Black Chicken and Other Unexpected Foods
One of the best things about running this blog is the suggestions for interesting stuff that people send me. “Cookie” dropped me a line the other day to mention the Chinese batnut (Trapa bicornis, which is also, I find out, called a devilnut, water caltrop, buffalo nut, and several other names all related to the fact that they’re black and spiky and evil-looking). They’re toxic when raw, but when cooked they’re apparently somewhat similar in flavor and texture to a chestnut.
Her note continued, “They are really impressive served with black skinned chickens, also found [at the Saigon Market].” And I went, “…black-skinned chickens?” A quick googling reveals that the chicken breed called the silkie–they’re the ones that sort of resemble the avian equivalent of a sheepdog–all have black skin and bones and greyish-black meat. Apparently they have a somewhat gamier flavor than regular chickens; there’s a bit more information about their preparation and some lovely photos here. They’re also reputed to have medicinal properties, so they’re widely available at Chinese groceries.
So. Naturally-black chickens and a vegetable that looks like a medieval torture device. Match them up with some squid ink pasta and you’ve got a wonderfully spooky dinner.
Thanks, Cookie!
Posted in Paint It Black | 6 Comments »
February 15th, 2012 at 9:13 am
OMG. I have never seen batnuts before. Now I’m going to have to troll chinatown for them.
:squee:
February 15th, 2012 at 11:37 am
Black chicken and batnuts. Wow. Blah…yuck. BUT very interesting.
February 16th, 2012 at 8:29 am
I had to laugh when I saw the batnuts. I know them as Chinese horned nuts and they have a long history in the US as being used in a street grift called the Asian Water Lilly. A street hawker would buy several and separate them into bins marked Red, White, Yellow, Pink. The hawker would drill a hole through the top of the nut (between the horns to the point) and slide a carnation or lilly through the hole and float the flower and nut in a tub of water. He would then sell “Asian Water Lilly seeds” to the crowds. “Poke a hole in the top, float it in a vase or bowl of water and in 10 to 14 days you too will have lovely flowers growing in your home. Five dollars for one, twelve for three, or a set of 4 for fifteen. Mix and match…Crimson, white, gold and pink. We’ve thoughtfully added a spot of paint on each one so you know what you’ll get.” Folks would get home, put them in water and well…they’d rot.
February 16th, 2012 at 8:58 pm
I’ve made black chicken and it’s pretty good! I still have the frozen claws in my freezer. I wanted to preserve them but didn’t know how. They look like licorice!
When I was in New Orlean’s, I asked a woman who worked in one of those voodoo shops about silkies wondering if they’d be considered good magic in rituals. She didn’t believe that they existed so I never found out.
February 17th, 2012 at 5:25 pm
Look at the cute furry feet!!! I wonder what color eggs they have—how awesome would it be to have a black hen in your yard laying black eggs??
February 19th, 2012 at 2:32 pm
Went to the garden show last weekend and spent twenty minutes making friends with an animal I’d never seen before: black chickens with furry feet. Almost took a chick home. Adorable.
Then you have them on here. Weird. If they’d told me the meat was black, I’d have brought them home.