With an air fryer in the kitchen, honey chicken feet are an easy crowd pleaser. The appeal is glossy skin, the scent of lemongrass and a gentle heat. The difficulty is that too long in the machine dries the skin out, and honey brushed on too early burns.
A cut along the bone down the middle of each foot lets the seasoning reach inside. The feet marinate for 3 to 4 hours and cook for 8 minutes before the honey goes on and the cooking continues.
This batch weighs about 1.2kg, at roughly 236 calories per 100g.
Method
Rinse 1kg chicken feet in lightly salted water, trim off the sharp nails, then cut along the bone down the middle of each foot so the seasoning soaks in.
Rinse 3 stalks lemongrass and mince them.
Put the chicken feet in a basin, add 1 teaspoon oyster sauce, 1 teaspoon shrimp sate chili paste, 1 tablespoon barbecue sauce and the minced lemongrass, and mix by hand.
Marinate for 3 to 4 hours so the seasoning soaks in.
Arrange the chicken feet in the air fryer and cook at 160 degrees C for 8 minutes.
Take them out, brush on 3 tablespoons honey, turn them over and cook another 6 minutes at 160 degrees C.
Turn them once more and cook a final 2 minutes at 160 degrees C. Serve with a salt, pepper and lime dip.
Tips
Rubbing the chicken feet with salt and rinsing them several times clears any smell.
A 15 to 20 minute soak in 1 tablespoon baking soda and 1 tablespoon rice vinegar also cleans them and leaves them more tender after cooking.
A cut along the bone down the middle lets the seasoning reach the inside.
A full 3 to 4 hour marinade is what gives the finished feet their depth.
Honey is still sugar, so the brushing calls for a light hand.
The honey goes on at the second round of cooking, as an early brush burns the surface.
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