head and the tail of the bird attached when ordering dishes in a Chinese restaurant. Chicken is also favoured in India, where it’s turned into the famous butter chicken, tandoori chicken, chicken tikka and curry chicken dishes.
Asians don’t often cook with turkey, but duck is popular in China, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. Try the Red Curry Duck. Around Vancouver, several Fraser Valley farms are raising free-range chickens, whose clean flavour is perfect for such dishes as Vietnamese Grilled Chicken with Lemon Grass and Chicken and Three Mushrooms in a Pouch. If you can find them, try silkies, a special breed of chicken favoured in China that has charcoal-coloured skin, dark meat and fluffy white feathers that are silky soft to the touch. Or try quails and squabs, which have their own succulent flavour.