Chicken Feet
Overview
Chicken feet are eaten across a very large part of the world, and the reason is always the same: an animal is not wasted. What the foot offers is skin, tendon and collagen rather than muscle, and cooked properly that produces a texture no other part of the bird gives. The geography is broad. China is the reference point most people reach for, where chicken feet are a standard dim sum item and a beer snack, and where demand is high enough to sustain a substantial international trade. Beyond that they are eaten across much of Asia, in Mexico, Peru and Jamaica, and across West and Southern Africa, where they are grilled, stewed and sold at roadsides. The recipe that follows is a Chinese style braise, and it should be read as that rather than as an African preparation. Sake, soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin, star anise and scallions are the flavour base of a Cantonese braised dish, and the technique of blanching, peeling, salting, dry searing and then simmering in a dark sauce is a Chinese one. It is a good recipe. It is not an African one, and this platform has a separate African treatment of the same cut, where the feet are precooked and then fried crisp with garlic, ginger and pepper.
Ingredients
Dietary tags are provided by contributors as a guide, not verified by AFN, and they depend on the products you buy. If you have a serious allergy, check every ingredient yourself. Cooking, allergies and your own judgement
Directions
- 1
Add the chicken feet to a large pot of boiling water, in batches if necessary, and cook for approximately 30 seconds. Do not overcrowd the pot.
- 2
Set each foot on a plate to cool. Once cool enough to handle, peel off the skin one foot at a time.
- 3
It is easier to peel the top layer of the nails first before removing the skin from the rest of the foot. The goal is to remove the outer layer of skin and the nails.
- 4
Cut the nails off each foot at the first joint. The scaly skin and nails are unusable and should be discarded. The feet can be cleaned up to a day ahead and refrigerated.
- 5
Rub the cleaned feet with kosher salt and leave for 10 minutes.
- 6
Rinse the salted feet under cold water.
- 7
Boil another pot of water, salt it generously, add the feet and blanch for 5 minutes, then drain well.
- 8
Place a large sauté pan over high heat. Add the feet and dry sear until lightly browned.
- 9
Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Cook, covered, for about 10 minutes.
- 10
Uncover and simmer until the sauce has thickened and reduced, tossing frequently to coat the feet.
- 11
Garnish with minced scallions and toasted sesame seeds and serve.
Africook’s Notes
Personal notes from Amarachi Irobi- The cleaning is the whole job. Blanch briefly, peel the outer skin and nail sheaths, and cut the nails off at the first joint. Anything left behind is inedible.
- Do not crowd the pot at the blanching stage. Too many feet at once drops the temperature and the skin does not loosen.
- The salt rub and rinse between the two blanches firms the skin and removes remaining residue. It is worth the extra step.
- Dry sear before the sauce goes in. That browning is where the depth comes from in a braise this short.
- For the African treatment of the same cut, precook the feet until soft and then fry them crisp with garlic, ginger and pepper, which gives a completely different result.
Reviews
4 reviews
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Got my chicken feet from the Asian shop in Kirkgate market here in Leeds. In Ghana my auntie never added cinnamon stick or star anise, so the smell while cooking was very different chale! The peeling part after 30 seconds blanching was a bit tricky though, some skin refused to come off easily and trimming all those nails at the joint is exhausting paa.
Couldn't find fresh feet at Jewel-Osco so I had to drive to Chinatown here in Chicago for the 2 lbs. I was skeptical about using sake and hoisin sauce since back home my mother just used curry, thyme and bonnet peppers, but the flavour was actually amazing o. Just make sure you leave the kosher salt on for the full 10 mins before rinsing.
Did anyone else find that 1/4 cup sugar made it slightly too sweet? I got my feet from Hong Kong Food Market on Bellaire and followed the steps strictly. Next time I will cut the sugar in half because the hoisin sauce already has plenty sweetness on its own. The texture after rubbing with kosher salt was spot on sha.
Peeling 32 chicken feet is no joke abeg! The 30 second blanching really helped the scaly skin come off easier but cutting the nails at the first joint took me almost an hour. My wife loved the star anise and cinnamon aroma in the kitchen though, e sweet well well.