These braised Chicken Feet are cooked long and slow in a rich sauce – so tender and flavorful! This healthy recipe rivals what you would find in the best Chinese Dim Sum restaurant. The best part? No deep-frying required!
Chicken feet are very popular in many countries including China, Korea, Philippines, and South Africa. There are many different ways to cook them such as chicken feet soup, bone broth, fried chicken feet, and of course, the most popular dim sum chicken feet – so juicy, tender, and full of flavor!
Traditional chicken feet dim sum is deep-fried before braising. My version is much healthier with no mess or oil wastage. The chicken feet are braised in a rich and flavorful sauce made of garlic, ginger, soy sauce, oyster, sugar and beer. Serve them as dim sum for brunch, or as finger food for a game day party. It’ll be more popular than chicken wings. Yum!
Table of Contents
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Chicken Feet: You’ll need to trim off the nails and clean them thoroughly before cooking.
- Vegetable Oil: It has a high smoke point so don’t substitute with extra virgin olive oil.
- Garlic: Use fresh garlic instead of garlic powder.
- Ginger: It adds great flavor to the dish. Remove the skin and cut it into thin pieces.
- Soy Sauce: It adds a nice saltiness and umami flavor. I recommend using dark soy sauce for the beautiful deeper color, but you can use light soy sauce if you prefer.
- Oyster Sauce: It’s sweet and salty, adding richer flavor.
- Sugar: It helps to sweeten the sauce. You can use regular sugar or brown sugar.
- Beer: Braising with beer enhances the dish by creating a more flavorful sauce. You can substitute water in a pinch.
How to Cook Chicken Feet
1. Chop the nails off the claws using a sharp knife and rinse the feet thoroughly.
2. Add chicken feet to a skillet or wok, then add cold water to cover the chicken feet.
3. Bring to boil and cook for 10 minutes, then drain the water.
4. Place the skillet over medium-high heat, and add vegetable oil, garlic and ginger. Stir fry until fragrant.
5. Add chicken feet, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar.
6. Pour in beer, and bring to boil.
7. Cover with a lid and simmer for 25-30 minutes.
8. Remove the lid, and turn the heat to high. Stir fry until the sauce has thickened.
Tips and Tricks for this Chicken Feet Dim Sum Recipe
- Make sure to cut the nails and clean the chicken feet thoroughly before cooking.
- It’s important to add chicken feet to the COLD water, bring them to boil and cook for 10 minutes before braising. This will help to remove the odors from the chicken.
- Check the chicken feet from time to time and make sure there’s enough liquid during braising. Add water if needed.
- If your sauce is too thin, you can add the cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce. To make the slurry, mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of water.
- You can add crushed dried hot chili to the sauce for the delicious spicy chicken feet.
Chicken Feet Nutrition
Chicken feet are packed with proteins, calcium, and collagen. These nutrients are great for improving joint movement to minimize arthritis and joint pain. 100g of chicken feet provide 88mg or 9% of the daily value of calcium.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where to Buy Chicken Feet?
You can find chicken feet at most local Asian grocery stores especially Chinese grocery stores. Alternatively, order them from a butcher shop.
How to Prepare Chicken Feet?
First you’ll need to trim off the nails off the claws using a sharp knife. Then rinse the feet thoroughly under running water.
Before you braise the chicken feet, it’s best to add it to cold water, bring to boil, and then cook for 10 minutes to remove any odor.
Are Chicken Feet Healthy?
Chicken feet have many nutrients and contain very little fat, about 0.5% (no saturated fats with a good profile of fatty acids). It’s considered to be part of a healthy diet.
What Do Chicken Feet Taste Like?
They taste like other parts of the chicken except that they have a different texture. It resembles the skin part of chicken wings but with tougher texture and slightly stringier.
Can You Cook Chicken Feet in A Slow Cooker?
Yes, you can use this recipe and cook the chicken feet in a slow cooker. Instead of braising them in a skillet, you can cook them in a slow cooker on high for 2 hours.
If You Like This Recipe Try These Out:
Teriyaki Chicken Bowls 
Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup 
Sous Vide Chicken Wings Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas
Easy Chicken Feet Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken feet
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 inch ginger sliced
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce (I highly recommend using dark soy sauce so that the chicken feet will have a very nice dark brown color)
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 can beer (12oz)
- optional green onions for serving
Instructions
- Chop the nails off the claws using a sharp knife and rinse the feet thoroughly. Remove any dirty part on the chicken feet. (Try to cut them through the joint for easy cutting.)
- Add cold water and chicken feet to a skillet or wok. (Make sure the chicken feet are submerged.)
- Bring to boil and cook for 10 minutes, and drain the water.
- Place the skillet over medium-high heat, and add vegetable oil.
- Add garlic and ginger. Stir fry until fragrant.
- Add chicken feet, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar. Mix together with a wooden spoon.
- Add beer and bring to boil.
- Cover with a lid and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until tender. (Check the chicken feet from time to time and make sure there's enough liquid during braising. Add water if needed.)
- Remove the lid, and turn the heat to high. Stir fry until the sauce has thickened. (If you’d like to thicken your sauce faster, you can add the mixture of cornstarch and water. Mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water).
Notes
- If you like the spicy flavor, you can add crushed dried hot chili to the sauce.
- It’s important to add chicken feet to the COLD water, bring them to boil and cook for 10 minutes before braising. Don’t skip this step as this will help to remove the odors from the chicken.
Nutrition
these are NOT PUFFED UP!
What’s the secret to getting them puffy?
Hi Teresa, in order to get them puffed up, you’ll need to deep fry them. We choose a healthy recipe which gets all the flavors without deep-frying.
You can also put a little corn starch or baking powder and put them in the aircrew before braising in the sauce. Scrumptious! Still maintain the healthy profile.
I am
Making this recipe today and am subs beer with diet ginger ale and coconut brown sugar. I’m so excited I love chicken feet.