Photo of the Day: Chicken Feet
Chicken feet are nothing surprising to the frequent dim sum-eater, but to others a bowl of this stuff might look strange and inedible. During a meal at 88 Palace in New York City's Chinatown (which you'll soon read about on Serious Eats New York), we shared an order of steamed chicken feet. One of my Chinese friends said that she's seen them referred to as "Phoenix Claws," which sounds way cooler than it actually is.
What do "Phoenix Claws" taste like? In my experience, mostly bone and insubstantial bits of gooey meat matter. I can't say it's my favorite dim sum dish. But don't take my word for it—some people love chicken feet as though it's a gift from God.
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19 Comments:
I love chicken feet. I started eating them many years ago in Chinatown and when 8th Avenue in Brooklyn was settled as "Chinatown East" I enjoyed them there as well. I do limit my consumption of them, however, because they are PURE cholesterol (sigh).
therealchiffonade at 6:42PM on 10/20/08
My mom deep fries them and then cooks them in a special soupy sauce. I've also had them curried, which is equally yummy. If I had to describe the texture of the meaty parts, it's like eating the tendons and cartilage you find on beef but firmer.
Norlinda at 6:57PM on 10/20/08
i guess i'll pass on that
suburbangourmet at 7:37PM on 10/20/08
i love when i can find chicken feet at the market, it means a fantastic chicken stock is soon to be born in my kitchen! Lucky me!
huneybumper at 7:59PM on 10/20/08
They taste far better than that picture looks but they still are not my favorite...
jdshd at 8:03PM on 10/20/08
hmm... not your typical type of chicken feet found at dim sum joints... was that served cold? most dim sum places serve a kind of chicken feet that is more... saucy.
foodinmouth at 9:08PM on 10/20/08
I can't eat anything that physically resembles an external body part (or is one for that matter).
DanielJ at 9:41PM on 10/20/08
I learned on my recent trip to China that the word for "chicken" is a term for prostitute, so when ordering chicken in restaurants, "phoenix" is used instead, you know, to avoid confusion...
Shelby at 10:41PM on 10/20/08
I used to be freaked out about these when my parents got them at dim sum.
I don't remember how I ended up starting to eat them, but now I love them. Can't go to dim sum without ordering them.
wunami at 11:05PM on 10/20/08
@foodinmouth: They were steamed...if that's the difference. Don't think they were cold though. TOO BAD YOU WEREN'T WITH US! ;_;
@Shelby: ...Damn, now I know.
Robyn Lee at 11:58PM on 10/20/08
Ok, that should not now or ever be photo of the day. Gross. I'm with suburbangourmet-I pass.
Butrflygirly at 8:35AM on 10/21/08
Chicken feet are fantastic! Once you start appreciating the textures of foods like chicken feet, you can't go back. They're delicious and so fun to eat - plus, it would be silly to let them go to waste! Great photo.
The Brave Potato at 9:23AM on 10/21/08
I never felt the urge to try them until I read about Marvin's Adidas.
OneWallKitchen at 11:30AM on 10/21/08
I like them, but I have no one to share them with and I don't like ordering a whole plate of them at dim sum just for myself.
O_Leaozinho at 12:11PM on 10/21/08
I don't get chicken feet love, especially from a group of people that claim to *like* the taste of food. Is this just a badge of honor or something?
I've tried chicken feet, and they're not good. There's little to no taste, unless you add a sauce, in which case you like the sauce and not the feet. As far as texture, they're pretty much what you'd expect -- rubbery and a little tough, and altogether unpleasant.
To me, hearing someone say "i like chicken feet" sounds about as normal as "i loooove gristle!"
mh330 at 12:24PM on 10/21/08
yea i like the saucy one from the dim sum place...my mom puts chicken feet in soup; we'll drink the soup and eat the chicken feet. The chicken feet gets all the flavor from the soup ingredients so it taste really good and sometimes we'll also add a little bit of soy sauce to the chicken feet for more flavor. The texture of the chicken feet from the soup is very soft not rubbery at all! i should call my mom to make some tonight =)
Melmelmeow at 3:05PM on 10/21/08
Chicken feet are the best dim sum dish. It is what I look forward to everytime I make a trip into Chinatown NY. Best chicken feet can be found at Hop Shing or New Chatham Restaurant on 9 Chatham Square. I have been going there since I was 8 (I'm 24 now) and am still going there with my family. They also serve other amazing dim sum that I will not list in this post as it would be too long.
My recommendation to those who have not tried, give it a shot. The worst that could happen is that you don't like it and you are out $1.50-$2.00.
victorylow at 4:36PM on 10/21/08
To the person who says you don't get it... well, personally, I like the sauce (that danny describes, it's saucier than the above picture) and I like the texture. I like chicken skin and that's essentially what I do - nibble off the skin part with the tasty sauce. I don't really eat any other part. Oh, and the parts of the dish - well, this used to be the case, I don't see these so much anymore - that don't have toes on it, the "wrists" (although I guess they're ankles, huh?) - have a bit of cartilage and meat which I also like to chew. To me, it tastes good.
Robyn - as far as I know, the Cantonese name for this dish is Phoenix Claws. Fung Jhou. I don't call it that to be pretty but because that's what it is to me, in Cantonese... Although apparently it helped Blondie find them more palatable ;)
feistyfoodie at 1:04PM on 10/22/08
Okay, I grew up in a rural area and we had chickens so we could have fresh farm eggs (they are the BEST!), and I saw plenty of chicken feet. I also saw what they stepped in. Anyway, when I was 18 a friend and I took this great road trip and while we were in San Francisco's Chinatown, we went in what we thought would be the MOST authentic Chinese restaurant we could find. There was no English menu and no one spoke English there, so we just pointed to something on the menu and hoped for the best. I ended up with chicken feet in some kind of sauce. At first, I didn't know what it was and I (being VERY hungry) eagerly dug in. Then it hit me and I just gagged. There's just something about chicken feet that I can't stomach (sorry all you c.f. lovers!!!) so we quickly paid our tab and got out of there. I thought it was really weird that people would EAT chicken feet, and I have heard of people eating pig's feet also, but when I saw c.f. at a dim sum, I realized they must be more popular than I realized. Oh well, to each his own! I know people who gag when I tell them I like raw oysters and also escargot : )
gourmetgal at 4:32PM on 10/24/08