Cantonese chicken feet (Fung Zao)

Ingredients

• 800 g fresh, cleaned chicken feet
• 800 ml refined sunflower oil
• 2 tbsp fermented salted black beans (douchi)
• 4 cloves garlic cloves
• 25 g fresh ginger root
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 3 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 1 tbsp white cane sugar
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 pinch five-spice powder
• 1 pinch ground white pepper
• 1 piece fresh red chile
• 2 sprigs fresh garlic chives

Method

1. Cut off the claws of each chicken foot using a paring knife or kitchen shears. Rinse them thoroughly under cold water.
2. Fill a large pot with cold water, add some of the fresh ginger slices, pour in some of the Shaoxing wine and submerge the chicken feet. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat for a few minutes to draw out impurities and firm up the thin surface skin.
3. Immediately drain the chicken feet in a colander. While they are still hot, gently rub them with some of the dark soy sauce to tint the skin golden brown.
4. Place the chicken feet on a wire rack and let them air dry for at least forty-five minutes. The skin must be perfectly dry and matte to the touch to avoid violent splattering when it hits the hot oil.
5. Pour the refined sunflower oil into a wok or deep sauté pan and heat it to 180 °C. Carefully submerge the very dry chicken feet into the shimmering oil and immediately cover with a splatter screen. Fry over medium heat for several minutes, flipping halfway through, until you get beautifully blistered skin with a deep mahogany brown color.
6. Prepare a large bowl filled with cold water and ice cubes. Right out of the frying oil, immediately plunge the boiling hot chicken feet into the ice water. Leave them submerged in the cold water for at least two hours: the thermal shock dilates the skin, loosens the tissues and creates the famous pleated, honeycomb tiger skin.
7. Carefully drain the rehydrated chicken feet. On a cutting board, chop each foot into two pieces at the main joint to help the sauce penetrate.
8. In a large bowl, coarsely crush the fermented black beans with the back of a spoon along with the minced garlic cloves and the remaining grated fresh ginger. Add the light soy sauce, remaining dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, remaining Shaoxing wine, white cane sugar, cornstarch, toasted sesame oil, five-spice powder and ground white pepper to form a smooth marinade.
9. Carefully coat the chicken foot pieces with the aromatic black bean sauce, making sure to coat every fold of the skin. Arrange everything in a heatproof shallow dish or a bamboo steamer basket.
10. Place the dish over a rapidly boiling water bath, cover tightly and steam over high heat for forty to forty-five minutes. The sauce should become lacquered and syrupy, while the collagen becomes completely melt-in-your-mouth tender.
11. Carefully remove the dish from the steamer. Thinly slice the fresh red chile into rings and the garlic chives on the bias, then scatter them over the steaming dish to add a bright, herbaceous note before serving immediately.

Nutrition

Per serving

Energy

370.2 kcal

Protein

49.1 g

Carbohydrate

8.58 g

Fat

14.64 g

Fibre

0.7 g

Calcium

4.7 mg

Iron

0.3 mg

Magnesium

11.45 mg