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Since You Asked Dec 15, 2003 12:00 AM A A Marfar chicken, hold the origin This is going to sound kind of silly, but I've heard that the Chinese dish called Marfar chicken originated in Medford. Apparently the word marfar is just the way somebody once pronounced Medford. Am I just way off base? ' Jackson B., Medford That's definitely a strange one, Jackson. And not an easy one to answer, we might add. Marfar chicken appears to be a regional dish, popular mainly in Oregon. It has been described as an oriental version of chicken nuggets. But the origins of the word marfar are a mystery. A worker at Kim's Restaurant, which is one of the oldest Chinese restaurants in the valley, suggested that mar might mean sesame and far sour. As to whether the word is a corruption of Medford, the worker said, I can promise you it's not. — Judy Tse, owner of King Wah restaurant in Medford, doubts whether marfar originated from Medford. She suggested that the word mar probably is derived from sesame, but the word far could be from a Chinese word meaning flower, or more likely from a word meaning to change something. She said the recipe is Cantonese. Could it be a corruption of Medford? I don't think so, said Tse. Heated discussions about the origins of the word marfar at Since You Asked Headquarters produced intense hunger pangs among one of our staff members. She eventually gave in to her desires, ordering the dish from a local Chinese restaurant. Bon appetit! Send questions to Since You Asked, Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by e-mail to . We're sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them.