Spicy, Sweet, and Chewy Dakbal Gui (Grilled Chicken Feet)
A popular bar snack of thoroughly cleaned and blanched chicken feet, marinated in a sweet and spicy sauce, and grilled to add a smoky flavor.
Translated from Korean by AI and not yet checked by a native speaker. Amounts and numbers are taken directly from the original recipe. Read the Korean original →
Chicken feet scrubbed with flour and salt are blanched with aromatics to remove any off-odors, then chilled in cold water for a chewy texture. After marinating thoroughly in a spicy sauce blended with apple, onion, and Cheongyang chili peppers, they are stir-fried in a pan and lightly charred on a wire grill rack for a fantastic bar snack.
- Servings
- about 10–12 servings
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spiciness
- Very spicy
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Chicken feet70, 4 kg
Seasoning sauce
- Onion1
- Apple1 (small)
- Gochujang (Korean red chili paste)3 tbsp
- Gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)6 tbsp
- Soy sauce6 tbsp
- Soju4 tbsp
- Minced garlic2 tbsp
- Sugar2 tbsp
- Corn syrup (mulyeot)4 tbsp
- Cheongyang chili pepper (hot green chili)5
- Ground black pepper1 tbsp
- Ginger powder1 tsp
- It took 1 hour to thoroughly peel off the yellow skin, snip away any blemishes on the foot pads, and clip off all the claws with kitchen shears.
- The seasoning amounts above are more than double what most recipes call for, so check the quantity of your chicken feet carefully before seasoning.
Steps
I bought 4 kg of chicken feet at the chicken shop I often visit, where 3 kg is 3000 won.
The lady was so generous that she gave me 1 kg extra as a bonus.
Since they were untrimmed, I think she was extra generous.
Thoroughly remove the yellow skin from the chicken feet, snip away any blemishes on the soles with scissors, and trim off all the claws.
It took me 1 hour to clean them.
The seasoning amounts above are more than twice as much as other recipes, so check the amount of your chicken feet carefully before seasoning.
Pour about 1 cup of flour over the chicken feet and scrub them vigorously with your hands.
This helps remove any fine residual grime and impurities.
Rinse the chicken feet washed with flour, then rub them once more with coarse sea salt to clean them thoroughly.
Rinse under running water and drain well.
You need to blanch the chicken feet in boiling water. Bring water to a boil with onion, ginger, soju, and garlic to eliminate any off-odors.
Add the prepped chicken feet to the boiling water and blanch them. Blanch just until the chicken feet are cooked through.
Quickly cool the blanched chicken feet in cold water. That way they will stay nice and chewy, and the skin won't tear or fall off when you marinate and grill them. Ice water is even better.
Among the sauce ingredients, blend the apple and onion in a blender.
Blend the Cheongyang chili peppers in the blender as well.
Put the blended apple and onion along with the blended Cheongyang chili peppers into a bowl, then add gochujang, gochugaru, soy sauce, soju, minced garlic, sugar, corn syrup, ginger powder, and ground black pepper to make the sauce.
Place the chicken feet in a large bowl, pour in the sauce, and toss to coat thoroughly.
Marinate for at least 5 hours so the flavors soak in and make them delicious.
Heat oil in a frying pan and lightly stir-fry the marinated chicken feet just until the sauce is cooked through. Since they were already blanched earlier, you don't need to stir-fry them for long.
You can skip this step, but I grilled the stir-fried chicken feet once more over a wire grill rack.
Back in the day, a chicken foot spot that served them lightly charred over charcoal was really popular, so I tried to recreate that flavor.
Ppunwife's tips
- Quickly cool the blanched chicken feet in cold water so they stay chewy and the meat doesn't fall apart when grilled; ice water is even better.
- Marinate the chicken feet for at least 5 hours so the seasoning penetrates deeply and enhances the flavor.
- Since they were blanched once at the start, you do not need to stir-fry them for long; just grease the pan with oil and stir-fry lightly until the sauce cooks through.
FAQ
Why rinse the blanched chicken feet in cold water right away?
Quickly cooling them in cold or ice water tightens the texture to make it chewy and prevents the meat from tearing or falling apart when marinated and grilled later.
How long should they be marinated in the sauce?
It is best to marinate them for at least 5 hours so the flavors can soak deeply into the chicken feet.
Is it okay not to stir-fry them in the pan for very long?
Yes, because the chicken feet were already blanched in boiling water until cooked through, simply stir-frying them briefly until the sauce on the outside is cooked is plenty.
Is the step of grilling them on a wire rack necessary?
You can skip it if you prefer, but grilling them additionally on a wire rack is great if you want to add a smoky, charcoal-charred flavor.
