Incredibly delicious: Surinamese chicken feet soup
In her new cookbook Paramaribo, Judith Cyrus returns to her Surinamese roots. Judith shows you how the diversity of Suriname’s population has created a versatile cuisine, with well-known dishes such as saoto soup, as well as lesser-known Suri dishes such as gritbâna with tomtom (grated banana soup), sopropo (a bitter fruit in vinegar) and hêrhêri (salted fish with root vegetables).
Judith: “If you’re (still) not familiar with Surinamese cuisine, you could easily be misled here: this soup contains no chicken legs or drumsticks, but actual chicken feet: feet with the claws still attached. Older Surinamese people consider this a delicacy; my children are horrified by it. You can find chicken feet in the freezer section at toko shops, at Asian markets and from a good butcher. At the butcher’s, you may need to ask for them. I prefer to get my chicken from De Tuinen van West, where chickens are regularly slaughtered. The first time I asked for chicken feet there, I was told they were thrown away. Such a waste! They are sold there now too. With this soup, a chicken foot may unexpectedly float to the surface, which can lead to hilarity and horror around the table. If you want to avoid these reactions, ladle the soup into bowls in the kitchen and don’t tell your guests what the ingredients are. Not until they enjoy it and ask you what makes the soup so delicious.”
How to make Surinamese chicken feet soup
- Cut the claws off the chicken feet completely and wash them with cold water and the lime juice. Leave them in the water for 5 minutes. Rinse the chicken feet and add them to the stock with the yams, leaf celery, celery, carrot, onion and ginger. Simmer the soup over low heat for an hour and a half.
- Add the choy sum 5 minutes before serving.
- Delicious with (sticky) rice.
Title: Paramaribo
Author: Judith Cyrus
Price: €34,99
Publisher: Fontaine
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