In this Monday, Jan. 23, 2017 photo, chicken feet snacks shop owner Leung Kin-kung testes a chicken feet in Hong Kong. Saturday marks the start of the lunar Year of the Rooster and families in China will reunite for festivities, fireworks and food. While tradition calls for feasting on \u201causpicious\u201d foods, many will also munch on staple snacks like \u201cphoenix claws,\u201d the Chinese name for chicken feet. (AP Photo\/Vincent Yu)
(The Associated Press)
In this Monday, Jan. 23, 2017 photo, chicken feet snacks shop owner Leung Kin-kung chops off nails of chicken feet in Hong Kong. Saturday marks the start of the lunar Year of the Rooster and families in China will reunite for festivities, fireworks and food. While tradition calls for feasting on \u201causpicious\u201d foods, many will also munch on staple snacks like \u201cphoenix claws,\u201d the Chinese name for chicken feet. (AP Photo\/Vincent Yu)
(The Associated Press)
In this Monday, Jan. 23, 2017 photo, chicken feet snacks shop owner Leung Kin-kung, left, and his wife Leung pack chicken feet takeaway for customer in Hong Kong. Saturday marks the start of the lunar Year of the Rooster and families in China will reunite for festivities, fireworks and food. While tradition calls for feasting on \u201causpicious\u201d foods, many will also munch on staple snacks like \u201cphoenix claws,\u201d the Chinese name for chicken feet. (AP Photo\/Vincent Yu)
(The Associated Press)
HONG KONG \u2013 \u00a0 Saturday marks the start of the lunar Year of the Rooster and families in China will reunite for festivities, fireworks and food. While tradition calls for feasting on \u00ab\u00a0auspicious\u00a0\u00bb foods, many will also munch on staple snacks like \u00ab\u00a0phoenix claws,\u00a0\u00bb the Chinese name for chicken feet.
With reptilian looks and lowly status from scratching around farmyards and coops, humble chicken paws are considered a throwaway in the West, where farmers often grind them into feed for pets and livestock. But across much of Asia, where diners prefer eating meat on the bone, they’re a considered a delicacy.
\u00ab\u00a0Not only are they tasty, but it’s believed they have a lot of collagen so if you eat them it’s good for your skin and makes you look beautiful,\u00a0\u00bb said Liza Chu, author of a guidebook to Hong Kong dim sum dishes including chicken feet.
At this time of year, Chinese like to eat foods that are considered lucky like dumplings and fish. Chicken feet don’t actually have any special meaning for the Year of the Rooster, though that doesn’t mean it’s not a good excuse to eat them, Chu said.
\u00ab\u00a0We all need some rooster energy. Roosters are energetic. They can be very aggressive. They are not shy,\u00a0\u00bb said Chu. Those born in the Year of the Rooster are \u00ab\u00a0very outgoing people. \u00a0\u00bb
Chicken feet are of such culinary importance in China that they have even played a role in trade tensions between the U. S. and China, which imports poultry because of production shortfalls. In 2009, the Obama administration slapped tariffs on Chinese tires and Beijing retaliated by imposing taxes of up to 105 percent on U. S. chicken feet.
Two years ago, China banned poultry imports from the U. S. over bird flu, sending chicken-paw producers in other countries racing to fill the gap.
For the uninitiated, chicken feet have a chewy, fatty and succulent texture, bordering on the gelatinous.
In Hong Kong, they’re served at dim sum teahouses with garlic, chilli and black bean sauce.
Or they can be paired with a beer while watching football matches, said Leung Kin-keung, who runs a chicken feet stall.
\u00ab\u00a0I grew up eating chicken feet,\u00a0\u00bb said Leung. \u00ab\u00a0We were not wealthy\u00a0\u00bb so the family used every part of the chicken, he said.
In Manila, Philippines, street vendors grill skewers of them over charcoal.
\u00ab\u00a0They taste different from ordinary chicken parts. I like eating the bony parts,\u00a0\u00bb said Jacklyn Sun. \u00ab\u00a0Chicken feet are delicious to eat. \u00a0\u00bb
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Associated Press video journalists Josie Wong in Hong Kong and Joeal Calupitan in Manila, Philippines contributed to this report.<\/p>\n