Chicken Feet Adobo Recipe

Primal Edge Health participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and other affiliate programs and therefore, may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. This comes at no additional cost to you, and all the prices and availability are accurate at the time of publishing.

Make this flavorful Chicken Feet Adobo as a healthy low-carb Asian snack to nibble on. This simple recipe consists of fried chicken feet, garlic, Thai chili peppers, and a rich adobo sauce made with soy sauce or coconut aminos, apple cider vinegar, bay leaves, peppercorns, and salt. Drizzle the thickened adobo sauce over stewed chicken feet and enjoy with a side of rice.

Jump to Recipe

Spicy Chicken Feet

If you’ve ever wondered if you can eat chicken feet, here is your official permission to go for it. Chicken feet aren’t just great for bone broth; they can also be nibbled on like chicken wings. 

Chicken feet are considered a traditional food, similar to organ meats and odd bits. They are packed with excellent health benefits, mainly in the form of collagen. Therefore, regular consumption of chicken feet may help reduce joint pain, improve skin health, and prevent bone loss. [1]

However, preparing them in a healthy, tasty, and simple way can be challenging. I was thrilled to come up with this easy recipe for chicken feet. Here, we take an unpopular cut of meat and combine it with rich adobo sauce for a delicious and savory treat.

You’ve probably heard of adobo chicken or pork, but have you ever wondered what adobo actually is? Adobo is a popular cooking technique that originated in the Philippines. It typically consists of pantry basics like vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves, and peppercorns. [2] There are limitless variations deriving from this Filipino classic, traditionally called adobong. That’s where these chicken feet adobo come in.

Asian cultures are known for not wasting food. And what seems unfashionable to us is a popular delicacy known in slang as adidas to the Filipinos, mainly because of the three claws on a chicken foot. [3]

So, if you’re ready to venture and try a chicken feet recipe, check out this flavorful Filipino-style recipe. Mix and match with your favorite sides or serve as a healthy snack or appetizer. 

How to Cook Chicken Feet Adobo

Gather 5 main ingredients plus your cooking fat and a few seasonings, and you’re already halfway to making Chicken Feet Adobo.

This recipe requires a little patience, but it’s so worth it. Most chicken feet recipes online are very complicated with numerous steps. This is a much simpler process with less back and forth between multiple batches of liquid, frying, and simmering. 

First, we start by frying chicken feet. Then, saute our aromatics. And finally, finish off by simmering all the ingredients together in what will develop into a rich adobo sauce.

Chicken Feet Adobo Ingredients

• Cooking oil – use a cooking fat with a high smoke point; my favorite is beef tallow, pork lard, or chicken schmalz for their health benefits as well as high smoke point but avocado oil is also a great option and may be more accessible
• Chicken feet – cleaned with nails trimmed; can be found in ethnic stores like Asian markets or Mexican grocery stores; can also be sometimes purchased at Whole Foods meat counter – just ask the butcher. White Oak Pastures also sells chicken feet online.
• Garlic
• Thai chili peppers – dried or fresh; you can also substitute the garlic and Thai chilis with one teaspoon of Thai chili garlic sauce
• Soy sauce – can use traditional soy sauce, coconut aminos, tamari, or other soy sauce alternative
• Apple cider vinegar
• Seasonings – bay leaves, whole black peppercorns, and salt

Additionally, you will need water to gently stew the chicken feet. 

Substitutions and Variations

One of the most important things to remember as you make this chicken feet recipe is to use appropriate cooking fat. Don’t be tempted to use low-quality vegetable oils like corn oil and canola oil. Not only are they not compliant with any healing diet, but these oils are also commonly loaded with free radicals and, as a result, may increase inflammation in the body. [4, 5]

On the contrary, monosaturated fats like avocado oil and olive oil are relatively heat stable and much safer for cooking than canola oil. [6]

Better yet, do what our ancestors have done for centuries and use saturated fats like beef tallow, pork lard, or chicken schmalz. These fats offer excellent heat stability and, therefore, will not turn rancid quickly. 

Adapt chicken feed adobo to best suit your diet. As mentioned already, healthy cooking fat is the pillar in any diet and will help you achieve nourishing fried chicken feet. There are several easy ways to modify the recipe and adjust for particular dietary needs.

