Honglai Braised Chicken Feet 洪濑鸡爪

Honglai Braised Chicken Feet (洪濑鸡爪) are chicken feet cooked in a herbal master braise, a snack born in Honglai (洪濑), a thousand-year-old town in Nan'an (南安), Quanzhou.

How it is made

The dish's reputation rests on its braise. The braising liquid is built on an old master stock handed down through generations (祖传老卤) and made with dozens of natural Chinese medicinal herbs, steeped and refined over many rounds. Makers have kept adjusting it, combining traditional craft with modern technology, and now offer fragrant, spicy and aged braises as well as modern braised flavours. Carefully selected white chicken feet go through a sequence of simmering steps in this liquid and come out golden, plump and glossy, with a strong aroma.

Flavour and texture

The feet are smooth and slick to bite, springy and firm with plenty of chew, and they carry a mellow, heady fragrance from the braise.

How it is eaten

Honglai Braised Chicken Feet go with drinks, with rice or with snacking when friends and family get together. Restaurants serve them as a select small dish, and they are also an ideal gift to bring to relatives and friends.

Where it comes from

The making of the dish has been passed down for several hundred years. Quanzhou's official gastronomy website, created for the city's bid to join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network as a city of gastronomy, files Honglai Braised Chicken Feet under intangible heritage transmission (非遗传承).