How to Eat Chicken Gizzard Lining: Grinding, Congee and Soup Each Have Their Own Rules

Chicken gizzard lining is a yellow keratinous membrane on the inner wall of the chicken gizzard. Once dried, it is both a traditional Chinese medicinal material and a common food-therapy ingredient. Folk tradition holds that it helps digestion and dissolves stagnant food, and it is often used to nurse children with poor appetites or adults with indigestion back to health, which is why ways of eating it have long drawn attention.

The most common and least troublesome method is to grind it into powder and take it mixed with water. Roast clean chicken gizzard lining over low heat until it is slightly yellow and crisp, let it cool, then grind it into a fine powder and store it in a sealed jar. Each time, take a small amount of powder and swallow it with warm water, or stir it into warm congee or rice paste; it has no obvious bitterness on the tongue, only a faint rank smell.

Making congee and simmering soup are likewise home-style ways to eat it. When cooking millet congee or rice congee, sprinkle in a little chicken gizzard lining powder and stir well just before the congee is done; the texture is smooth and easier to accept. When simmering chicken soup or pork rib soup, add a few slices of chicken gizzard lining and cook them together; the soup tastes clean and fresh, and long simmering also softens its texture, making it easier to chew.

Pairing it with other ingredients can improve the taste. Simmering chicken gizzard lining with hawthorn and malt and drinking the liquid as tea is a fairly widely circulated folk combination for aiding digestion; mixing chicken gizzard lining powder into flour, adding water to make a dough, and frying it into small pancakes gives a toasted, crisp result that children are more willing to eat.

It should be noted that chicken gizzard lining has a relatively strong effect in dissolving stagnant food, so people with weak spleen and stomach or without food stagnation should not eat it in large amounts over the long term. When buying, choose those that are dry, intact and bright yellow; once damp, they mold easily, so they should be stored sealed in a cool, dry place. The specific amount varies from person to person, and if you are unsure, it is best to consult a doctor or pharmacist first.