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These Braised Chicken Feet rival any dim sum restaurant, braised in a flavorful braising liquid then stir fried in the most amazing umami packed sauce, you’ll definitely want these on your menu!
Chicken feet, while they may seem a bit strange to eat, are just incredible. When brined and braised, they become the most delicious morsels of deliciousness
Braised Chicken Feet is an extremely popular dim sum dish and is absolutely amazing when cooked correctly.
Consisting predominantly of skin and cartilage, once you can get past the idea of eating chicken feet, you will surely be amazed by how absolutely awesome they are. Plus, it feels great knowing that we are making use of all the parts of the chicken.
Now this recipe is not difficult to make, but there are a number of steps involved. We clean them, brine them, braise them and then do a quick stir fry in the best sauce ever.
Is it Healthy to Eat Chicken Feet?
They are actually quite good for you. They are packed with collagen which is easily absorbed into the body and helps keep joint healthy and skin glowing. Learn more about the health benefits of chicken feet.
The Ingredients
Chicken feet are usually not available at your local grocery store. I find mine at the Asian grocery store – they almost always have them. However, you can buy chicken feet online as well if you can’t find them elsewhere.
The shaoxing wine (Chinese rice wine) can be substituted with dry sherry. However, I really like the flavor the shaoxing wine provides. Buy shaoxing wine (affiliate link).
The full list of ingredients, along with links to purchase them, can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. Below is an explanation of some of the lesser known spices.
What is Star Anise?
Star anise is a seed pod that come from a Chinese evergreen shrub. The pod is star shaped and the flavor is remnant of licorice. It’s very strong and we typically only use a small amount in dishes. It is used in a lot of Chinese cooking, and can be found in dishes like this Twice Cooked Pork or this Roasted Duck. Buy star anise (affiliate link).
What is Black Bean Sauce?
Black bean sauce is a savory sauce made with fermented black beans, chilies, garlic, soy sauce and other seasonings. It has a deep, incredible flavor and is great used in dishes like Twice Cooked Pork (yes we love this dish around here!). Buy black bean sauce (affiliate link).
What is Chili Bean Sauce?
Chili bean sauce is a fermented chili and bean sauce. It is slightly spicy and has an amazing flavor. Buy chili bean sauce (affiliate link).
Step By Step Instructions
There are a few steps to take when cooking your chicken feet to ensure they come out tender and delicious. First, cut off all the claws and scrub them well under cool water.
We start by brining them for an extra boost of flavor, as well as to help tenderize the skin and cartilage.
The next step is the braising process, or slow cooking in a seasoned liquid to break down the cartilage to make them melt-in-your-mouth tender.
Lastly, we do a quick stir fry to coat them in the most amazing sauce. Seriously, the most amazing sauce. By this time, the chicken feet have been cooked to a suck-off-the-bone tender status and the sauce is just the icing on the cake.
Let’s start with the brine. Pour the boiling water over the aromatics and let sit for 20 minutes. Add the sherry and about 6 ice cubes to cool the brine.
Don’t add the chicken feet until the brine has cooled – we’re not trying to cook them here…at least not yet.
One cooled, let the them sit in the brine for at least 2 hours. We brine the them to help tenderize them and add flavor before braising. I don’t recommend skipping this step.
Once they have had adequate time to brine, drain them. Then add the ingredients for the braising liquid and the chicken feet to a large sauce pan.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer over medium-low heat for 2 hours.
Drain, reserving the liquid for other uses. DON’T FORGET TO RESERVE THE BRAISING LIQUID! This stuff is like gold.
Are Chicken Feet Good for Bone Broth?
Yes, yes yes! The broken down collagen from the braised chicken feet add an extra depth to the broth, while the wine, anise and scallions from this recipe add to the intense umami flavor. Learn how to make stock from chicken feet.
Heat the cooking oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken feet and sauce ingredients.
Stir fry to coat the chicken feet, cooking until the sauce has thickened to desired consistency, about 10 minutes. The sauce should evenly coat each chicken foot.
They are great served as an appetizer, as dim sum, or as a main meal!
Expert Tips
- Be sure to cut off the claws and rinse the feet well before starting;
- Don’t skip the brining as it helps gives the chicken feet flavor as well as tenderizing them;
- Let the brine cool to room temperature before adding the chicken feet – if it’s too warm it will start to cook them;
- You can substitute broad bean paste for the chili bean sauce (you may have bought broad bean paste for recipes like this Mapo Tofu and have some left over);
- If the sauce is too thin when stir frying, pour in a little cornstarch slurry until the desired thickness is reached. To make a cornstarch slurry, mix 1 tablespoon of water with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch.
- Substitute dry sherry for the Shoaxing wine.
Do You Eat the Bones in Chicken Feet?
No. Everything but the bones and nails (which we already trimmed during the preparation) can be eaten.
Make it a Meal
- Serve it with this Simple Fried Rice;
- As an appetizer for these Salt and Pepper Chicken Thighs or this Twice Cooked Pork;
- Sichuan Green Beans or Stir Fried Bok Choy.
More Chinese Inspired Recipes
Did you make this Braised Chicken Feet Recipe? leave me a quick comment below and let me know how it turned out!
