Honglai Chicken Feet

Honglai Chicken Feet

　　Honglai Chicken Feet is a famous specialty snack from Quanzhou, produced in Honglai Town, Nan’an. Made with chicken feet, seasoning powder, and an appropriate amount of spicy flavoring, they are then

　　steamed and stir-fried. When eaten: the chicken feet have a smooth texture, a fragrant taste, a mildly spicy flavor, and a chewy yet tender mouthfeel. They don’t stick to your hands

　　and have a very elastic bite. The more you eat, the more addictive they become!!

　　Using a unique recipe, premium ingredients, and skilled handmade techniques, their distinctive flavor comes from the selection of seasonings used in the braising process. These seasonings have been fine-tuned through thousands of trials to gradually form the unique taste we know today. Honglai Chicken Feet are plump in texture, vibrant in color, and offer a Q-textured, springy bite that’s tender yet crisp, fragrant with a hint of spice, and rich in bone marrow aroma. After eating, the lingering fragrance leaves a memorable aftertaste, making them an excellent snack for home dining, travel, or pairing with drinks. Today, they’ve gained widespread fame and are even popular as premium gifts.

　　Chicken feet as a snack can be found all over China, but few have truly made a big name for themselves. The representatives of Nan’an Honglai Chicken Feet—Yiqing Chicken Feet and Hongmao Chicken Feet—have been immensely popular in Quanzhou for over twenty years and remain beloved by food lovers. Both Yiqing and Hongmao Chicken Feet have earned the prestigious titles of “Famous Snack of Quanzhou” and “Famous Chinese Snack,” proving that these little chicken feet have achieved great fame.

　　Also, regarding some discussions about authenticity and differences in taste, here’s an explanation: Honglai was originally a place name. Because both Yiqing and Hongmao became famous here, and due to common usage, the term “Honglai Chicken Feet” came about. Therefore, the authentic Honglai Chicken Feet only come from these two brands—Yiqing and Hongmao—not every chicken foot from Honglai. In terms of taste, the preparation methods of Yiqing and Hongmao are largely similar, but they differ in the drying process. Yiqing uses a more modern method with a dryer, resulting in slightly harder and darker chicken feet, which some people find even more fragrant. Hongmao, on the other hand, still uses the traditional method—air-drying with fans—allowing the chicken feet to maintain their original bright color while also being springier and more resilient. As for which is better, opinions vary, with supporters on both sides—let’s just say they’re evenly matched, each with its own unique charm. With growing fame and expanding business, opening branches and offering franchises naturally followed. Hongmao mainly focuses on opening branches and doing wholesale, with all products braised and distributed from the main store, ensuring consistent taste. However, Hongmao has now also started franchising. Yiqing does both wholesale and opens branches, but it also has many franchises. For franchise locations, the products are braised on-site, so quality can vary and may differ from the main store, especially since the main store’s braising broth has been simmering for over twenty years—the essence of the chicken feet’s deliciousness lies in this broth. This is why many people say that Yiqing Chicken Feet bought elsewhere or in different locations taste quite different from those at the main store in Honglai.

　　As chicken feet have grown increasingly popular, more people enjoy giving them as gifts, allowing friends and family to also experience the taste of Honglai Chicken Feet. To meet this demand, Yiqing introduced vacuum compression technology, compressing the product on-site. Although each pack of chicken feet costs one yuan more, this technology extends their shelf life, allowing the chicken feet to be taken farther without losing flavor.