Chicken feet

Pieds de volaille

What it is

Chicken feet are the cheapest concentrated gelatine any kitchen can buy, and the United States ships them to Asia by the hundred thousand tonnes because almost nobody eats them at home. In dim sum they stop being an ingredient and become a dish: deep-fried until the skin blisters, then steamed in fermented black bean sauce that the puffed skin drinks up.

In the kitchen

For stock, five hundred grams of feet to three litres of water gives a broth that sets solid in the fridge — clip the nails, blanch five minutes and skim hard. For eating, the order matters: steam them first and the skin will never puff.

Goes with

Douchi Oyster sauce Shaoxing wine Star anise Ginger Garlic Chili pepper Spring onion

Same species

Egg white powder (albumin) Chicken tail (bonjiri) Bresse chicken Capon Chicken Rooster

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