Today, I decided to tackle a classic dim sum dish: chicken feet. It’s something I’ve always enjoyed at restaurants but never attempted at home. It seemed a bit intimidating, but I was up for the challenge.
First, I gathered all the ingredients. This was pretty simple since I had most of the stuff already in my pantry. I just needed to make a quick trip to the store for the chicken feet.
Once I had everything, I started by cleaning the chicken feet. This was probably the most tedious part. I snipped off the nails with kitchen shears and gave them a good rinse under cold water. I really want to clean all the things, to make them look nice.
Next, I heated up some oil in a frying pan. I used vegetable oil because that’s what I had on hand. I poured in enough oil to come up about a quarter of the way up the sides of the pan. While the oil was heating, I boiled a pot of water with some ginger slices. I dropped the chicken feet into the boiling water for a few minutes.
Then came the frying. I carefully placed the blanched chicken feet into the hot oil. They sizzled and popped, so I made sure to stand back a bit. I fried them until they were golden brown and crispy. This part smelled amazing, by the way.
After frying, I prepared the sauce. In a bowl, I mixed together some light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and oyster sauce. I also added in some garlic and green onions for extra flavor. Once the chicken feet were cool enough to handle, I coated them in the sauce, making sure each one was fully covered.
The final step was simmering. I added some Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, sugar, and water to a pot. Then I tossed in the sauce-coated chicken feet and brought everything to a simmer. I covered the pot and let it cook for about an hour. The aroma that filled my kitchen was incredible.
After an hour, the chicken feet were ready. I took them out and let them cool slightly. You can eat them right away, but I decided to put them in the fridge for a couple of hours to let the flavors really meld together.
The Result
When I finally tasted them, I was pretty impressed with myself. They were tender, flavorful, and had just the right amount of spice. They tasted just like the ones you get at a dim sum restaurant. This little cooking thing is not that hard, I should try it earlier.
Here’s a quick rundown of the steps:
- Clean the chicken feet (remove nails, rinse)
- Boil with ginger, then drain
- Fry until golden brown
- Coat with sauce (soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, garlic, green onions)
- Simmer with Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, sugar, and water for 1 hour
- Cool and enjoy, or refrigerate for later
Overall, it was a fun and rewarding experience. It’s definitely a dish I’ll be making again. Maybe next time I’ll invite some friends over to share. It is so good, and I think they will love this.
