Chicken feet is an incredibly popular street food in many Asian countries, which is typically fried, grilled, steamed, or braised before being coated with a variety of seasonings.
Ingredients and Substitutions
*The Recipe Card below includes all the full measurements for these ingredients!
Chicken feet: You can purchase chicken feet in the meat section of most Asian groceries. You may also ask your butcher if they happen to keep any for spare after butchering parts of the chicken.
Soy sauce: Soy sauce will form the basis of our braising liquid. It will provide the needed savoriness to infuse the chicken feet with while it’s softening.
Vinegar: This is one of the most popular Filipino ingredients to give our braising liquid a bit of acidity and tang. Feel free to use standard white vinegar, coconut vinegar, or even rice vinegar.
Garlic, black peppercorns, bay leaves: This will help infuse our chicken feet with flavorful aromatics and help remove any possible gamey-ness from the feet itself.
Brown sugar: To balance out the acidic and savory notes of our liquid, we will need to add some brown sugar to mellow out all of those bold flavors. Granulated sugar also works.
Instructions
*The Recipe Card below includes all the full detailed instructions!
Using kitchen shears, cut off the nails from the feet.
Place the feet in a pot with water, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, black pepper, bay leaves, and brown sugar. Let simmer for about one hour until tender. After about an hour, drain and let the feet dry briefly.
In a pan or wok, fry the garlic. Once golden, remove and reserve the remaining oil. Add in the shallots and chili flakes and saute.
Add in the chicken feet, and season with the dark soy sauce, sugar, salt, and pepper. Stir fry to coat the feet completely. Toss in the garlic from earlier and chopped green onions. Serve immediately.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
What do chicken feet taste like?
Chicken feet don’t have that much of a strong flavor profile. How you prepare the chicken feet, and whatever spices and seasonings you braise and stir fry the feet with will have a direct impact on how they will taste.
What is the texture?
They’re somewhat gelatinous, with a soft and tender texture (when prepared right). If your chicken feet is either too rubbery or mushy, it was most likely undercooked or possibly overcooked, respectively.
How do I store leftovers?
Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in an airtight container. To reheat, you may microwave, steam, or gently stir fry the chicken feet until fully warmed-through.
What do I serve this with?
Chicken feet is typically eaten as an appetizer, though sometimes it may be part of a larger main dish (e.g., soups, porridges). In the Philippines, it’s popular to consume chicken feet as a pulutan, or a type of appetizer/finger food accompanied with an alcoholic drink such as beer.
Craving more EASY Asian snacks and side dishes? Here’s some more that you might like:
- Toasted Garlic Bok Choy
- Chili Oil Sinangag (Filipino garlic fried rice)
- Atchara (Filipino pickled papaya salad)
- 10-Minute Cold Tofu
Filipino Garlic Chicken Feet
Chicken feet is an incredibly popular street food in many Asian countries, which is typically fried, grilled, or steamed before being coated with a variety of seasonings!
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Ingredients
1.5 lbs chicken feet
- Braising liquid
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup vinegar
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 tsp brown sugar
~1-2 cups water, just enough to cover the feet
- Seasonings, for frying
7-10 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
2-3 tsp chili flakes (according to spice tolerance)
2-3 sprigs of green onions, chopped
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt, to taste
1/2 tsp ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
- Using kitchen shears, cut off the nails from the feet and give them a quick rinse under cold water.
- Place the feet in a deep pot. Pour in water, soy sauce, vinegar, crushed garlic, peppercorns, bay leaves, and brown sugar. Bring this to a boil, then let simmer for 1 hour, or until the feet are tender and no longer chewy.
- After 1 hour, drain the braising liquid and let the feet air dry for at least 10 minutes.
- In a separate pan, gently fry the minced garlic in a shallow amount of oil until golden and toasted. Scoop out the toasted garlic and reserve.
- Sauté the shallots and chili flakes until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the braised chicken feet, then season with dark soy sauce, sugar, salt, and pepper to taste. Stir-fry and toss until the chicken feet are fully coated in the seasonings, about 2 minutes.
- Finally mix in the reserved toasted garlic and the chopped green onions. Stir-fry for additional 1 minute until the garlic and green onions are evenly distributed.
- Serve immediately with an ice-cold drink!
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