April 11, 2010

Braised Chicken Feet With Mushroom

I haven't ate chicken feet for almost 10 years now. It used to be one of grandma's favorite food and she makes a really good chicken feet dish. However, the preparation work for this dish can sometimes be painful, literally. To make this dish, the chicken feet are cleaned, pat dried, fried in hot oil and then soak in cold water. Chicken feet have a tendency to splatter when fried so I'd suggest frying them in a covered pot. Some Chinese believes that eating chicken feet enhances their joint due to the food's gelatinous properties. Some, like my grandma, just likes how it taste. This used to be a pretty common dish served during Chinese holidays but I have a suspicion that it's probably losing its appeal among the younger generations. I can already hear a few "EWWWWWWW"s behind me as I update this blog.

Chicken feet can be easily purchased in Asian grocery stores. Don't forget to cut the nails off the feet if they haven't done so. Biting on chicken nail is not cute or tasty ;) To those that doesn't know what "bruised ginger" means in culinary lingo, it's when you use the flat side of the knife to press down on the ginger so you "bruise" it but doesn't break it apart. When using dried shiitake mushroom, reserve the liquid you soak them in. This impart tremendous amount of flavor when used in the dish. Using rock sugar makes the chicken feet and shiitake mushroom more tender, at least that's what grandma told me. This dish can be served with white rice or eaten with wonton noodle (a common dish in Malaysia).




In memory of grandma, I made this dish yesterday. Here is grandma's braised chicken feet with mushroom or "Dong gu gai geok" in Cantonese.

For chicken feet prep:
2 lbs. chicken feet
5 cups oil
Cold water

Remaining ingredients:
5 cups of shiitake mushroom (soaked in 10 cups of water for about 2 hours)
10 cups shiitake mushroom liquid (from soaking the mushrooms)
Water
3 inch ginger (cut into pieces and bruised)
6 cloves garlic
8 star anise
1/2 cup oyster sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/4 cup oil
1 teaspoon white pepper
Salt to taste
Small handful of white rock sugar (optional)
Scallions and/or cilantro for garnish (optional)

We'll start with the chicken feet prep work. Chop off the nails on the feet if they haven't done so. Just cut past the nail so you don't throw away half of the feet. Clean thoroughly and pat dry with paper towels. It is important to make the chicken feet really dry before you fry them to minimize splattering. On medium flame, heat oil in a pot with a see through lid (so you know when the feet are turning brown). Add chicken feet in small batches into the oil. Cover immediately. Fry for about 5 minutes or you see that the feet are turning brown and stopped splattering.


Turn off the fire and wait for another minute before opening the lid. Do not open the lid in between or you'll have some nasty oil splatters on your hands. Remove the chicken feet from the oil and soak in a bowl of cold water for about an hour.


Drain the chicken feet and set them aside.



In a separate pot, heat oil on medium flame. Add garlic, ginger and star anise. Fry until garlic starts to brown. Add in oyster sauce and shiitake mushroom. Cook for about two minutes, stirring constantly. Add in chicken feet, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, white pepper, salt, sesame oil, white rock sugar and mushroom liquid.


When it comes to a rolling boil, turn the heat to low. Cover and let it simmer. Stir occasionally. If it gets too dry, add more water. Braise for an hour. Top with scallions and/or cilantro.


26 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Raymond. Your grandma's recipe is simply delicious!

Raymond Vagell said...

You're welcome. Hope you enjoyed it!

Anonymous said...

I have tried your recipe and it came out superb!! All my guests said it was good. Thanks for sharing and hope u can keep posting more wonderful recipes...

Raymond Vagell said...

Thank you. Hope you enjoyed the dish. My grandma would be proud of me, haha.

Anonymous said...

Hi Raymond, thanks for sharing this recipe. I have been wondering for so long how this dish is made.. you have just the answer and in time too for me to try this weekend when I am expecting guests and chicken rice is on the menu...I will definitely try this.. thank you!!..:-)

Raymond Vagell said...

I hope the dish was successful.

Nicole said...

Many thanks for the Recipe, Raymond... Made them today and what was delicious!!! easily can have 3 bowls of plain boiled rice with that :)

Unknown said...

Hi. Can I know which brand of soya u use? Thks.

Raymond Vagell said...

I don't have a preferred brand but for this, I used Kikkoman soy sauce.

Alex said...

Can i use a slow cooker to cook the chicken feet?

Raymond Vagell said...

I'm sure you can Alex, but I have never done it before. I assume it would make the chicken feet more tender.

Nick Lim said...

I am going to cook this this evening. Wish me luck. Thanks.

Raymond Vagell said...

Good luck. You can do it!

Unknown said...

I just cooked this. Super yummy! Thanks Ray! Are you able to share your grandma's wanton mee recipe?

Anonymous said...

I would love to try, looks good. thank you for sharing us. God bless

Unknown said...

Trying now.. Awaiting the result.. Hehe

Eliane said...

Hey Raymond, thanks for the recipe, I didn't know you have to deep fry the feet first! Am gonna do this tomorrow for a CNY dinner. Glad I found your blog.

zzz said...

Hi Raymond.
Thanks for sharing your grandma's recipe. Can I skip the frying and braised the chicken feet as it is?

Thank you in advance for your reply!

Unknown said...

How many portion can we get from this recipe? Thanks :)

Unknown said...

Hello 👋 how many portion can we get from this recipe? Thanks 😃

sean said...

Hi Raymond,

Thanks for the recipe. I have problem getting it in very crumble skin ....i didn't do deep fried, is it the problem?

Anonymous said...

Hi Raymond. This was the 1st time I attempted this dish. It turned out really well. Your recipe is one for keeps. Thanks!

Raymond Vagell said...

Hi Sean. Yes, you have deep fry the chicken feet.

Small Kucing said...

Thanks for the recipe. Making it now for dinner. Yikes! The oil really pandai splatter everywhere

Passing Thoughts said...

Hi Mr Raymond
Have been coming back to your recipe for more than 5 years every time Chinese New Year comes around. Thanks so much.

Much blessings for your family ya!

Raymond Vagell said...

Thank you Passing Thoughts. Hope you enjoyed the recipe for many many more years to come!

Small Kucing --- Yes, have to be careful with the splattering oil. That's why it's important to close with a lid.