How to Cook Crispy Fried Chicken Feet:

Fried chicken feet are a crispy, flavorful snack with tender, gelatinous meat beneath a crunchy, golden exterior, perfect as a unique viand or pulutan.

Prep Time10

Cook Time8

Course: Chicken Recipe

Cuisine: Filipino

Keyword: fried chicken feet, pritong paa ng manok

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 322kcal

Author: Manny

Ingredients

1 kilo chicken feet washed and cleaned, nails trimmed
2 stalks lemon grass pounded and sliced
1 Tbsp. salt
1 tsp. cracked black peppercorns
1 thumb sized ginger sliced
1 pc Knorr chicken cube
7 cups water for boiling

For the batter:

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp. vinegar
3 tsp. cooking oil
1/2 tsp. black pepper powder
1 tsp. fine salt
4 tsp. baking powder
1 and 3/4 cup water

Instructions

How to Cook Crispy Fried Chicken Feet:

Put water in a pot and bring to a boil. Add in salt, lemongrass, peppercorns, ginger, chicken cube and chicken feet.
Simmer the chicken feet for 30 to 45 minutes or until tender. Turn off heat and remove from the liquid and put in a bowl. Set aside.
Make the batter by combining the batter ingredients: flour, vinegar, cooking oil, baking powder, pepper, salt and water.
Mix until it becomes smooth and the lumps disappear. Put 4 to 5 pieces of chicken feet in the batter and dip until well coated.
Heat oil in a wok or frying pan about 3 cups. Then put the battered chicken feet and fry until crispy and golden brown. Do the same procedure on the rest of the chicken feet.
Then put the fried chicken feet in a paper towel lined plate. Serve with sweet chili sauce or spiced vinegar dipping sauce.

Video

Notes

Cooking Tips:

Boil For Tenderness

Dip the chicken feet in water and boil with ginger and lemongrass for 30 to 45 minutes. That makes the feet softer while absorbing the subtlest flavors from the aromatics. A missing step like this would make the skin of the chicken feet be tough and chewy, hence not crispy after frying.

Soak in Vinegar for Extra Crispiness

Adding vinegar is not just flavor but a texture to achieving a crispier coating. Acid in vinegar reacts with baking powder, creating those air pockets which make the skin light and crunchy. Blend the batter until smooth not containing lumps for you don't want those bumps affecting your texture.

Fry in Small Batches

The chicken feet should be fried without overcrowding the pan; otherwise, the temperature of the oil will break. As a consequence, they will be fried in batches so that they can cook evenly and have a perfect golden-brown and crispy outside. Otherwise, they are soggy and soaked up much oil.