Cherry & Dennis Helper Habitat

Hong Kong Steamed Chicken Feet with Black Bean Sauce

Name: Hong Kong Steamed Chicken Feet with Black Bean Sauce
Total time: 1 h 50 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 800 g cleaned chicken feet; 3 cloves garlic; 15 g ginger; 1 red chilli; 1 spring onion; 1.5 litres water; 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine; 10 g ginger (sliced for blanching); 700 ml cooking oil; 1.5 tbsp fermented black beans; 1 tbsp light soy sauce; 1 tbsp oyster sauce; 1 tsp dark soy sauce; 1 tbsp sugar; 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine (mixed into the black bean sauce); 1/8 tsp ground white pepper; 1 tsp cornstarch; 1 tsp cooking oil (mixed into the black bean sauce); 100 ml water

豉汁蒸鳳爪

Hong Kong Steamed Chicken Feet with Black Bean Sauce — finished dish

Total time: 110 min
Difficulty: Medium
Servings: 4 servings

Recipe overview

Chicken feet are blanched, fried and soaked until wrinkled, then steamed in garlic black bean sauce until tender for a home-size Hong Kong dim sum dish.

Ingredients

Main ingredients

800 g cleaned chicken feet
3 cloves garlic
15 g ginger
1 red chilli
1 spring onion

Chicken blanching

1.5 litres water
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
10 g ginger (sliced for blanching)

Frying oil

700 ml cooking oil

Black bean sauce

1.5 tbsp fermented black beans
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine (mixed into the black bean sauce)
1/8 tsp ground white pepper
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp cooking oil (mixed into the black bean sauce)
100 ml water

Tools

chopping board
kitchen knife
saucepan
colander
kitchen paper
deep wok with splatter screen
long tongs
large bowl
mixing bowl
deep heatproof plate
covered steamer wok
food thermometer

Steps

Step 1

Trim the chicken feet

Wash the chicken feet and cut off every claw; keep tools for raw chicken separate from cooked food.

Step 2

Blanch

Place in 1.5 litres water with Shaoxing wine and sliced ginger, bring to a boil, blanch 5 minutes, then drain and rinse.

Step 3

Dry completely

Drain and pat every chicken foot completely dry with kitchen paper; air-dry for 10 minutes.

Step 4

Heat the frying oil

Heat 700 ml oil in a deep wok over medium heat to 170°C and keep all water away.

Step 5

Fry in batches

Lower small batches with long tongs, cover immediately with a splatter screen and fry about 5 minutes until evenly golden; maintain about 170°C.

Step 6

Cool and soak

Drain in a colander for 2 minutes; once vigorous bubbling stops, soak in a large bowl of ice water for 1 hour until the skin wrinkles.

Step 7

Prepare the aromatics

Rinse, drain and lightly crush the beans; mince garlic, shred remaining ginger, slice chilli and dice spring onion.

Step 8

Mix the sauce

Combine beans, garlic, ginger and every black bean sauce ingredient until no cornstarch lumps remain.

Step 9

Marinate

Drain the chicken feet, toss with the sauce and chilli, then marinate for 20 minutes.

Step 10

Arrange the plate

Arrange loosely in one layer in a deep heatproof plate and spoon the remaining sauce over them.

Step 11

Steam until tender

Once the water boils strongly, cover and steam over medium-high heat for 40 to 45 minutes, adding boiling water if needed.

Step 12

Check and serve

The thickest part must reach 74°C and the skin and meat should pull easily from the bone; steam 5 minutes more if needed, then add spring onion.

Common mistakes

Frying chicken feet before they are completely dry, causing violent splattering.
Crowding the wok and dropping the oil temperature.
Putting feet straight from hot oil into ice water and causing dangerous splashes.
Letting the steamer boil dry or stopping before the skin becomes tender.

Tips

Dry every chicken foot completely and use a deep wok, long tongs and a splatter screen. Drain and cool until bubbling stops before soaking, then maintain enough boiling steaming water and check the thickest part.