Murphy's Law

The B1-level grocery in my building usually sells chicken feet, but as Murphy's Law would have it, tonight was the night they didn't have any chicken feet in stock. So I went for a bag of frozen 봉/bōng, which I thought simply meant "drumsticks" (the word bōng literally means "pole, rod, or stick"; the Korean term for a drumstick is 닭다리/dak-dari, or "chicken leg"*). Upon closer inspection, though, it turns out that the bōng are drumettes, such as might be used when making Buffalo chicken wings (where you normally get flats and drumettes, and maybe sometimes the tips).** You make do with what's available. As Chef John likes to say, "Never let the food win." When the way is blocked, find a way around.

So I've fried up the drumettes, chopped up a mirepoix (carrot + celery + onion), poured in a ton of water, seasoned the whole thing up, brought everything to a roaring boil, reduced everything to a simmer... and now, it's a waiting game. There are short-cut methods to making stock, but I'm going old-school, so this will be a few hours. Meanwhile, I've got other stuff to prep. Simmer away, little leg bones. Simmer away.

__________

*This brings up the question of what you call a chicken thigh. Answer: you can say 닭 허벅지/dak-heobeokji or 닭넓적다리/dak-neolpjeok-dari. 닭/dak means "chicken"; 허벅지/heobeokji means "thigh," be it chicken or human. 넓적다리/neolpjeok-dari also means "thigh"—for chickens and for people. (The word 다리/dari, by itself, means "leg.")

**Korean-language whole-chicken diagram here. Korean-language wing diagram here. English-language anatomical guide here.