Chicken Feet Aguadito (Quick and Delicious)

A hearty and budget-friendly Peruvian rice soup made with chicken feet, vibrant green herbs, and vegetables. This street-food classic is packed with collagen and flavor.

30m Prep

40m Cook

1h 10m Total

4 Servings

chicken chicken-feet soup rice-soup streetfood aguadito offal comfort-food family collagen budget

Ingredients

40 g salt

aderezo

60 g vegetable oil
13 g garlic (minced)
200 g white onion (roughly chopped)
134 g yellow chili pepper (ají amarillo) (deveined and seeded, roughly chopped)
0.5 tsp ground cumin (freshly ground)
0.5 tsp ground white pepper (freshly ground)

base

500 g white rice (rinsed)

proteina

500 g chicken feet (cleaned, nails removed, cut at joints)

verde

116 g spinach leaves (washed, blanched)
204 g cilantro (culantro) (washed, blanched, roughly chopped)
30 g kion (ginger) (juice only)
250 ml dark beer

verduras

100 g green peas (alverjas) (frozen or fresh)
150 g corn kernels (choclo)
100 g carrot (peeled, diced)
red bell pepper (pimentón) (cut into strips)

Steps

1

Clean the chicken feet by scraping with a small knife, removing the nails and any tough skin. Cut at the joints to portion them cleanly — avoid breaking bones to prevent splintering.

Tip: Ask your butcher/chicken vendor to do this cleaning for you if you are a regular customer.

~10 min
2

Heat a pan from cold. Add 60g vegetable oil, then add the minced garlic (13g) and chopped onion (200g) at the same time from cold. Cook over low heat until the onion softens and begins to caramelize.

~8 min
3

Add the chopped ají amarillo (134g, deveined and seeded) to the sofrito. Continue cooking over low heat until everything is well sautéed.

Tip: If using store-bought ají amarillo paste, use 90g instead.

~5 min
4

Blanch the spinach (116g) and cilantro (204g) briefly in boiling water to preserve the green color, then drain immediately.

Tip: Blanching prevents the cilantro from oxidizing and turning brown when blended.

~2 min
5

Add the ground cumin (½ tsp) and white pepper (½ tsp) to the sofrito and stir briefly to release aromas.

~1 min
6

Transfer the sofrito, blanched herbs, and the dark beer (250ml) to a blender. Blend on high until smooth. Strain through a colander, pressing well to extract maximum liquid. Reserve a small portion of the blended green for adding at the end.

Tip: Do not overfill the blender with hot liquid — leave the lid slightly ajar and blend gently at first.

~5 min
7

Return the strained green liquid to the pot and cook over low heat. Add the cleaned chicken feet and cook for about 10 minutes.

~10 min
8

Add the rinsed white rice (500g) to the pot. Stir regularly to prevent it from sticking and burning at the bottom.

~5 min
9

Meanwhile, cook the green peas, corn (choclo), and diced carrot separately in boiling water. Cook peas for 5 minutes, then add corn for another 5 minutes. Drain and reserve.

Tip: Cook vegetables separately to avoid altering the green color of the soup.

~10 min
10

Once the rice is cooked and the soup has thickened, add 40g of salt to season. Add the bell pepper strips and cook for 3 more minutes.

~5 min
11

Add the reserved cooked vegetables (peas, corn, carrot) and the reserved fresh green blend. Stir well, skim any foam, and adjust seasoning. Serve immediately.

Tip: Adding the reserved fresh green at the end brightens the color of the finished dish.

~3 min

Nutrition (per serving)

420

Calories

22g

Protein

58g

Carbs

12g

Fat

Fiber

Cultural Context

Aguadito is a traditional Peruvian dish that originated as a thrifty leftover dish — mothers would thin out leftover arroz con pollo with a bit of broth and add chicken offal. Over time it became a beloved dish in its own right, especially popular as street food. Chicken feet (patitas de pollo) are prized in Peruvian cuisine for their high collagen content, which gives the soup a rich, silky texture.