Ingredient Name: Chicken Feet
Traditional Chinese Name: 雞腳 (jī jiǎo)
What is this?
- Literally, the feet of the chicken
- Although it sounds and looks a bit gross (almost like human hands), chicken feet are a wonderful meat to use as the base flavour of chinese soups because the extra gelatin (from the cartilege) and the marrow (found within the bones) gives the soup an extra fullness and silkiness
How do I prepare it?
- Rub with salt and wash thoroughly
- Pre-boil the feet in a separate pot of water for 5 minutes until softened
- Drain completely and rinse with cool water until the chicken feet are cool enough for handling
- Cut off the claws / nails and trim the hard skin from underneath the feet
- Rinse again and use as desired
Where can I buy this?
- In almost any Asian or Chinese supermarket
- Some butchers may also have chicken feet as left-overs (free!) especially Western butchers who don’t have many customers for chicken feet
What is the cost?
- Chicken feet are inexpensive and can cost about $1.50 CAD per pound
Any benefits?
- Chicken is extremely dense in nutrients, including protein, zinc, iron, phosphorous, riboflavin, thiamin and niacin
- In particular, the extra minerals and gelatin found in chicken feet are said to be good for joint problems
Any precautions?
- Wash your hands and cutting utensils thoroughly after handling raw poultry to avoid cross-contamination like salmonella
References
I’ve read an article about chicken feet in a Chinese newspaper (in Canada) and it says that antibiotics residues are mostly left in the chicken feet. Is that true? Have you heard of it?
How long is the salt left on the chicken feet before washing off?
Why not put chicken feet in water and add some salt to the water, and leave to soak overnight? What’s the difference?
When making soups, why is it important to add ingredients only when the water is boiling and not at the start when its cold?
Thanks!