Spicy Chicken Feet

A wrinkled, puffy skin that melts in the mouth, revealing gelatinous and tender meat. The dark, glossy lacquered sauce releases a powerful aroma of star anise and chili.

• Prep time: 30 min
• Cook time: 120 min
• Difficulty: Medium
• Calories: 1052
• Protein: 46 g
• Carbs: 23 g
• Fat: 80 g

Ingredients

• 50 ml rice wine ( for blanching )
• 1000 ml Peanut oil ( for frying )
• 100 ml soy sauce ( liquid )
• 30 g Brown sugar ( powdered )
• 4 piece Garlic ( crushed )
• 3 piece Thai chili ( sliced )
• 2 piece star anise ( whole )
• 1 piece Cinnamon stick ( whole )
• 500 ml Mineral water ( for braising )
• 1 tbsp Rice vinegar ( for acidity )
• 1 kg Chicken feet ( cleaned )
• 40 g Fresh ginger ( sliced )

Instructions

1. Blanching and cleaning

   Trim the claws from the feet. Place the feet in a pot of cold water with rice wine and ginger slices. Bring to a boil, let simmer for 5 minutes to remove impurities, then drain and dry thoroughly.

2. Frying and thermal shock

   Fry the feet in hot peanut oil until the skin is golden and blistered. Remove immediately and plunge into a large bowl of ice water for 2 hours. This shock is what makes the skin puff up and wrinkle.

3. Braising and glazing

   In a pan, combine soy sauce, brown sugar, crushed garlic, chilies, star anise, and cinnamon. Add the feet and cover with mineral water. Simmer on low heat until the meat is meltingly tender and the sauce coats the spoon through reduction.

Chef's tips

• The secret lies in the thermal shock: move immediately from hot oil to ice water to achieve that characteristic wrinkled texture.
• Dry the feet perfectly before frying, otherwise the oil will splatter everywhere in your kitchen.

Storage

Keeps for 3 days in the fridge in its braising sauce. The longer they sit, the more the gelatin sets and the flavors infuse.