Alright, so folks have been asking me about this chicken gizzard lining stuff – some call it Ji Nei Jin, that fancy name. I’m not one for fancy names, but I did give it a whirl a while back, and I figured I’d share what went down, just my own experience, mind you.
My Starting Point: The Annoying Bloat
It all started because I was just feeling… off. You know, after eating, especially anything a bit heavy, I’d get this real uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. Not exactly pain, but just this sluggish, bloated sensation. Like my food was just sitting there, having a party I wasn’t invited to. It went on for a good few weeks, and over-the-counter stuff wasn’t really cutting it. I was getting pretty fed up.
Hearing About the Gizzard Lining
Then, I was chatting with my old neighbor, Mrs. Chen. She’s one of those who knows all the old-timey remedies. She saw me looking a bit green around the gills one afternoon and asked what was up. I told her about my stomach woes, and she just nodded, then said, “Have you ever tried the yellow skin from inside a chicken gizzard?” I swear, I must have looked at her like she had two heads. Chicken gizzards, sure, I’ve eaten those, but the skin inside? That was a new one on me.
Getting My Hands on It
So, curiosity got the better of me. The next time I was at the butcher, I specifically asked him if he had any chicken gizzards and if he could save that inner lining for me. He gave me a bit of a funny look but said, “Sure, some folks ask for that.” He explained you gotta peel it off carefully. I ended up getting a small batch. They were these thin, yellowish, kind of wrinkly membranes. Not the prettiest things, I’ll tell you that.
The Preparation Process: My Little Kitchen Experiment
Mrs. Chen had given me some rough instructions. First, I had to wash them real well under cold water. Get any gunk off. Then, the main thing was drying them. She said some people sun-dry them, but I’m impatient. So, I laid them out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. I set my oven to the lowest possible temperature, barely warm, and left the door ajar a bit. Kept an eye on them. Took a good few hours, but they eventually got super dry and brittle, almost like little yellow chips.
Next up: grinding. I didn’t have a fancy spice grinder dedicated to weird stuff, so I used my old trusty mortar and pestle. Popped those dried linings in and started crushing. It took a bit of elbow grease, but they broke down into a fairly fine, yellowish powder. Looked a bit like cornmeal, but paler.
- Clean the fresh gizzard linings thoroughly.
- Dry them completely – I used a very low oven, but sun-drying is traditional.
- Grind the dried linings into a powder.
Taking the Plunge: How I Used It
Right, so I had this jar of gizzard lining powder. Mrs. Chen said to take a little bit, maybe half a teaspoon, mixed with some warm water before meals. The taste? Well, let’s just say it’s not going to win any culinary awards. It was… earthy. Not horrible, but definitely not delicious. I just chugged it down, thinking of that bloat.
What I Noticed: The Results (or Lack Thereof, Initially)
I did this for about three or four days, before my main meals. Honestly, for the first few days, I didn’t notice a blind bit of difference. I was starting to think Mrs. Chen was pulling my leg, or maybe it was just one of those things that worked for her generation but not for my stubborn gut. I was about ready to chuck the whole jar in the bin.
But I’m a stubborn mule myself, so I thought, “Okay, I’ll give it a full week.” Around day five or six, I started to feel… a little lighter after eating. The bloating wasn’t as intense. It wasn’t like a switch flipped, more like a gradual easing. By the end of the second week, I could definitely say things felt better. Not perfect, not like I had the stomach of a teenager again, but that heavy, sluggish feeling had definitely reduced. I was pretty surprised, to be honest.
My Final Thoughts on the Matter
So, that was my little experiment with chicken gizzard lining. For me, it seemed to help a bit with my digestion, especially that bloating. I didn’t experience any bad side effects, but then again, this is just my story. I’m not a doctor or a miracle worker. It’s just an old home remedy that I tried out of curiosity and a bit of desperation.
I kept it up for a few weeks, then stopped, and things have been mostly okay since. Maybe it helped kickstart things, or maybe it was a coincidence. Who knows? But it was an interesting experience. If you’re thinking about trying these old ways, my advice is always to listen to your own body, and maybe do a bit more digging than just listening to your neighbor, even if she is as sweet as Mrs. Chen. What works for one person might not work for another. But yeah, for a simple, practically free remedy from a chicken part most people throw away, it wasn’t half bad in my book.
