Spicy Bean Sauce & Garlic Butter Chicken Feet
In episode 4 of “Around the World with Manu” I spent a day at Tim Ho Wan, one of the best dim sum restaurants in the world, cooking for the owner Mr Mac in exchange for my lunch and dinner. Chicken feet are a classic Chinese dish, but I had to put my own spin on them as well!
For one half I used a more traditional spicy bean sauce, and for the other half I created a Fr-Asian version using a garlic butter sauce inspired by a frog leg recipe from back home. Are you game to give it a go?!
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
- 1 kg chicken feet
- peanut oil or other neutral oil, for frying
For the spicy bean sauce
- 6 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 red birdseye chilli, finely chopped
- 3 Tbsp Chinese chilli bean sauce
- 2 Tbsp abalone sauce
- ¼ cup chicken stock (or reserved chicken feet broth)
- 1 Tbsp peanut oil
- 2 Tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 2 Tbps white sugar
- ½ tsp white pepper
For the garlic butter sauce
- 60 g salted butter
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
- small handful continental parsley, chopped
- juice of ½ a lemon
TIP
- You should be able to find chicken feet at Asian butcher shop.
- Chilli bean sauce (Doubanjiang), Shaoxing wine and abalone sauce can be found at Asian grocery stores.
METHOD
- To prepare chicken feet, trim the tips/nails and discard, then wash feet in a bowl of salted water to remove any dirt or grit. The top layer of skin should also come away, and any excess can be trimmed if required.
- Bring 3 litres of water and a good pinch of salt to the boil in a large stockpot. Add the chicken feet, bring back to the boil then reduce heat to low and simmer 1 – 1½ hours until tender. Strain chicken feet, reserving ¼ cup of broth for the bean sauce, then pat dry with paper towel. They need to be really dry before frying.
- Pour approximately 5 cm of oil into a large saucepan or deep-fryer and heat to 200°C. Add the chicken feet, cooking in batches for 3 – 5 minutes until very crisp and lightly golden. Drain on a paper towel lined plate.
- To make the spicy sauce, place a wok over a high heat, add the chilli bean sauce and abalone sauce and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add garlic and chilli and cook for a further 1 – 2 minutes, stirring to ensure the garlic doesn’t burn. Add the reserved chicken broth, oil, Shao Xing wine and sugar and cook for 1 – 2 minutes or until the sauce has reduced by a third. Add half the deep fried chicken feet, toss to coat and cook for 1 minute more until the sauce is thick and sticky.
- To make the garlic butter sauce, place a large cast iron frying pan over medium-high heat, add butter and garlic and cook until the butter is foaming and has turned lightly golden. Add parsley and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the remaining chicken feet and toss to coat. Finish with an extra squeeze of lemon juice before serving.
Don’t miss all my destination tips from my time in Hong Kong!
