🍽️ Chencu Chicken Feet

Sweet-sour chicken feet, a dim-sum staple.

Chencu Chicken Feet is a cold and steamed dim sum commonly found at Guangzhou tea houses. Fresh chicken feet are trimmed of nails, cleaned and blanched, then soaked or slow-simmered in a sweet-sour marinade of aged vinegar, white vinegar, rock sugar, light soy and chili. The feet come out glossy reddish-brown, soft and flavorful, slipping off the bone with one suck—sour with a sweet edge and a faintly spicy, appetite-whetting kick. The depth of aged vinegar balances the roundness of sugar, so the dish never feels greasy. It is enjoyed hot or cold: hot from the steamer it is soft and sticky on the lips, chilled it turns springy and crisp. Guangzhou tea drinkers almost always order a steamer, and it is also bought as a drinking snack. As one of the few Cantonese dim sum led by sourness, it holds a steady place for its refreshing, palate-cleansing character.