HANOI – Known for their strangely large feet, Dong Tao chickens have for generations been a delicacy in Vietnam and are mostly consumed during the Lunar New Year holiday.

The rare breed of poultry, also known as dragon chicken, features a pair of scaly red feet, each foot as large as a beer can. The breed originates from Dong Tao, a village 30km south-east of Hanoi.

Dong Tao chickens, weighing up to 6kg each when full-grown and once reserved only for royals to consume, are believed to bring good fortune and wealth to their owners.

Today, demand for Dong Tao chicken, whose meat has a crunchy texture, a distinctly fragrant aroma and a rich flavour, has risen sharply, backed by a growing number of wealthy people in one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies.

“A fully grown dragon chicken at least one year old farmed in Dong Tao village is sold for up to five million dong (S$275) or sometimes even 10 million dong,” said Mr Le Trong Dung, a chicken farmer in the village.

Holding up a two-year-old rooster, Ms Nguyen Thi Hong Nhung, a local chicken farmer, said the most valuable parts of the chicken are its legs.

Twenty-five-year-old chef Loc Duc Toan, who works in Hanoi, said a Dong Tao chicken tastes its best at the age of 13 to 15 months, and that simple steaming is one of the best ways to cook it.

“When steamed, the skin will be crispy with a fragrant aroma of its own and a sweeter meat compared with other normal chicken,” the chef said.

The chickens are now also raised beyond the village, offering a wider range of consumers a chance to taste them, but according to local agriculture official Phan Van Hieu, the birds raised in the village and fed purely with padi rice and corn have the best taste.

“Production hasn’t met domestic demand yet,” the official said. “I’m sure you won’t find any Dong Tao chicken in any KFC restaurants in the foreseeable future.” REUTERS