Chicken Feet Adobo is a Filipino dish made by boiling chicken feet in water along with sprite, pepper corn, lemongrass, bay leaves and salt and then sautéing in a sauce made with onion, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, oyster sauce, vinegar and salt. Adobo is a popular Filipino dish made with lot of meat and this one is another variation. This savoury and sticky chicken feet adobo or adobong paa ng manok is well served with steamed rice.
CHICKEN FEET ADOBO
Chicken feet has been a part of the Philippine cuisine for a long time. The first time I tasted chicken feet was when my auntie offered me a grilled one. I won’t deny I got choked for the first time because I didn’t know how to eat them. Unlike other people, I don’t find chicken feet strange. I like it. Super like it!!
As I venture out of the chicken feet as street food, I started preparing chicken feet dishes at home, starting with the famous chicken feet adobo. What makes this dish uniquely delicious is the texture of the chicken feet covered with our classic adobo sauce. This dish is a great way to introduce starters to chicken feet dishes.
4 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CHICKEN FEET
Here are 3 shocking facts you didn’t know about chicken feet:
- The meat in the chicken is not meat! It is actually made out of collagen and tendons which gives its unique texture.
- Chicken feet is actually nutritious despite rumors that it has no nutritional benefits. It is rich in Vitamin B9.
- The cartilage found in the chicken feet can be used as a thickening agent for broths. (WOW!)
- Chicken feet are full of bones—best used in making bone broths.
A QUICK CHICKEN FEET HISTORY
Chicken feet dishes are commonly associated with the Asian cuisine, particularly the Chinese. While this is true, a lot of other countries also enjoy this delicacy. There is the dim-sum style dish from China, kholodets in Russia, soto in Indonesia and a whole lot more dishes from different countries.
At first, chicken feet are discarded when dressing chickens, especially in Western countries. For them, they consider it “strange” to put on their plate. But for Asian countries, what they are discarding belongs to one of the greatest delicacies in the world. Also, you know, Asians do not like leftover foods.
More and more delicious chicken feet dishes are evolving and developed. One of the most famous chicken feet dish in the Philippines is chicken feet adobo.
HOW TO PREPARE CHICKEN FEET
Unlike preparing other chicken cuts, you will need a few extra steps in handling your chicken feet adobo from cleaning to cooking.
As you buy freshly cut chicken feet from the market, you’ll notice white excess skin on each of them. It is important to remove these as it can affect the overall texture of your dish. Also, chop the nails using a knife. This step might be tedious so prepare extra energy before you start.
In cooking chicken feet, we are doing the pre-boiling method first. This includes boiling the chicken feet in water with soda, peppercorns, bay leaves and lemongrass. The lemon soda will help tenderize the chicken while the lemongrass improves taste and aroma of the dish.
This whole method helps in removing the “malansa” taste of the chicken feet.
After the pre-boiling method, the rest of the steps will follow the similar steps on making the classic Filipino adobo. Saute the aromatics together with the chicken feet to sear them a bit. Add the rest of the ingredients one by one to form the savoury broth. Let it simmer until the feet are super soft and sticky. Lastly, add the vinegar and cook until the sauce almost dries up.
I really like to make papak the chicken feet but it really goes super good with hot steaming rice. Enjoy!
Chicken Feet Adobo
4
servingsIngredients
1 kilo chicken feet (cleaned and peeled)
2 cups lemon soda
1 tablespoon whole peppercorns
2 stalks lemongrass (pounded)
5 – 6 pieces dried bay leaves
1 tablespoon salt
water
1 thumb-sized ginger (chopped)
1 medium-sized onion (chopped)
5 cloves of garlic (minced)
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
1/3 cup vinegar
Directions
- Place the chicken feet in a large pan. Pour a cup of the lemon soda and add the peppercorns, lemongrass, 2 – 3 pieces bay leaves and salt. Add enough water to cover the chicken feet. Cover the pan and let it boil for 15 minutes.
- Strain the chicken feet and the aromatics. Set aside.
- Heat some oil in a pan. Sauté the ginger, onion and garlic for a few seconds until aromatic. Add the strained chicken feet and aromatics and then sauté for a few minutes.
- Add the soy sauce and oyster sauce. Season with pepper. Add the rest of the lemon soda and the bay leaves. Pour 1 – 2 cups water, enough to tenderize the chicken feet. Mix well.
- Cover the pan and simmer for 30 – 45 minutes until the chicken feet are soft and tender.
- When soft, add the vinegar. Let it boil for a minute without stirring. Cook for a few more minutes until the sauce is reduced. If you prefer a dry version, continue cooking using high heat until the sauce is almost dry.
- Transfer the chicken feet adobo to a serving plate. Make papak or serve it with hot steaming rice. Enjoy!
Watch how to Cook Chicken Feet Adobo
Paano Magluto ng Adobong Paa ng Manok
MGA SANGKAP:
- 1 kilo paa ng manok (nalinis na)
- 2 tasa ng lemon soda
- 1 kutsara ng buong paminta
- 2 tali ng lemongrass (dinurog)
- 5 – 6 piraso ng tuyong bay leaves
- 1 kutsara ng asin
- tubig
- 1 thumb-sized luya (hiniwa)
- 1 sibuyas (hiniwa)
- 5 butil ng bawang (hiniwa ng maliliit)
- 1/3 tasa ng toyo
- 3 kutsara ng oyster sauce
- 1/3 tasa ng suka
PAANO LUTUIN:
- Ilagay ang mga paa ng manok sa kawali. Maglagay ng isang tasa ng lemon soda. Sunod na ilagay ang buong paminta, lemongrass, 2 – 3 piraso ng bay leaves at asin. Maglagay sapat na tubig. Takpan ang kawali at hayaan itong kumulo ng 15 minuto.
- I-strain ito at isantabi ang paa at ang aromatics.
- Magpainit ng mantika. Igisa ang luya, sibuyas at bawang ng ilang segundo. Ilagay ang mga paa ng manok at ang aromatics. Igisa ng ilang minuto.
- Ilagay ang toyo, oyster sauce, paminta, at ang tirang lemon soda at bay leaves. Maglagay ng 1 – 2 tasa ng tubig at haluin.
- Takpan ang kawali at hayaan itong maluto ng 30 – 45 minuto hanggang lumambot ang mga paa ng manok.
- Kapag malambot na, ilagay ang suka. Hayaan itong kumulo nang hindi hinahalo. Lutuin ito ng konti pang minuto hanggang kumonti ang sabaw. Kung gusto mo ng “iga” version, lutuin pa ito gamit ang mataas na apoy hanggang maiga ang sabaw.
- Ilipat ang chicken feet adobo sa serving plate. Papakin o samahan ng mainit na kanin. Enjoy!