How to Eat Chicken Feet

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: February 18, 2021

Chicken feet are a delicacy in Asian countries and can be found in bulk at almost all Asian markets. Chicken feet are loaded in flavor and can be both crispy and delicate in texture, which makes them perfect for deep-frying to use in various traditional Asian dishes. Before you begin to cook with chicken feet, be sure to remove the toenails and wash the feet under water to remove any loose skin, or you might end up biting into something that is a little too crunchy.

Ingredients

Deep-Fried Chicken Feet

1 lb (450 g) of chicken feet
1 tsp (4.2 g) of salt
2 tbsp (30 ml) of soy sauce
1 tbsp (15 g) of sugar
3 cloves of garlic
2 eggs
1 cup (128 g) of flour
1 qt (900 ml) of vegetable oil

Braised Dim Sum Chicken Feet

2 lb (900 g) of chicken feet (about 20 feet)
1 qt (900 ml) of vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves and green onions
2 Thai chili peppers
1 tsp (4.2 g) of salt
1 tsp (4.2 g) of sugar
1 inch (2.5 cm) of ginger root
1 tablespoon (15 ml) of soy sauce
¹⁄₂ tablespoon (7.4 ml) of oyster sauce
2 star anise

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Cleaning Chicken Feet

1
Soak and wash the foot in a bath of tap water. If your feet are store-bought and packaged, you only need to wash each foot under tap water for a few seconds. Then, set them to the side one by one.^{[1]
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- If your feet are fresh, soak them in a pot of tap water for about an hour to get rid of any excess dirt and other contaminants.
2
Bring a full pot of water to a simmer, then cook the feet for about 30 seconds. Don't boil the water; instead, bring it to a near-boil and let it stay hot without bubbling over. Using tongs, drop each foot into the pot of water and then remove them after about half a minute to make the peeling process easier.^{[2]
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3
Remove the nails with scissors at the first joint, or with tweezers. Remove each nail after they have been softened with scissors by cutting through each toe at the first joint, as this is where the nail ends. If the nails have been softened enough, then you can remove them with tweezers instead and keep more meat on the foot.^{[3]
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4
Peel the scaly skin away from the toe to the knee. After you have removed the nails from each toe, you can peel the scaly skin away from the meat in a smooth motion back toward the knee. It should come off all at once if it was soaked and simmered correctly, but if not, you can take a small knife to carve it away instead. ^{[4]
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- The scaly skin and nails of the feet are inedible, even for making something like stock, so just throw these away.

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Making Deep-Fried Chicken Feet

1
Put the chicken feet, salt, soy sauce, sugar, garlic and water in a saute pan. Combine 1 lb (450 g) of chicken feet, 1 tsp (4.2 g) of salt, 2 tbsp (30 ml) of soy sauce, 1 tbsp (15 g) of sugar, and 3 smashed cloves of garlic to a large saute pan. Then, add just enough water to cover the ingredients.^{[5]
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- Use the back of a spoon or a knife to crush the cloves, but do not chop them up. These supplemental ingredients are used to simmer the chicken feet in a delicious medley of flavors and won't be added to the deep fryer.
2
Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer for 2 hours. Turn the heat all the way up and allow the water to rapidly boil. Turn the heat all the way down as soon as it boils and let it simmer in the pan for 2 hours, or until the chicken feet are tender when poked with a fork.^{[6]
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- It may take less than 2 hours for the chicken feet to become tender, in as little time as an hour, so be sure to continuously check them with a fork so they don't overcook.
3
Remove the chicken feet and allow them to cool while you whisk eggs and flour. Put the boiled feet onto a baking pan to cool for a few minutes, during which you can whisk together 2 eggs and 1 cup (128 g) of flour into a batter in a large bowl.^{[7]
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- Save the left-over water if you want to make chicken feet stock later on, as this can save you some preparation time.
4
Heat up 1 qt (900 ml) of vegetable oil to 375 °F (191 °C) in a wok or deep fryer. It doesn't really matter which method you use to heat up your vegetable oil, but if you want to have an authentic experience in Asian cuisine, you should use a wok for the best results.
5
Dip the chicken feet in the batter to get an even coating. Take each chicken foot and coat it in the batter you prepared, then set them to the side on a large plate or in a bowl until you have covered every foot.
6
Deep-fry each foot until it is golden brown, and serve! In small batches, deep fry the feet for about 3 to 5 minutes, and watch for the feet to turn golden-brown. You can store the finished ones in a warm oven to maintain their temperature.^{[8]
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Research source} When they are all deep-fried, they are ready to be served!
- Sprinkle some salt over the chicken feet or add chili oil and soy sauce for extra flavor.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Preparing Braised Dim Sum Chicken Feet

