These Expensive Thunder-Thighed “Dragon Chickens” Are A Staple Dish In Vietnam’s Lunar New Year

By Syakir Roslan  •  19 Jan 2023 in News

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Do you love eating chicken?

I do and personally, I feel that chicken is such a universal food since every corner of the globe has their own methods of preparing it.

However, regardless of your opinion on poultry-based dishes, I’m willing to bet that most people have never seen chickens like these and it might give you a whole new perspective on the classic insult of referring to someone as “chicken legs”.

Pictured above is the Dong Tao chicken, also referred to as a ‘Dragon Chicken’. This breed of chickens are a delicacy among the elite of Vietnam who feast on these thunder-thighed mothercluckers during Tet, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year.

According to the Malay Mail, Le Van Hien, who breeds these Dong Tao chickens on his farm near Hanoi, Vietnam claimed that the price of a single chicken could cost up to $2000 (RM8,660) depending on how healthy they are.

The name Dong Tao originates from the commune in northern Vietnam where they are bred and receive a special diet of corn and rice.

Additionally, the chickens that are bred for meat are free to roam about in a small garden. “The more the chicken walks, the stronger and bigger their muscles are,” stated Hien.

Hien, who’s been a chicken breeder for over fifteen years, sold off his prized bird that weighed about 4kg for US$150. That being said, there have been instances of people paying 10 times that amount for larger chickens.

As for how these chickens taste, the meat of a Dong Tao chicken is said to be rather tough and chewy in texture while being low in fat. Typically, it is boiled, fried, stewed or served with lemongrass.

Moreover, the skin of the chickens’ legs are known to be particularly tasty. One customer of Hien claimed that, “The bigger the legs are, the tastier (it is).”

Have you ever feasted on a Dragon Chicken?