【How to Choose Chicken】
1. Choose chicken with a pale color
After a live chicken is slaughtered, the blood is drained, and the color of the meat becomes pale. If the meat is reddish or blackish, it is likely a sick or dead chicken.
If you are buying a whole chicken, you can tell by the cut: an uneven cut with good bloodletting indicates it was slaughtered alive. A smooth or even no cut, with residual blood and dark-colored blood, suggests it was slaughtered after death.
2. Check for freshness by touching and smelling
If the surface of the chicken is slightly dry, not sticky, and doesn't feel tacky to the touch; if it springs back immediately after being pressed with a finger; and if it has no strange odor, then it is relatively fresh.
3. Look at the claws to identify free-range chickens
Free-range chickens, such as "chai ji" (literally "firewood chicken") or grass-fed chickens, are more expensive. The way to identify them is by looking at their claws. Generally, free-range chickens have thin, long, sharp, and coarse claws, whereas caged chickens have short, thick, round, and fleshy claws.