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Q: Chicken feet situation?
Just an observation really yet genuine question, think it's obvious Chinese don't particularly eat much chicken but they devour their feet. It's disproportionate. Any ideas. Cold storage, legless chickens...
all chicken parts eaten here - not only the feet.
probably you just can't recognise the chicken in the food you are eating 
there is a little mom and pop shop down my street that specializes in all parts of a chicken. you can eat EVERYTHING from the bird there... actually, the spicy spicy chicken feet with some nice cold beer is really good.
woody:
I agree Paul. Munching on the spicy ones with a beer in hand is fine. Not sensational but OK for a snack
Economically impossible ^^ That would assume a gigantic waste of food. Raising a chicken cost money, pretty much any part of the chicken is eaten. For instance, the muscle parts are often fried with lots of other things "Kung Pao Ji" style 
And all those KFC !!!
On a side note, properly cooked frogs taste something close to a chicken, but are more economic to breed
Noodle888:
Good point with KFC and yeah suppose it is mixed in with this and that, unknowingly sometimes maybe. Can imagine them sticking it into just about anything to even up the disproportion.
Yeah but they go through the feet like there is no tomorrow. Wings, drumsticks are popular too and a chicken only has two of each.
Even though they sell all parts I believe they do not consume much breast, from my observations anyway. It's seems it is the last preference as a choice of meat. No wonder it is so cheap. It's totally disproportionate: feet, legs, wings the lower grade (yes tasty) stuff to the better grade and bulkier stuff like breast.
How regular is say 8 feet in a hotpot, that's 4 chickens. The same 8 people will eat chicken wings for starters, snacks (numerous chickens) far more than they will eat breast. Those 8 people may not eat breast for months. Disproportionate... and much use of the word breast!
Nessquick:
On the other hand, it's okay, because they keep the breast cheap for me. 
I think they do eat quite a lot of chicken, apparently KFC does better here than McD's.
Nessquick:
If you eat KFC burger, there is also no breast meat, all is from legs, just one burger have the breast...
Chicken feet, pig feet and pig anusses are imported from countries where these parts are considered not fit for dog food.
Personally I don't eat them. A chicken spends its entire life marinating its feet in its own feces, same for pigs. Office course if the animals were raised in an idyllic green farm that could change matters
DrMonkey:
That's a very sensible remark, I feel dumb to not have though of it ^^ I googled around to see the reality of it, and yup, it's very real
http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2012/12/chicken_feet_to_china_americas.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/us-china-embroiled-in-trade-spat-over-chicken-feet/2011/12/13/gIQASphjxO_story.html
Noodle888:
Excellent, did think of that too as the likely scenario... sell your animal or abattoir waste to China where it is a delicacy.
The feet are my line in the sand. Even if the hotpot has feet in it then no thanks. Gross.
Scandinavian:
so Noodle88, you've never tried the pig stomach hot pot ?
Noodle888:
lol, I have tried the pig stomach. I'll always have a go off the stomach, hotpot and wine or beer usually come hand in hand so you tend to get more adventurous. Feet though are just not for me especially cos I suffer from an acute condition known as 'smelly feet'!
today lunch, in our canteen, one part of the dish was a pig feet. of course, i deny to eat it, while all the people around was smacking their lips. One of them, told me, that this is good for beauty skin ...
i disagree, chinese eat chicken often and not only feet.
Noodle888:
Pretty vague there as usual. Is this fact or an observation. I was going by observation and the previous article links I prove it right, that is they import massive quantities, so significant it seems that China tried to put a tariff on them!
Tried pig intestine, nice only for the texture. After a few beers I tend to go for a few nibbles again.
I like pig 'anything' ('tripe'.... mmmhhh), but I've never hold chicken feet with my hands, either ''dead' or 'alive'
. Never!
When I see Chinese munching on the chicken feet (mostly during travelling with the train), my thoughts are always in the Past Tense (of the chicken). I always imagine, where foot was walking before cooking.
I observed free range chickens, ….once. Eat, drink and shit, all three functions done in the rapid succession. The 4th 'function' is 'standing in its own shit'.
'There's no water hot enough to wash the '4th function' away'.
Vyborg:
I tried pig's intestines once, not knowing what it was and it looked good, but I was reminded of the smell of the sty right away when I took the first bite. The expression on my face changed so fast people asked me what was going on. Then I learnt that they love the stuff because of this peculiar flavor. I guess the same goes for chicken feet. Don't wash them to well, you'll ruin the delicate taste.
icnif77:
Tripe is very delicate (complicated cooking) meal. Only, if cooked properly, tastes good. I refused to eat 'shady prep.' tripe.
Stomach must be washed properly, and cooked till soft (almost as chewing gum). Then, sauce prep., and serve it after 20' off the fire.
'Only older cooks in (the family) can cook good tripe!'
It amuses me sometimes:
Eat feet to give you strong feet.
Eat head to be clever.
Eat eyes for good eyesight.
Eat penis for nudge nudge wink wink.
But I never see women eat chicken breast....
I'd simply rather not eat than eat chicken feet or many other things they eat over here.
So, new question/discussion for someone to start here on echina...
List the 5 grossest things you seen served as food for humans in China, Then for fun maybe we can each list the single grossest thing we ever seen served in our homehome.
Ja, I am coining a new term~ homehome: definition- the place where one has spent the bulk of her/his formative years. Where one feels they would define it as their own personal nucleus of being. as in contrast with Home, which can simply mean where one is residing at the present time.
*Note to Noah- please fwd royalty payments to: fkmerunningbckwards
