Published: . by Chichi Uguru . This post may contain affiliate links.
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Search no further, this is it. The Nigerian chin chin recipe you have been searching for. Sounds co*cky right? But this really is it. Try it and see.Chin chin is a very common Fried West African snack. It is a delightfully tasty crunchy snack.
WARNING: Once you start munching, you would have to be restrained to stop.
Even as this snack is commonly enjoyed in Nigeria, not all chin chins are made equal. Some are overtly sweet, or tasteless, while some are just an oil soaked mess.
Growing up I helped my mom make chinchin a lot during the Christmas season. We always looked forward to making this delightful snack during the Christmas holidays.
Table of Contents
- 1 Why does my chinchin soak up oil?
- 2 How to prevent chinchin from soaking up a lot Oil when frying.
- 3 How do I stop the oil used to fry chin chin from bubbling over and spilling?
- 4 Recommended Products for making best chin chin
- 5 Nigerian Chin chin
Why does my chinchin soak up oil?
One of our readers asked this question in the comments so I decided to update the post to include the answer. Thank you Yemi for taking out time to drop your comment. You are appreciated ❤️
Sometimes you find that your chin chin is soggy or has soaked up a lot of oil here are a few reasons why?
- The Oil wasn't hot enough.
- The Oil wasn't enough for the amount of chin chin dough being fried.
- The Oil was Overcrowded. Overcrowding the oil lowers the oil temperature and we are back to no 1 point above
How to prevent chinchin from soaking up a lot Oil when frying.
- The oil wasn’t hot enough: Before you frying the chin chin. Always test the heated oil by putting a piece of chin chin in the oil . If oil bubbles and the piece of chin chin comes up immediately then the oil is ready for frying.
- The Oil wasn't enough for the amount of chin chin dough being fried:
Always fry your chin chin with enough oil. Frying chin chin requires deep frying which requires enough oil. - Overcrowding the oil with dough: Make sure you have enough oil to fry your dough. Too much dough overcrowds the and doesn't allow adequate frying by lowering the temperature of the oil and making the dough soak up oil.
[bctt tweet="WARNING: Once you start munching, you would have to be restrained to stop." username="mydiaspokitch"]
How do I stop the oil used to fry chin chin from bubbling over and spilling?
Most time this happens when you are frying a second batch of the chin chin dough. I have observed that this happens only when my dough is made with butter. When I make chin chin with magerine , i can fry the whole batch with the same batch without having the oil bubble up and spill over.
But since I prefer the texture and taste of chin chin made with butter here are a few tips
- If you are making a large quantity, use a large pot to fill in oil to accommodate large chin chin dough for each batch then Change the oil after each batch.
- If you are making a small quantity, Use a large pot to accommodate the amount of oil needed to fry the chin-chin in one batch.
It was part of our travel package. We travelled home to our village (country home) every Christmas. So this chin chin served as our snack and also as gifts to visitors. Trust me we never got tired of munching on these and you too will not. Read warning above.
These are soft and almost crumbly on the inside and crunchy on the outside. So not to worry no jaw breakers here. ?. These little delights are 'CROFT' in my son's words meaning Crunchy and Soft You get the drift right. The young man is a foodie at heart creating aportmanteau for food lol. But if Kamso says this is good, Believe me it is ?
Now let's get to this amazing 'CROFT' chin chin recipe ?
[bctt tweet="Search no further, this is it. The Nigerian chin chin recipe you have been searching for." username="mydiaspokitch"]
Recommended Products for making best chin chin
1. Pottella deep square 9.5" copper pan: it has a frying basket, a steamer tray plus you get a free cookbook with it.
2. Frying spoon: This one comes in a set of three. Best value.
3. 32 oz clear plastic storage jars: These come in a set of 6. I reserve 2 for chin-chin and use the rest for storing other pantry staples like oats.
