bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

quizIds

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

paywallTypes

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Andrew Sun

Who doesn’t love a little skin. Yeah, baby! But some of us like it a little more than others.
I’m talking about chicken skin, of course. Who can resist the crispy, salty layer on a nicely battered Southern fried thigh, the gorgeous mahogany canvas of a roasted breast or some sweet and spicy pieces of lacquered Korean fried chicken.
It’s so irresistible, my former editor Susan Jung left her Post gig to write a whole book on the subject: Kung Pao and Beyond: Fried Chicken Recipes from East and Southeast Asia.
However, not everyone enjoys it so much. It used to be common to see health-obsessed folks peel off the tastiest part of their poultry entrée. I remember a friend did that when we went for roast duck noodles.

This person, not even on a diet, ripped off the succulent red skin and placed it on the side of the plate. I was mightily tempted to say, “Can I have that”?
The accepted notion was that this delicious layer contained mostly fats and cholesterol. For those counting calories, the pro of its flavour was not worth the con of its waist-expanding potential.
‘I loved the har gow’: Curtis Stone, TV chef, on what he ate in Hong Kong
That myth has been somewhat debunked. Research now shows that schmaltz – don’t you love that word? It’s Yiddish for rendered chicken or goose fat – is unsaturated fat, so it has omega-3, -6, and other good fatty acids.
In moderation, unsaturated fats are supposed to lower blood pressure and cholesterol. If you need more nutritional excuse, chicken skin also has collagen.
My own relationship with chicken skin is a little more complicated. I love fried and roasted skin, but I have a terrible time with the gelatinous soggy epidermis of boiled or poached birds, such as Hainan chicken, ginseng soup chicken or most soya chicken.
The squelchy texture is something I simply can’t get past.

I think it’s mostly a cultural thing. Most of the Western world has trouble eating any kind of animal skin except when it’s hard and crunchy. However, Asians generally don’t mind. I’m kind of a bicultural brat, so I mostly find soft, rubbery chicken skin icky.
Chicken wings are an exception. Coated in a thick, umami-laden marinade, I can tolerate the limp skin and don’t feel as repulsed. It’s also how I’ve come around to liking chicken feet at dim sum.
The skin and tendons are the only edible bits, so no wonder many are revolted, but now I love gnawing on chicken feet in thick black bean sauce. The spicy, savoury gravy also turns the skin from an unappealing pasty yellow to a glistening caramel.
However, the concept doesn’t work for me with the flap of a chicken breast. I know it’s mostly psychological. But at least with chicken feet skin, there isn’t a fatty layer underneath that makes my whole mouth greasy.

Fat is flavour, but too much of it in my mouth just feels gross. It’s a delicate balance of flavour, texture and unhealthy indulgence, and there is a thin line between appreciation and repulsion.
Personally, I do prefer a little less fat, which is why I favour roast duck over roast goose. It’s also why I sometimes scrape the lard from a particularly obese piece of roast pork belly. In contrast, there isn’t enough fat on turkey skin, which is why no one ever fights over it at Thanksgiving.
But chicken has just the right amount of delicious fat for crispy, finger-licking goodness. A lot of people wish their skin was that supple and moisturised. Like I said, who doesn’t love beautiful skin – especially when it comes fresh out of a deep fryer.


A no-lumps pasta sauce? Italian physicists have recipe for cheesy Roman dish cacio e pepe

Pan Pacific Orchard isn’t just a Singapore landmark – the Woha Architects-designed hotel harnesses nature and sustainability to offer a true haven of tranquillity in the heart of the city

Your Hong Kong weekend food guide for May 9-12

The art of rice – and its connection to community

Food and Drinks

Chicken skin: never mind should I eat it, do I want to? That depends how it’s cooked

Chicken skin – from crispy fried to soggy boiled, we either love it or hate it. Photo: Shutterstock

A plate of grilled chicken with crispy skin – the kind columnist Andrew Sun likes, as opposed to the rubbery kind in soups and Hainan chicken. Photo: Shutterstock

Hong Kong noodle soup with duck. Do you eat the skin? Photo: Shutterstock

Most people who like chicken skin prefer it when it’s fried and crispy. Photo: Shutterstock

Chicken feet are the exception to the writer’s dislike of boiled chicken skin. Photo: Shutterstock

‘It just unleashed the inner me’: how fried chicken became the focus of first cookbook by Susan Jung since ending her 25 years as the Post’s food editor

Chicken poppers with instant noodles combines two of Susan Jung’s favourite foods. Photo: Quadrille Publishing

Susan Jung was the food and drink editor at the South China Morning Post for 25 years. She has just published Kung Pao & Beyond: Fried Chicken Recipes from East and Southeast Asia, her first cookbook since leaving the Post. Photo: Quadrille Publishing 

