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A bowl of Chinese chicken feet soup with peanuts and goji berries.
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5 from 6 votes

Chinese Chicken Feet Soup with Peanuts

This Chinese Chicken Feet Soup with Peanuts recipe is easy, thick, deliciously savory and rich in collagen. 15 minutes of prep followed by passive cooking then, Hello, younger-looking skin!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time2 hours 30 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Side Dish, Soup
Cuisine: Cantonese, Chinese
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 690kcal
Author: Zen

Equipment

  • Kitchen scissors Substitute: knife and chopping board
  • Big pot (Ideally 2, but if you only have 1, that works too.)

Ingredients

  • 2.2 lb chicken feet 1 kg
  • 8 Cups water Substitute: chicken stock
  • ½ Cup Raw peanuts With or without skin is OK but don't use salted ones. If you want them soft, soak them for 2h-overnight (in the fridge) before cooking. The soaking water can be tossed.
  • 10-12 Dried Scallops Soaked in hot water for 30 minutes. Keep the soaking water. Substitute: dried squid or 1 of these dried scallop substituteshttps://www.greedygirlgourmet.com/red-dates-ginger-and-dried-longan-tea-recipe/
  • 8 Jujubes With the pits removed- if you're not sure how to remove the jujube seeds, check out this post.
  • 8 cloves garlic No need to peel
  • 5 slices Ginger No need to peel
  • 6 pieces Dried kelp with each piece measuring 1 inch by 1 inch. (There may be white powder on the kelp- don't wash those off, simply use a damp cloth to remove any dirt or dust.)
  • 1-2 Tablespoon Wolfberries Rinsed
  • Salt, to taste Different brands of dried scallops will have different saltiness so the amount of salt needed will vary. I usually use about 1 teaspoon. Do not skip the salt or the soup will be tasteless!

Instructions

Clean the chicken feet

  • Snip off the nails on each chicken foot.
  • Scrub the chicken feet and make sure any dirt on it is removed.
  • Put the chicken feet in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil then let it boil for 2-3 minutes before draining the water.
  • Rinse the chicken feet with cold water (it may have scum stuck onto it.)

Cooking the Chicken Feet Soup

  • Add the chicken feet, water (or chicken stock), peanuts, dried scallops (and soaking water), jujubes, garlic and ginger to a clean pot. (i.e. everything but the wolfberries and kelp.) Bring it to the boil.
  • Once boiling, reduce to a simmer for 2 hours 15 minutes (Or more if you want to cook the chicken feet for longer- the longer you cook, the more collagen is released and the more gelatinous the soup.)
  • After 2 hours 15 minutes (or 15 minutes before you want to serve the soup), add the dried kelp and wolfberries and simmer for 15 minutes. Don't simmer the kelp for too long or it will make the soup bitter.
  • Season to taste then switch off the fire and serve.

Notes

For soft peanuts
If you want your peanuts to be softer, you can soak them for 2hours- overnight in the fridge before boiling in the Chinese Chicken Soup. You will also need to boil the soup for longer.
If you are short on time
If you really need the chicken broth in a rush, you can cheat with pre-cooked chicken or pork stock (this will replace the water in the recipe) and chicken bouillon powder. Follow the steps above for cleaning and blanching the chicken claws. After that, put all the ingredients in the pot along with chicken bouillon powder and boil on medium for 40 minutes. (Use ¼ Tablespoon of chicken bouillon for every 5 Cups of chicken stock.)
Storage
The soup keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. Alternatively, you can freeze it for a few weeks. Reheat to the boil- the soup will actually taste better this way! (It will solidify into a jelly thanks to all the collagen!)
Note: the nutritional information is an estimate automatically calculated using the WPRM recipe maker and I am not responsible for its veracity.

Nutrition

Calories: 690kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 58g | Fat: 46g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 19g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Cholesterol: 219mg | Sodium: 387mg | Potassium: 427mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 253IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 270mg | Iron: 3mg