Tongliang Pickled-Chilli Chicken Feet 铜梁泡椒凤爪

How it is made

At the Qin Laoyao (秦老幺) workshop the base seasoning is fried from rapeseed oil, Sichuan pepper and dried chillies by Qin Xiao (秦晓), who carries on the Qin Laoyao recipe, and getting it right depends on mastering the heat, the proportions and the timing. Workers trim every foot by hand, cutting away the centre pad and parts of the tendon and bone so the seasoning soaks in. The feet are then turned over and over with the seasoning until they are pale yellow and glossy, and are sent to the shops or sold loose or vacuum-packed.

Tongliang's chicken feet used to come mostly from small workshops and family kitchens; in 2021 a Tongliang chicken-feet production base was being built in Shaoyun town (少云镇) to move making into factory workshops.

Flavour and texture

Tongliang Net describes the classic pickled-chilli version as bright red and crisp with plenty of chew. Shops in the district also sell other flavours, such as feet in scorched-chilli seasoning (糊辣壳凤爪), which Tongliang Net says has a long-lasting aftertaste.

How it is eaten

Tongliang Pickled-Chilli Chicken Feet are eaten as a snack: Tongliang Net suggests them as a nibble with drinks while watching football or to eat while walking round the shops. Xinhua's Chongqing channel lists Tongliang chicken feet among the district's snacks, next to Hanlin pastry (翰林酥) and lanhuagen (兰花根, literally 'orchid roots').

Local makers sell them under their own names, among them Qin Laoyao and Hua Zhuazhua (华爪爪), and a Tongliang chicken-feet association was set up in September 2020. The head of the Tongliang food chamber of commerce describes the dish as carrying many locals' childhood memories.