4. Oggi four piece acrylic canister set: Also great for storage.
5. Paper Towel: To absorb excess oil after frying and before storage.
6. Serving bowls: These are perfect to serve your chinchin with.
PIN FOR LATER
Nigerian Chin chin
Chichi Uguru
search no further, this is the chin chin recipe you have searched so long for. Enjoy
4.99 from 68 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 40 minutes mins
Total Time 50 minutes mins
Course Snack
Cuisine West African
Servings 10
Calories 213 kcal
Ingredients
- 280g (1 ¾ cup + 2 Tbsp) all purpose flour
- 82g (⅓ cup) granulated sugar
- 57g (4 Tbsp) salted butter
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup evaporated milk
- Oil for deep frying
Instructions
Measure and Mix dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
Measure and mix wet ingredients together except butter.
Add butter to the dry ingredients and mix with your fingers until just combined.
Pour in the other wet ingredients and mix together until dough forms. it should form a perfect dough but if its feels a bit stiff, add a tablespoon of water or milk. if it feels too tacky, add a tablespoon or 2 of flour no more. DO NOT over work the dough.
Wrap in a saran wrap and allow to rest on the counter for about 5 mins. this allows flavors blend in and develops the gluten which makes it easier during the cutting process
Unwrap rested dough, you can roll out all the dough at once since dough is small or you can divide into 2 portions and roll individually. Roll out dough to about a quarter of an inch thick because dough will rise when you fry them.
With a knife or pizza cutter or even a dough divider cut dough across vertically and horizontally forming little squares.
Put little squares in a bowl and sprinkle a little flour on them and shake to prevent sticking.
Heat up oil. Fry till light golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and spread on a paper towel lined tray to cool. Chin chin will be soft when hot but hardens as it cools.
Notes
Nutrition
Calories: 213kcal
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- Fermenting Ugba/Ukpaka (African Oil bean seed)
Reader Interactions
Comments
Chinelo Edem
Could I use light brown sugar instead of white?
Reply
Chichi Uguru
Hi Chinelo! Yes you can.
Reply
AMODU EMMANUELLA
See AlsoEasy Keto Dinner RecipesI love the fact that everybody uses they method for chi chi but i use powder milk so i have to add water. But i love this page, thanks
Reply
Chichi Uguru
Thank you. Powdered milk works too.
Reply
Faith Ifediora
I have not practice it,but strongly believe in your teaching, thanks for taking out your time
Reply
Chichi Uguru
Thank for your trust Faith!
Reply
Cynthia
Thank you for the recipe,but what about milk flavor?
Reply
Chichi Uguru
Hi Cynthia,
Feel free to use your favorite flavors. This recipe is adaptable.
Reply
Onyinye
I have been using this recipe since June 2020. This is the only chinchin recipe i have for now.
It is tried, tested and trusted.
I just made some for Christmas and it's perfect.
Quadrupled the recipe and added more spices, Nutmeg, cinnamon and Cloves.Reply
Chichi Uguru
Awww Onyinye!
Thank you for your awesome feedback. Happy you are enjoying it. This is over favorite Christmas snack that we enjoy all year round lol. Thanks for stopping by!
Reply
Ashade Temitope
What is the measurement of water to use?
Reply
Chichi Uguru
Hey Ashade,
One egg is equivalent to ¼ cup of liquid (water or liquid milk)
Reply
Adediran Oluwabunmi
I'll reply after testing the instructions.
But I got to know more new things.
Thanks.Reply
Chichi Uguru
Hi Adediran!
Looking forward to your feedback. Thank you for stopping by.
Chichi
Reply
Anna
Hello,
Thank you for the recipe 🙂
What is the amount of salt that I should put in if I only have unsalted butter? And also, can I use regular milk?Reply
Chichi Uguru
Hi Anna.
Add ¼ teaspoon of salt to 1 stick of unsalted butter which is equivalent to 8 Tablespoons of butter or 113g of butter.
For this recipe you’ll need to add ⅛ teaspoon of salt if you are using 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter. Hope this helps.
Reply
Atoke
Wow it really taste nice
Now I have the courage to start me chin Chin businessReply
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