• Keto diet – Keep this keto chicken feet recipe truly low-carb by using a keto soy sauce alternative.
• Dairy-free – this chicken feet dish is naturally dairy-free
• Paleo diet – Substitute coconut aminos for soy sauce instead.
• Low oxalate diet – Omit soy sauce and use a homemade version or coconut aminos instead.
• GAPS – Omit soy sauce.
• Whole30 – Omit soy sauce and use coconut aminos instead.

Step-By-Step Directions

Follow these simple directions, and you can’t go wrong! 

Step One:

Heat oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Fry the chicken feet until golden brown. You may need to do this in batches and flip them over halfway through cooking time with tongs. 

Each side takes about 2 minutes. 

Once done, remove from oil and set aside. Discard the cooking oil after cooking. 

Step Two:

Pour out the oil, reserving about 2 tablespoons of the used oil. Mince garlic and finely chop thai chilis. Saute garlic and chili in the reserved oil. 

Step Three:

Add the chicken feet, soy sauce or alternative of choice, water, and vinegar to garlic chili. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat.

Season with the remaining ingredients (bay leaves, peppercorns, and salt). Stir to mix well. Simmer for approximately 45 minutes until chicken feet are tender and the skin falls from the bone. Add a little bit of water if needed. The sauce will thicken as it concentrates but don’t let it boil away or scorch the bottom of the pot. Keep the heat at medium and check the chicken feet often to make sure there is enough liquid.

This adobo-flavored liquid will develop into a deeply nourishing and gelatinous sauce that will continue to thicken after cooling. 

Step Four:

Remove from heat, plate, and serve hot. 

I like to serve this with a side of cauliflower rice or regular rice if not on ketogenic diet. 

Don’t forget to drizzle that spicy collagen-rich sauce over the cooked chicken feet! 

How to Eat Chicken Feet

Chicken feet are considered a delicacy in Asian countries and, like most cuisines from that culture, are traditionally eaten using chopsticks or hands. It’s best to avoid forks and knives as they don’t allow you to manipulate the chicken feet as quickly as chopsticks or your hands.

Similarly to eating chicken wings, you start by biting at the joint and sucking the meat, skin, and sauce off the bone in your mouth. Spit out the bone discretely into a bowl, move on to the next joint, and so forth.

The meatiest part of the chicken foot is the pad. Gnaw around the bone of the foot to get to the savory meat. Don’t forget to first slather the chicken feet in the delicious adobo sauce. 

Where to Buy Chicken Feet

Chicken feet are not a popular cut of meat like chicken breasts or chicken wings. But you can start with a quick internet search for the term “chicken feet near me” and see what local places sell this specialty.

I can confidently say that you can almost always find chicken feet in international markets like Asian or Mexican grocery stores. The Whole Foods meat counter may have some organic chicken feet because they typically take locally pastured chickens and process them on-site. Finally, you may also want to check your local farmer’s market meat vendors to see if they have any chicken feet for sale. That would probably give you the best quality chicken feet anyways.

If you like shopping online, I suggest buying directly from regenerative farmers like White Oak Pastures.

Chicken Feet Adobo Calories and Nutrition

This recipe yields approximately four 2-piece servings of Chicken Feet Adobo. 

Adidas chicken feet portions may vary slightly due to the size and weight of the feet. For example, I bought a pound of chicken feet which included 9 feet.

Each serving contains:

• 302 calories
• 18 g protein
• 24 g fat
• 2 g total carbs
• 2 g net carbs

Please note that the nutritional value will change if you substitute ingredients. Use a nutrition app like My Fitness Pal to recalculate and reflect your changes.

Adobo Chicken Feet FAQ

More Nose-to-Tail Odd Bit Recipes

Slow cook methods are great for odd bits. There are many delightful options, from slow cooker beef heart to organ meat stew or a stewed chicken gizzard recipe.

But since we don’t always think to prepare ahead, here are some quick and easy ideas too:

• Dirty Rice with Chicken Livers – with a grain-free option with cauliflower rice
• Flourless Beef Liver – multiple low-carb and gluten-free alternatives
• Easy Fish Stock Recipe – toss fish heads and bones in a pot!
• Chicken Liver Pate – nutrient-dense and super easy