1
Bring a full, large pot of water to a boil with salt and sugar. Add about 1 tsp (4.2 g) of salt and 1 tsp (4.2 g) of sugar to a full pot of water and bring it to a rapid boil. You can use a dash of rice vinegar to prevent the color of the chicken feet from darkening, but it is not necessary.^{[9]
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2
Add the chicken feet to the pot then drain the water after 2 minutes. Gently drop 2 lb (900 g) of chicken feet to the water after it has reached a boil, and let it sit for about 2 minutes. Then, drain the water and leave the chicken feet in the pot.^{[10]
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3
Drizzle the soy sauce and oyster sauce over the feet. Try to cover all of the chicken feet with 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of soy sauce and ¹⁄₂ tablespoon (7.4 ml) of oyster sauce, then let them marinade for about 30 minutes with the heat off.^{[11]
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4
Fill a wok with 1 qt (900 ml) of oil and heat it to 180 °C (356 °F), then fry the feet. Deep fry the feet for about 3 to 5 minutes, or until they look to be golden-brown in color. Deep fry them until they are dry, which is when the oil on the feet stops sparkling.^{[12]
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Research source} Set the feet on a plate to cool and dry further.
- Afterward, you can let the feet soak in a pot full of ice water for 4 hours to achieve a "tiger-skin" effect, which makes the skin of the feet look stripey. This is only for aesthetic purposes.
- You can use a deep fryer for this step instead of a wok, but no matter what you choose, be sure to cover it as you do not want to get covered in hot oil while you fry the chicken feet.
5
Chop garlic, green onions, Thai chili peppers, ginger, and star anise. Finely chop 2 garlic cloves, 2 green onions, 2 Thai chili peppers, 1 inch (2.5 cm) of ginger, and 2 star anise with a chef knife, and set them to the side in a bowl or on a plate.^{[13]
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Research source} Be careful when handling Thai chili pepper, as it can burn your eyes if you rub them during preparation.
- Wear latex gloves while you chop the chili — these can be taken off and thrown away, preventing you from accidentally rubbing your eyes or your nose with chili bits.
6
Add the chicken feet to a steamer, then steam them for 15 minutes. Don't add the other ingredients yet, as you need to let the chicken steam first so they can effectively absorb the other flavors — and they take longer to cook.^{[14]
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7
Add the chopped ingredients to the steamer and steam everything for 30 more minutes. Try to evenly pour the chopped ingredients all over the chicken feet, and let the mix steam for another half an hour.^{[15]
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- Avoid opening the steamer at any point during the steaming process or you will let out the trapped heat and it will take much longer to achieve an even cook.
8
Mix the ingredients with 1 cup (240 ml) of water in a saute pan and simmer. Remove the chicken feet and chopped ingredients from the steamer when they're done, and add them to a large saute pan with 1 cup (240 ml) of water. Saute the mixture for 15 minutes.^{[16]
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Research source} This will braise the chicken feet and create a thick sauce to serve alongside the meal.^{[17]
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Research source} Serve them hot!
- If you want a thicker sauce, turn the heat up to the max in the last minute or so.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Eating Chicken Feet Correctly

1
Use chopsticks or your hands instead of a fork for better grip. It's recommended to avoid using western cutlery when eating chicken feet as they don't allow you to manipulate the food as easily as with chopsticks or with your hands.^{[18]
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- You can eat everything on the foot except bones and nails, so be sure to clean the feet before you start cooking.
2
Eat the toes by biting each joint and sucking the meat off of the bone. Aim to bite the chicken foot at the joint of the toe, and suck the meat, skin, and sauce off of the bone in your mouth. Spit out the bone, and continue up to the next joint and to the next toe.
- If you don't get quite enough meat by biting at the joint, feel free to bite off the whole toe at once. It's only recommended to start with joints to get a taste and see if the chicken feet taste good to you.^{[19]
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3
Move onto the footpad, chewing off its skin and cartilage. When you have finished with the toes, you can move onto the meatiest part of the foot: the pad. Start by sucking off its skin and cartilage, and then gnaw around the bone of the foot to get to the delicious and savory meat.
- You can spit bones discretely into a bowl (one is usually provided at restaurants) when you are done with the foot.^{[20]
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Things You'll Need

Deep-Fried Chicken Feet

Wok or deep fryer
Saute pan
Chef knife

Braised Dim Sum Chicken Feet

Wok or deep fryer
Steamer
Chef knife
Latex gloves (optional)
Large pot

Warnings

Be sure to cook the feet to an internal temperature of 165 °F (74 °C) to kill any bacteria or contaminants in the meat.

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Be sure to thoroughly clean and de-nail the chicken feet before using them in any recipe. The nails are inedible, and loose skin can get hard and unappetizing.

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