Kao Ji Jia (Spicy Roasted Chicken Skeleton)
Almost zero meat! Street food just for the taste and spice of “bones”
Description
The absolute soul food of Shenyang (Northeast China). The 'chicken skeleton' (frame) left over after all thigh/breast meat is stripped off. Smashed flat with a press, then heavily charcoal-grilled or deep-fried, and completely buried in cumin and chilies.
Restaurants serving Kao Ji Jia (Spicy Roasted Chicken Skeleton)
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The Recipe section below is a general reference, not a recipe from the listed shops.
Recipe
Ingredients
- Chicken skeleton(stripped frame)
- Cumin
- Chili
- Soy sauce
- Five-Spice powder
Instructions
- [Authentic Recipe]
- Take a 'Chicken skeleton (ribs/spine)' with only microscopic scraps of meat attached. Wash and marinate for hours in soy, wine, salt, sugar, and Five-Spice.
- [Kao Ji Jia (Grilled)] Place on a charcoal grill and press down heavily with an iron plate, audibly 'crushing and snapping' the bones flat. Baste with oil and grill until the marrow cooks, then smother in cumin, chili, and sesame.
- [Zha Ji Jia (Fried)] Dust the marinated skeleton with starch and deep-fry at high heat until the bones themselves become shatteringly crisp.
- Toss with sweet-spicy sauce (or dry spices) and cilantro until it can be torn apart by hand.
Learn more Spice, substitutes, tips
Key spices
Intense cumin and roasted charred bone aroma
Substitutes at Japanese supermarkets
Bone-in mid-wings (but lacks the wild skeleton flavor)
Pairing
Massive amounts of cheap beer(Snow Beer)
Trivia
[Trivia] Shenyang is said to have the 'highest chicken skeleton consumption in the world'. It is the ultimate 'cheap, time-consuming stall-tactic snack' for drinking beer all night, blanketing the city in the smell of roasted bones.
Eating tips & etiquette
[Unique Eating] You are not eating meat. Tear the skeleton apart with both hands, suck the microscopic meat scraps and the 'spice-soaked bones themselves', crunching them to extract flavor, and wash it down with beer.
Allergen
Chicken, Soybeans, Wheat (Sauce)