🍗 Steamed chicken feet (phoenix claws)
Steamed chicken feet, known in dim sum as phoenix claws, are first cooked until puffy, then steamed in black bean sauce with chili, garlic and star anise. The skin becomes soft and gelatinous and soaks up the savory, slightly spicy sauce. They are served in small bamboo baskets and eaten by nibbling the skin off the small bones.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 kg chicken feet, claws trimmed
- 3 tbsp black bean sauce
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1–2 red chilies, sliced
- 2 star anise
- 1 tbsp sugar
- Vegetable oil for frying
- Water
Method
- Blanch the feet for 5 minutes, drain and dry very well.
- Deep-fry until golden, then soak in cold water for 1 hour so the skin puffs.
- Simmer the feet with star anise in water for 30 minutes and drain.
- Fry garlic and chili in a little oil, add black bean sauce and sugar, then toss the feet in it.
- Steam in small dishes for 20 minutes and serve hot.
How to make it lighter
- Skip the deep-frying step and simply simmer then steam; the skin will be less puffy but less oily.
- Use less black bean sauce, which is salty.
- Count roughly 4–5 pieces as one dim sum portion.
History
The dish is a classic of Cantonese dim sum served in teahouses in Guangdong and Hong Kong, and it travelled with Cantonese communities to Chinatowns worldwide.
Count it in one photo
Point your camera at the table — Me Nutrition recognises Steamed chicken feet (phoenix claws) and every other dish, with calories and macros for each. Ate only half? Slide it.
Download on the App StoreSimilar dishes
Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →