Got a whole chicken and don’t know what to do with its feet? Or do you happen to have a bunch of chicken feet stored waiting to be cooked? Don’t put them to waste and make the traditional Chinese comfort food – chicken feet soup.
Have a delicious hearty meal that can be either eaten as a snack or a side dish. It is incredibly easy to make with its one-pot meal recipe detailed in this quick guide.
- What Is Chinese Style Chicken Feet Soup?
- What You Need To Know About Chicken Feet Soup
- How To Store And Reheat Chicken Feet Soup
- Tips For Making Chicken Feet Soup
- Everything You Need To Make Chicken Feet Soup
- Steps To Make Chicken Feet Soup
What Is Chinese Style Chicken Feet Soup?
Chicken feet soup is a popular delicacy in Chinese cuisine. It is a simple soup made from simmered chicken feet combined with various herbs and fruits. The broth gets its burst of flavor from the slow cooking process.
The recipe starts by removing the toenails. Remember, all parts of the feet are edible except the bones and nails. The skin is typically chewed off and the bone is sucked to extract the juicy flavors.
What You Need To Know About Chicken Feet Soup
Is Chicken Feet Soup Healthy?
It is commonly sought for its high collagen content found in chicken feet. The soup gives a collagen boost which is believed to help relieve joint pain and improve skin health.
However, it is also high in cholesterol, with at least 84 mg of cholesterol per 100g of boiled chicken feet. Keep in mind that the recommended cholesterol level per day is up to 300 mg only and up to 200 mg for those who are at risk of heart disease. You should limit the amount of chicken feet you consume in order to reduce this risk.
How To Eat Chicken Feet
The manner of eating chicken feet is different from eating a drumstick or thigh. Unlike other meaty chicken parts, chicken feet have little meat since it is mostly cartilage, skin, and tendons. So, eating chicken feet focuses more on biting the foot to get a firm hold to suck and chew the skin off easily.
The challenging part is the small bones. These tend to break and are often caught up when you try to eat the cartilage and pull out the skin. You will have to spit out the bones as you eat the chicken feet.
Taste Of Chicken Feet Soup
Generally, chicken feet soup has a rich and flavorful broth with an earthy taste and a slightly gelatinous texture. It has a note of sweetness from the red dates and angelica and a hint of sour taste from the astragalus. It typically has a milder chicken taste, which is much less chicken-like than meaty chicken parts.
How To Serve Chicken Feet Soup
Chicken feet soup is best paired with a main dish. It is usually eaten with a bowl of white rice or as a side dish soup. You can also have it before eating the main dish.
How To Store And Reheat Chicken Feet Soup
If you have leftovers or plan to eat chicken feet soup on another day, it can stay in the fridge for up to three days. Keep it in an airtight container to maintain quality and prevent contamination from other foods in the fridge. You can also freeze the soup and store it for up to one week or more.
When you are ready to eat the soup, simply reheat it in a pan and bring it to a boil. It may have a jelly-like texture initially, but it will eventually melt into liquid once the soup is hot enough.
Tips For Making Chicken Feet Soup
Here are a few tips to remember to get the best quality chicken feet soup:
- One of the main purposes of blanching is to remove impurities and unwanted flavors from the chicken feet.
- Cook on low heat to extract the flavors fully and avoid losing too much liquid. Slow cooking on low heat also prevents the feet from overcooking. Moreover, low heat produces less bubbles, which gives the soup a clearer and smoother base.
- Cover the pot with a lid to keep the flavors and aromas in and to prevent the soup from losing liquid.
Everything You Need To Make Chicken Feet Soup
Making chicken soup is one of the easiest and most uncomplicated recipes. You only need the basic pot and a few key ingredients for flavor. Here’s everything you need to make a tasty chicken feet soup:
Kitchenware
- Pot for boiling and blanching
- Ladle for scooping soup
- Kitchen scissors or knife to cut the nails of the feet
Key Ingredients
- 10 pieces of chicken feet
- 10g angelica
- 10g adenophora
- 10g astragalus
- 6 dried red dates
- 10g dry longan
- 500ml water
- 1 tsp salt
Steps To Make Chicken Feet Soup
Follow these simple steps to make the perfect chicken feet soup:
Step 1: Clean the chicken feet
First, prepare the 10 pieces of chicken feet by washing them thoroughly and removing the toenails with a knife or pair of kitchen scissors.
Step 2: Blanch the chicken feet
Start by placing your chicken feet in a pot filled with cold water.
Turn the heat to high and allow the water to come to a rolling boil. As it heats up, you’ll notice some froth forming on the surface.
Once the water is boiling, turn down the heat and use a spoon or a fine mesh skimmer to skim off and discard the frothy impurities that rise to the surface.
After skimming, carefully drain the chicken feet and rinse them under running water. This step helps wash away any remaining impurities, leaving you with clean and fresh chicken feet for your recipe.
Step 3: Cook the soup
Next, put the blanched chicken feet into an empty cooking pot and add 10g angelica, 10g adenophora, 10g astragalus, 6 dried red dates, 10g longan, and 500ml water.
Cover the pot with a lid.
Bring to a boil and cook on low heat for 45 minutes.
Lastly, add 1 tsp salt and adjust to taste.
Dish up and enjoy the chicken soup while hot. Serve it with other Chinese main dishes or have it as a side dish.
Chicken Feet Soup
Equipment
- Pot for boiling and blanching
- Ladle for scooping soup
- Kitchen scissors or knife to cut the nails of the feet
Ingredients
- 10 pieces of chicken feet
- 10 g angelica
- 10 g adenophora
- 10 g astragalus
- 6 dried red dates
- 10 g longan
- 500 ml water
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
Step 1: Clean the chicken feet
- First, prepare the 10 pieces of chicken feet by washing them thoroughly and removing the toenails with a knife or pair of kitchen scissors.
Step 2: Blanch the chicken feet
- Start by placing your chicken feet in a pot filled with cold water.
- Turn the heat to high and allow the water to come to a rolling boil. As it heats up, you'll notice some froth forming on the surface.
- Once the water is boiling, turn down the heat and use a spoon or a fine mesh skimmer to skim off and discard the frothy impurities that rise to the surface.
- After skimming, carefully drain the chicken feet and rinse them under running water. This step helps wash away any remaining impurities, leaving you with clean and fresh chicken feet for your recipe.
Step 3: Cook the soup
- Next, put the blanched chicken feet into an empty cooking pot and add 10g angelica, 10g adenophora, 10g astragalus, 6 dried red dates, 10g longan, and 500ml water.
- Cover the pot with a lid.
- Bring to a boil and cook on low heat for 45 minutes.
- Lastly, add 1 tsp salt and adjust to taste.
- Dish up and enjoy the chicken soup while hot. Serve it with other Chinese main dishes or have it as a side dish.
