White Cloud Chicken Feet
A traditional Cantonese sweet-and-sour cold appetizer made with chicken feet, prized for its pristine white color and crisp texture. Commonly served after the Spring Festival to stimulate the appetite.
Ingredients
chicken feet
2500 g
white vinegar
500 g
sweet and sour sauce
2000 g
saccharin
5 g
concentrated lime juice (for the sweet and sour sauce)
1500 g
ethyl maltol (for the sweet and sour sauce)
5 g
rock sugar (for the sweet and sour sauce, steamed until dissolved)
450 g
refined salt (for the sweet and sour sauce)
50 g
lemon zest (for the sweet and sour sauce)
50 g
bay leaves (for the sweet and sour sauce)
10 g
licorice (for the sweet and sour sauce)
15 g
dried tangerine peel (for the sweet and sour sauce)
5 g
Instructions
1
Blanching
Bring about five times the volume of the chicken feet of water to a rolling boil in a steel pot. Add the chicken feet and, as soon as a few begin to float to the surface, turn off the heat and cover the pot. Steep for roughly 3 hours, until the feet are tender enough. Lift them out and rinse in clean water to wash away the surface oil and gelatin (pour the cold water in gradually as you remove the feet so the temperature drops slowly and the skin does not tear). Trim off the claws and slit each foot open lengthwise.
2
Marinating
Steam the rock sugar in a steamer until fully dissolved, then stir it together with the sweet and sour sauce, white vinegar, and saccharin. Let the sweet-and-sour mixture cool completely before adding the trimmed and slit chicken feet. Cover with cling film and chill in the refrigerator for 2–3 hours before serving.