The Most Delicious Braised Chicken Feet
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken feet claws removed
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
Brine
- 4 star anise
- 4 cloves
- 2 bay leafs
- 3 slices fresh ginger
- 1/2 cinnamon stick
- 1/2 cup Shaoxing wine (Chinese rice wine)
- 3 cups boiling water
Braising Liquid
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 2 scallions
- 2 star anise
- 4 cups chicken broth
Sauce
- 2 tablespoons black bean sauce
- 2 tablespoons chili bean sauce
- 2 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- Trim the nails off the chicken feet and scrub the feet well under cool water.
Brine:
- Pour the boiling water over the aromatics and let sit for 20 minutes.
- Add the sherry and about 6 ice cubes to cool the brine.
- One cooled, let the chicken feet sit in the brine for at least 2 hours. Drain.
Braise:
- Add the braising liquid ingredients and chicken feet to a large sauce pan.
- Simmer over medium-low heat for 2 hours.
- Drain, reserving the liquid for other uses.
Stir Fry:
- Heat the fat in a skillet over medium heat.
- Add the chicken feet and sauce ingredients.
- Stir fry until chicken feet are well coated with sauce, and sauce has thickened to desired consistency, about 10 minutes.
Video
Expert Tips:
- Be sure to cut off the claws and rinse the feet well before starting;
- Don't skip the brining as it helps gives the chicken feet flavor as well as tenderizing them;
- Let the brine cool to room temperature before adding the chicken feet - if it's too warm it will start to cook them;
- You can substitute broad bean paste for the chili bean sauce (you may have bought broad bean paste for recipes like this Mapo Tofu and have some left over);
- If the sauce is too thin when stir frying, pour in a little cornstarch slurry until the desired thickness is reached. To make a cornstarch slurry, mix 1 tablespoon of water with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch.
- Substitute dry sherry for the Shoaxing wine.
Nutrition
Hi Danielle. I enjoyed reading all the comments and watching your video. I can’t wait to make this for my 98 year old father who loves to suck on them there bones. Have you ever made this in an Instant Pot?
So glad you enjoyed watching it! I’ve never tried making them in the Instant Pot before, but it’s definitely on my list to try!
Just cooked your recipe tonight. It was DELICIOUS! Thank you for sharing it with the rest of us!
I’m so glad you liked it!!
Love Love me some Chicken Feet! My dad took us to dim sum every Sunday. He was a foodie for sure! Great recipe. But I am too lazy to go through the brining process. Have you tried “Baiyun Chicken Feet”? One of my favorites as well. It is a cold dish. You can google. Plenty on the internet 白云鸡脚 . Just use google translate for English.
I have not tried that – I will definitely check it out! I love new recipes with chicken feet 🙂 Thanks so much!
To me these recipes are too involved. I don’t have any idea how my mother made them but I know she didn’t go through all of this! I always liked them when I was a child and wish I knew how to fix them the way she did. If you haven’t figured it out…I hate to cook!
My boyfriend is the same way, he does not like to cook. I totally understand!
Ah……..so many memories and before I comment on this recipe, I really must share a very funny story about this topic……
I grew up one of 8 kids in North Dakota, and boy were times hard back than. Needless to say my parents believed in nose to tail consumption long before most chefs embraced it. I ate what was put in front of me and or what I helped plant, grow, catch, clean and or prepare and chicken feet were one of those items. However much I loved them, I never did eat them again after leaving home.
So lets fast forward 12 years into my adult life, and I was living and working in Miami, FL. Due to distance and expense my kids didn’t spend much time with their grandparents, and it crushed my mother. One summer, I finally relented, and agreed to allow my two daughters, to spend 3 weeks with my folks but I could not be there….My eldest was 13 and the youngest 5-1/2.
After arranging the logistics as to how they would safely travel between the two states, off they went. On their 3rd day there, I received a frantic call from my mother at work during lunch hour….in the back ground, I could hear my youngest crying hysterically. After a few minutes, I finally understood what the problem was……and asked to speak to her.
Jo gets on the phone and before I can say a word….all I could hear were screams of “they’re eating hands they’re eating hands”. As a ‘special treat” my mother had prepared a pot of CF for lunch, and as she reached into the pot with the tongs to serve, Jo the youngest took one look at what was coming out of that pot, and started to scream…..no matter what my mother said to calm her, Jo was convinced they were about to eat “hands” and she wasn’t having any of it….LOL
So in memory of my “parents” and a food I once did love, I’m going to prepare these on Saturday…
This is such a great story LOL! I’ve had that reaction from people on more than one occasion too 🙂 I love the idea of “nose to tail” consumption. And chicken feet are soooo delicious! I hope you get to try these Deborah!! Thanks for visiting 🙂
Just like the chicken feet at the restaurant! Awesome recipe!
We had to comment on this post of course! Hong Kong style chicken feet. Never thought I would see this recipe outside of HK. Hope your week is going well. Sharing of course!
LOL! I absolutely love chicken feet since my friend introduced me to them years ago. I order them every time we have dim sum. Thanks for sharing!