So you want to know how to make dim-sum-style chicken feet at home? A friend of mine was more than happy to share her family recipe with me. The feet are fried first, then marinated, then steamed.
Make sure to WASH the chicken feet first and chop off toenails. Cut the feet into quarters.
Dim-Sum Style Chicken Feet (Golden Phoenix Claws)
You will need:
1 pound chicken feet
2 quarts oil
2 quarts water
1 ounce fresh ginger
3 pieces star anise
2 ounces Chinese parsley roots
2 ounces maltose sugar (see note)
Marinade:
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sake
1 ounce chopped chile pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon black bean sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame seed oil
Heat the oil and mix the chicken feet with maltose sugar. Fry them until they are golden brown. It should take about 7 minutes. Remove the feet and drain.
Boil water and add ginger, star anise and parsley roots. Add the chicken feet. Bring the mixture to a boil again. Then reduce the heat and simmer them for 90 minutes. Drain.
Combine marinade ingredients and marinate the feet for 24 hours. Before serving, steam the feet and marinade for 15 minutes. Enjoy!






Thank a lot! I had been looking for this recipe for a while. Thanks for sharing!
I am VERY HAPPY to have found this recipe. I lived in Hong Kong for six years many years ago, and I’ve never been able to locate this recipe before. I LOVE ‘em, and duck’s web, too. Thank you Very, Very much for this recipe. I can’t wait to try these…
I have recently developed a skin condition for which I need to eat lots of collagen-rich foods – and chicken feet are rich in collagen. I tried eating them boiled (since I wasn’t able to locate the Cantonese dim sum recipe), and it was grim! This will make it easy for me to get the collagen I need, and in the manner I MUCH prefer! Thank you again SO MUCH!!!!!
Just left a thank you note. Looked everywhere for YOUR note on maltose sugar, but couldn’t find it. Is this a liquid, like malt syrup?
Thank you for your response.
Hi Pamela,
I’m glad you found this recipe helpful. Maltose sugar is sugar made from malt. It’s crystalized white sugar.
[...] The Joy of Cooking says that gizzards and hearts make a good stew. Traditionally, they are chopped up and used in stuffing for the bird. The liver can be sautéed and also ground for pâté. Backs, necks and feet (really well cleaned) can be used for stock. Chicken feet can also be prepared Dim Sum style. [...]
Thank you for this recipe. I can’t wait to try this recipe.
thank you for sharing this. we like chicken feet but they always cook it the same way and we are getting tired of it. we will try this one. thanks!
I’m glad I could help. You’ll have to let me know how it turns out.
Thank you very much for sharing this recipe and looking forward to trying it! Have been on the search for a while and quite surprised that my cookbook on 1,000 Recipes from China didn’t have it.
this recipe is very close to my husbands family recipe, he is chinese/cambodian.
I could not remember the recipe though, and I stumbled accross yours, and there it was, so close, so good, thanks for taking the time to post it!
in case you were curious, his family uses regular sugar mixed with a bit dark soy sauce before frying, and they use fermented whole black beans, but the rest is pretty close!!
tim
my husband and i always order congee and chicken feet when we go to a dimsum house. we started to like the combination way back in the Philippines. Lately when we go to dimsum houses and we look for chicken feet, more likely than not, they run out of it. Many times we end up finishing lunch without the chicken feet.
I am so glad I stumbled into your recipe. I will start preparing it tonight and have congee and chicken feet for lunch tomorrow, at home. Hmmmmm… looking forward to it. Thank you for posting!