Chicken feet facts for kids
Chicken feet and other chicken parts for sale on a roadside cart in Haikou, Hainan, China.
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| Chicken feet | |||||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 鳳爪 | ||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 凤爪 | ||||||||||||||||
| Hanyu Pinyin | fèngzhuǎ | ||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Fenghuang claws or Phoenix talons (claws) |
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Chicken feet are a food eaten in many countries around the world. After the tough outer skin is taken off, most of what you can eat on the feet is skin and tendons. There is almost no muscle meat. This gives chicken feet a special texture that is different from other parts of the chicken. Because they are mostly skin, chicken feet are very gelatinous, meaning they have a jelly-like feel when cooked.
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Chicken Feet Around the World
Chicken feet are a popular food in many different cultures. People prepare them in various ways, from soups to snacks.
China
In China, chicken feet are used in many regional dishes. They can be a snack with beer, a cold dish, a soup, or a main meal. People call them Fèng zhuǎ (phoenix claws), Jī zhuǎ (chicken claws), or Jī jiǎo (chicken feet).
In areas like Guangdong and Hong Kong, chicken feet are often deep-fried and steamed first. This makes them puffy. Then, they are stewed and simmered in a sauce. This sauce might have black fermented beans, bean paste, and sugar. Sometimes, abalone sauce is used.
Across mainland China, snack bars often sell lu ji zhua, which are marinated chicken feet. These are simmered with soy sauce, Sichuan peppercorns, cloves, garlic, star anise, cinnamon, and chili flakes. You can find packaged chicken feet in most grocery stores in China. They are a popular snack, often seasoned with rice vinegar and chili.
Another popular recipe is bai yun feng zhao. For this dish, chicken feet are marinated in a sauce made of rice vinegar, rice wine, sugar, salt, and minced ginger. They soak for a long time and are served as a cold dish. In southern China, people also cook chicken feet with raw peanuts to make a light soup.
Besides chicken feet, duck feet are also popular in China. Duck feet with mustard are a common salad or appetizer. They are often served with vinegar, fresh green pepper, and crushed garlic.
Eastern Europe
In countries like Russia, Ukraine, Romania, and Moldova, chicken feet are used to make a dish called kholodets or răcitură. The feet are cleaned, seasoned, and boiled, often with vegetables. Then, the mixture is cooled to create a jelly-like dish. The chicken legs are not always eaten, but they are cooked with the dish because they contain a lot of gelatin. This gelatin helps the dish set into a jelly.
Indonesia
In Indonesian cuisine, chicken feet are called ceker. They are a common and popular food, especially on the island of Java. The most common way to eat chicken feet in Indonesia is in a spicy traditional soup called soto. You can also find Chinese-style dimsum chicken feet in some Chinese restaurants there.
Soto ceker is a chicken foot soup served in a clear, yellowish, spicy broth. The broth uses spices like shallots, garlic, galangal, ginger, candlenuts, lemongrass, Indonesian bayleaf, and turmeric. It is served with cabbage, celery, and rice noodles. People often add sambal (chili sauce), lime, and soy sauce to taste.
Soto ceker is a popular street food in many big cities in Indonesia. Street stalls often offer soto ceker as a variation of soto ayam (chicken soto), using the same soup base.
Another way to prepare chicken feet is in a simple soup called sop ceker. This soup mainly has chicken broth, chicken feet, and vegetables like potato and carrot. It is seasoned with shallot, garlic, and black pepper. Deep-fried, boneless chicken feet can also be a crispy snack called kripik ceker (chicken feet crackers).
In Indonesia, soft, boneless chicken feet are a popular choice for baby food. They are often given to babies between 6 and 12 months old. This is usually served as nasi tim: steamed rice with boneless chicken feet, mashed liver, and vegetable broth. Chicken feet have collagen, which is believed to be good for babies' skin, nails, joints, and bone growth.
Jamaica
In Jamaican cuisine, chicken feet are mostly used to make chicken foot soup. This soup includes yams, potatoes, green banana, dumplings, and special spices. It is slow-cooked for at least two hours. Chicken feet are also curried or stewed and served as a main part of a meal.
Korea
In Korea, chicken feet are called dakbal (닭발). They are often grilled or stir-fried with a hot chili sauce. There are many ways to cook them, including boneless versions or those cooked in soup. They are often eaten as anju, which means food served with alcohol.
Kosher
Chicken feet are often used as a main or extra ingredient in chicken soup in Kosher cooking.
Malaysia
Chicken feet are also known as ceker in Malaysia. They are traditionally popular among Malays of Javanese, Chinese, and Siamese backgrounds. Many traditional Malay restaurants in the state of Johor serve chicken feet cooked in Malay-style curry. This is often eaten with roti canai, a type of flatbread. In Selangor, chicken feet are either boiled in soup with vegetables and spices until the bones are soft, or deep-fried in palm oil. Malaysian Chinese also eat chicken feet prepared in traditional Chinese cooking styles.
Mexico
In Mexico, chicken feet are called “patitas” and are a popular ingredient, especially in stews and soups. They are often steamed and become part of a main dish with rice, vegetables, and other chicken parts like breast or thighs. The feet can be seasoned with mole sauce. Sometimes, they are breaded and fried.
Many people also eat chicken feet as a snack. They hold the foot and chew the soft outer skin. The inner bone structure is usually not eaten. Another similar snack is chicken necks, often sold by street vendors with Valentina hot sauce.
Philippines
In the Philippines, chicken feet are marinated in a mix of calamansi (a small citrus fruit), spices, and brown sugar before being grilled. This is a popular street food and is commonly known as "adidas," named after the shoe brand Adidas. Chicken feet are also an ingredient in Philippine adobo, a popular Filipino dish.
South Africa
In South Africa, chicken feet are mainly eaten in townships. They are known as "walkie talkies" (when served with the head, intestines, hearts, and giblets), "runaways," and "chicken dust." The feet are put in hot water to remove the outer skin. Then, they are seasoned and grilled. The name "chicken dust" comes from the dust chickens make when they scratch the ground with their feet. They are often eaten as a snack.
Thailand
In Thai cuisine, chicken feet are used in various dishes. One example is a version of chicken green curry.
Trinidad
In Trinidad, chicken feet are cleaned, seasoned, and boiled in seasoned water. Then, they are left to soak with cucumbers, onions, peppers, and green seasoning until cool. This dish is called chicken foot souse and is often served at parties.
Images for kids
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Boneless chicken feet on a Taiwanese market stall