South China Morning Post food editor Susan Jung in 2003. Photo: SCMP

The cover of Susan Jung’s cookbook. Photo: Quadrille Publishing

Relleno wings and Vietnamese stuffed wings. Photo: Quadrille Publishing

Susan Jung, the pastry chef at American Pie, demonstrates how to make chocolate truffles, in a photo from 1994. Photo: SCMP

Chicken karaage is a staple in Susan Jung’s kitchen, and often served with a Japanese-style potato salad. Photo: Quadrille Publishing

Susan’s mother’s fried chicken wings were the first fried chicken dish she remembers eating. Photo: Quadrille Publishing

‘Like I’m in the Algarve’: where a Singaporean goes in Macau for Portuguese seafood dishes, chicken soup noodles and the best steaks

Chicken noodle soup at Veng Fai in Macau. Photo: Ida Chow

Ida Chow is a lawyer and investor from Singapore living in Macau, where she knows where to go for Portuguese seafood, the best chicken soup noodles, steaks, dim sum and a taste of home. Photo: Ida Chow

A selection of dishes at Jak’s Kitchen. Photo: Ida Chow

Chicken noodle soup at Weng Fei. Photo: Ida Chow

A bowl of laksa with prawns and tofu at Nanyang Kopi. Photo: Instagram / @nanyangkopi

Dim sum transported on a traditional dim sum trolley at Grand Lisboa Palace. Photo: Instagram / @grandlisboapalace

Grain-fed black Angus rib-eye steak at SW Steakhouse. Chow says the Wynn Palace restaurant does the best steaks in Macau. Photo: SW Steakhouse

Hot and sour soup at Sichuan Moon. Photo: Sichuan Moon

Where to find the best fried chicken in Japan: look to the Karaage Grand Prix, judged this year by food industry insiders and a ‘karaage influencer’

Hiromi Matsumoto serving a plate of karaage, Japanese-style fried chicken, at an izakaya bar in Tokyo. A Karaage Grand Prix is held every year to find the best in the country. Photo: AFP

Japan Karaage Association executive director Kouichirou Yagi eating a chicken wing during the Karaage Grand Prix. Photo: AFP

Plates of karaage being presented during the Karaage Grand Prix. Photo: AFP

Judges tasting karaage during the Karaage Grand Prix. Photo: AFP

Takehiro Matsumoto with a plate of cooked karaage at an izakaya bar in the Kamata district of Tokyo. Photo: AFP

Iku Arino, a karaage influencer, during the Karaage Grand Prix. Photo: AFP

Hiromi Matsumoto serving a plate of karaage at an izakaya bar in Tokyo. Photo: AFP

‘Amazing roast chicken’, ‘best cheesecake’ in Hong Kong: where a hotel culinary director eats in the city

Bianco & Rosso’s whole yellow chicken served with a signature vermouth sauce. Photo: Instagram / biancoandrosso.hk

Chef Sheldon Fonseca reveals where in Hong Kong he goes to eat roast chicken, cheesecake, seafood and more, as well as his favourite places in Singapore and Sri Lanka. Photo: The Mira Hong Kong

Din Tai Fung’s xiaolongbao dumplings. Photo: Din Tai Fung

Knafeh, a popular Middle Eastern dessert of spun pastry, at Francis in Wan Chai. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Calamari at Rainbow Seafood Restaurant on Lamma Island. Photo: Edward Wong

Thevar’s coriander and pepper cured hamachi with coconut sothi. Photo: Instagram / thevar.sg

Ministry of Crab’s signature pepper crab with hand-crushed peppercorn, whole black pepper and a pepper dashi. Photo: Instagram / @ministryofcrab

Lifestyle

Food & Drink

You either hate or love chicken skin, whether it’s on a crispy fried drumstick, a sauce-coated wing or a soggy chicken’s foot
Andrew Sun shares his thoughts on chicken skin’s various incarnations, and its health-giving properties


Chicken skin – from crispy fried to soggy boiled, we either love it or hate it, or both at once. Andrew Sun considers his relationship with the delicacy and its health-giving properties.


Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

Mouthing Off

Mouthing Off | Chicken skin: never mind should I eat it, do I want to? That depends how it’s cooked

You either hate or love chicken skin, whether it’s on a crispy fried drumstick, a sauce-coated wing or a soggy chicken’s foot Andrew Sun shares his thoughts on chicken skin’s various incarnations, and its health-giving properties

You either hate or love chicken skin, whether it’s on a crispy fried drumstick, a sauce-coated wing or a soggy chicken’s foot

Andrew Sun shares his thoughts on chicken skin’s various incarnations, and its health-giving properties