Indulging my Fowl Foot Fetish

I have a fowl foot fetish. I like to start chewing chicken feet between the toe joints. Then I work my way up and around, nibbling, sheering and sucking through umami-laden skin and tendons. Subtly spitting out bones, I gradually get to the instep’s soft pad. Taste meets texture as the wrinkled, puffed skin surface gives way to a gelatinous, wiggly, shimmery, melty magnificence. 

In addition to being deeply delicious, chicken feet are also the healthy eater’s choice. They deliver the holy trinity of bone-boosting minerals – calcium, magnesium and phosphorus – alongside amino acids such as glycine and proline. All of the above stimulate tissue regeneration.

Osteoblast (bone-making cells) production, joint and gut health are further enhanced by the collagen found in clucker claws. About 70% of the protein therein is pure collagen, which not only supports healthy hair and nails, but also enhances skin hydration and helps reduce the appearance of wrinkles.

Knowledge pertaining to the restorative powers of chicken feet is not new. In traditional Chinese medicine they are prized as a body-balancing elixir. Consumption is said to replenish “jing” (foundational energy housed in the kidneys), stoke “qi” (digestive fire) and nourish “bu xue” (the joint-, bone- and blood-building essence vital for postpartum recovery). 

In South Africa, our indigenous healing philosophies are also enamoured with the extremity variously referred to as maotwana, amanqina enkukhu or runaways. 

Kempton Park-based Pedi traditional healer Makhosi Kamo Malatji observes: “I had a patient who battled with knees, and I consulted an elder to ask what remedies to use. Their response was that in conjunction with sacred herbs the patient should consume cow heels and chicken feet to relieve bone and joint pain. It makes me sad how seldom such remedies are spoken of in our communities. This may stem from mental colonisation because chicken feet are often seen as a poverty meal.” 

Clearly, the cooking method plays a role in the health-providing properties of chicken feet. Simmered into soup, poultry paws release their nutritional blessings without adding excess fat or sodium, but deep frying in unhealthy unsaturated fats or smothering in super-salty, sweet, sour sauce will compromise the aforementioned advantages.

There are also the health risks associated with greedy guzzling of chicken feet. They possess a labyrinth of teeny, tiny bones – each one a potential choking hazard for overenthusiastic eaters. Mindful munching is a must. I know this from painful personal experience. 

For those who can control the speed with which they eat, chicken feet are the perfect way to walk through the deliciously diverse possibilities of edible pleasure. Virtually every meat-eating culinary culture has a recipe for them. And I adore almost all of them. 

What follows are a few of my Johannesburg favourites…

At Go Spicy on Rivonia Boulevard, Edenburg, beer and betting accompany shaokao Chinese barbeque. Poultry phalanges are served on skewers. The flame-grilled feet reward slow, persistent gnawing with bursts of smoky fat and spice-soaked skin. The warm glow of cumin and the sweet scents of fennel and star anise are followed by the power-packed, one-two punch of dried chilli and Sichuan peppercorns. 

At Shun De, Cyrildene Chinatown’s premier dim sum hot spot for cool people, the menu romantically reclassifies chicken feet as “phoenix talons”. Bathed in the bold, earthy, umami tang of black bean sauce, they are soft, slippery and slightly chewy. 

Korea Garden restaurant in Magaliessig serves stir-fried dalkbal; assertive and cracklingly crisp sinew meets spice, smoke and the smouldering heady heat of the gochujang fermented sauce. 

What Makhosi Kamo Malatji described as the stigma of past poverty is gradually evolving into nostalgia and pride. As chef and food influencer Mogau Seshoene (aka the Lazy Makoti) says: “I love them for the fond childhood memories I have around them. My uncle used to make them for us, and I still use his recipe today. 

“Once I grew up and I learnt about the benefits of their collagen content – and that it is so great for the skin – I obviously appreciated them even more. Also, we used to just eat nose to tail without thinking about it because that was what everyone did, but now that I understand the environmental benefits of that I am doubly grateful to my elders and the culinary lessons that we learnt from them.

“As Africans we often underestimate how healthy and sustainable our traditional ways were. There was no waste in those days. And also, how delicious! My uncle (and I do still) cooked them simply with a generous amount of hot curry. Must be hot. I then add some grated tomato and cook till soft until the meat is nice and soft. Then I eat them with some equally hot achar. Homemade is best but if I am in a hurry the Spar supermarket deli counters often make good ones.” 

Chef Absalom Kotsokoane of Salt Culinary Consulting agrees: “Chicken feet are special for me. They remind me of the times we had with my grandmother, prepared slow cooked on a charcoal stove with a bit of curry. The spicier they are, the more delicious they are. They make lots of gravy which you can eat the next day with some nice ting (fermented sorghum porridge). 

“I have done them sometimes for fancy functions roasted in a chutney, orange marinade that can be lovely with pap croquettes, but if I am at home I usually go with my granny’s recipe. If I am on the road and I feel like traditional-style chicken feet, I love the ones made by Chef Andile Somdaka at Eziko in Midrand. There are also some great isgela grilled street food vendors in Sunnyside, Pretoria.”

The poshest “pattes de poulet” I ever ate were at the late, lamented Emazulwini restaurant in Cape Town where chef Mmabatho Molefe transformed amanqina enkukhu into a terrific terrine drizzled with amasi dressing. 

At chef Wandile Mabaso’s Les Creatifs in Bryanston the super-stylish chicken consommé (served in an eggshell as an amuse bouche) owes its glorious, golden viscosity to the presence of fowl feet.

So, whether you seek radiance or remembrance, nourishment or nostalgia, affordable healing or just an afternoon of epicurean indulgence, let chicken feet lead the way. Each bite or sip is an opportunity to taste time, honour tradition and find gastronomic glory in the often overlooked. The path to pleasure is not necessarily paved in prime cuts.

The Lazy Makoti’s Uncle’s Chicken Foot Recipe

(From The Lazy Makoti’s Guide to the Kitchen) 

Serves 4; preparation time 10 minutes. Cooking time about 30 minutes

500g chicken feet 

1 cup boiling water or chicken stock

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon hot curry powder

1 tomato, grated

Salt to taste

Clean the feet. If you are feeling fancy you can trim the nails at the joint. Otherwise, leave the nails but rinse and if necessary, use a brush to remove dirt. Soak the feet in hot water (not boiling) for a few minutes to loosen the scales and skin. Remove the scales then peel off the outer yellowish skin starting from the top down.

Put the feet into a pot with water or stock, turmeric, curry powder and tomato. Simmer over a medium heat until the feet are soft and the sauce is rich and thick, at least 30 minutes. 

Eat with pap and pleasure and hot atchar. DM