Took an Arrow in the Knee - The easiest chicken knee cartilage ("soft bone") recipe

What does it look like to you?

Doesn't it look like some random pieces of chicken meat?

I've always called it soft bone, but when I was about to put it down here, I think that it might be better if I find a name that gives it more characteristics. So there it goes. 

The Mighty Chicken

Chicken again blows human's mind. Not Taiwanese, though. As I know, all parts of chicken can be used. Starting from the top: It's head. When I was little, the best part of a pot of chicken soup is definitely the brain of the chicken (don't eww!). My dad would crack its skull open for me, and I'll have the inside. It was like a luxurious nib of bone marrow. I loved it, but it has been a long time since the last time I had it, so I'm not sure if I would still like it now. 

Chicken neck? Of course! people love it! Braise it with soy sauce and other spices and deep fry it so that its skin becomes crispy, stir fry it with ginger, rice wine, sesame oil, and soy sauce (the 3-cup, basically cook with whatever chicken related parts), and a lot more others. 

If you want to know what else is being eaten? Pay a visit to a Taiwanese braised food stand, and you'll see the variety. The neck, the heart, the stomach, the feet, the butt. A little less than a duck, which has its head, its tongue and its ankles in addition to all that said of a chicken. 

This is approximately what you'll see at a braised food stand, probably more.
The top left sausage like things are sticks of chicken hearts, and the one to the right of broccoli is duck's tongue. source

You think that's all? No way!

Go to a night market, have fun, and keep an eye on the weirdest thing you can ever imagine finding in your bowl. Or, maybe I have opened your eyes wide enough you think nothing else would be weird anymore, then, take this challenge!

the ones with non-symmetric cuts are the kidneys (:
source

It's a bowl of "kidneys and balls"! 

Other chicken delicacies such as grilled chicken ribcage; stir fried chicken intestines with garlic, chili, spring onion, and celery; stir-fried chicken liver with whatever. I haven't had the chance to try these dishes, but I'll embrace the chance to do so. Ughh.. I wish I had all the photos😓

Taiwanese people generally likes dark meat more than chicken breast. There is only one way I could think of Taiwanese people using chicken breast: ripping it into strips, and have it cover the rice and the drizzled with sauce and other secret ingredients that differs from store to store (I tried to make it several times, but I just never did revive the flavor in my memory.).

雞肉飯(Ji-Row-Fan)
Most famous in Chia-Yi, Taiwan. One of my favorite dishes of all time.
(I might try to make it again next week and talk about my story with it.)

The "Soft Bone" -- the chicken knee

SKILL (: HAHAHA!

This is the least adventurous, easiest new chicken dish you could ever encounter! BUT the key to the success of making it is its flavor. Basically, you can use whatever seasoning you like to use for chicken, make sure it is savory enough!

The first time I had it was at my friend's. She is a pretty good home cook, and I was totally amazed by its flavor and the fact that there is a whole plate of soft bones. It feels indulgent! As soon as I came back home, I immediately put the chicken soft bones in my Weee! cart. I looked for the recipe online, but it did not turn out as good. So I made some further adjustments to make it good:

(Chinese flavored, Servings: depend on how much you like it)

Chicken knee soft bone (雞軟骨, Ji-Ruann-Gu)           1 lb

Chili powder (辣椒麵, La-Jiao-Mian)                             1 tbsp

Oyster sauce (蠔油, How-Yo)                                        1 tbsp

Fermented black bean sauce (豆豉, Dough-Shi）        1 tsp

Chili bean sauce (豆瓣醬, Dough-Bann-Jiang）           1 tbsp

Sugar (砂糖, Sha-Tang)                                                 2 tsp

Ground Cumin (孜然粉, Zi-Rann-Fen)                           1 tbsp

Soy Sauce (醬油, Jiang-You)                                         2 tbsp

Ground white pepper (白胡椒, Bai-Hu-JIao)                  1 tsp

Cooking wine (料酒, Liao-Jio)                                        1 tbsp

1. Rinse the excess blood and fat off the soft bones with cold water, and drain as much water as you can. 

    (Maybe let it sit for 3 minutes to get rid of most water)

2. Add them all in a bag, and rub the bag until well mixed.

3. Marinate for a while, can be pretty short (5 minutes), or over night (even for 2-3 days).

4. Put a frying pan on medium high heat, no oil is needed. 

5. After the pan is heated, stir-fry the soft bones for 10 minutes. 

6. If you want to add some sesame seeds or celery flakes right before serving, feel free to do          so. 

This is my friend's masterpiece. It is much darker than mine, but I think flavor wise I got pretty close :)
Oh, by the way, the one on the right is the soft bone, and the one on the left is chicken stomach of same flavor!