Since Sandy recently bought one to boil with Chinese herbs for a delicious herbal soup, I thought I would find some more info about them. The skin is black and the bones are black; they look so odd hanging next to their pink sisters in the market. Evidently they are Silkie chickens, a widespread breed of hen found throughout the world.
Popular in the West as a show hen 'cos they're so cute and fluffy ...
(All these photos are taken from The Silkie Club of Great Britain.)
and popular with Chinese on the plate 'cos they taste so good! Our dinner:
Sandy's herbal chicken soup contained seven Chinese herbs. Below are the Chinese and English names and some of their many medicinal properties (extracted from some rather dubious Chinese websites):
1. bei qi (astragalus root): regulates blood sugar, improves endurance
2. dang shen (codonopsis root): improves immune system, Increases red blood cells
3. huai shan (Chinese wild yam, dioscorea): promotes urination, improves digestive system
4. gou qi (Chinese wolfberry): elevates testosterone levels, increase the weight of the uteri of immature mice
5. yu zhu (solomon's seal): raises the blood pressure or rabbits but lowers that of dogs (!)
6. nan xing (sweet almond): don't want to know
7. bei xing (Manchurian apricot): no info, thank God
Maybe I shouldn't have researched those herbs straight after dinner, I feel a little queasy now ...
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