Chan Ga Ngam Sa Tac (Lemongrass Calamansi Chicken Feet), Made with Monk Fruit Sweetener
Vietnamese dishesPickles and PreservesNationwide10 to 15 minutes boiling, at least 1 hour steeping, best left overnight
Anyone who loves pickled snacks wants chicken feet that stay snappy right to the last piece. The appeal is the sour, spicy, lemongrass scented brine and the crunch of the feet. The catch is that letting them cool on their own after boiling leaves the skin soft.
The bowl of ice water decides everything. Straight out of the pot, the feet go into ice water, which tightens the skin and makes it crisp. The brine also has to be completely cold before it goes into the jar.
This batch weighs about 1.5kg, at roughly 96 calories per 100g.
Method
Rinse 500g chicken feet, trim off the nail tips and cut them in half. Peel the shallots, slice 50g and bruise the remaining 10g. Slice 50g ginger and bruise 20g. Take the tender part of the lemongrass, cut into 5cm lengths and bruise. Halve the calamansi, chop the chili and slice the garlic thinly.
Bring a pot of water to a boil and add 10g shallot, 20g ginger and 20g bruised lemongrass along with 5g seasoning powder, 9g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 20ml vinegar and 20ml white rice wine. Add the chicken feet and boil for 10 to 15 minutes.
Lift the feet out and drop them straight into a bowl of ice water so the skin tightens and turns crisp.
Make the brine: bring 400ml water and 135g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend to a boil until fully dissolved. Add 50ml vinegar and 50ml fish sauce, return to a boil, then turn off the heat and let it cool completely.
Drain the chicken feet and layer them in a glass jar with the calamansi, shallot, garlic, chili, ginger and lemongrass.
Pour in the cooled brine until everything is submerged and seal the lid.
Chill the jar. It is ready after 1 hour and tastes better left overnight.
Tips
Drop the chicken feet into a bowl of ice water the moment they come out of the pot, which is the step that decides the crunch.
Halve the calamansi and squeeze out some juice before they go into the jar, since whole seeds turn the brine bitter.
The brine has to be completely cool before it goes into the jar, as warm brine softens the feet and turns them sour.
The chicken feet have to sit fully under the brine, since anything above the surface darkens and picks up a smell.
Keep the jar in the fridge for 4 to 5 days, as longer costs the feet their texture.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.