Search no further, this is it. The Nigerian chin chin recipe you have been searching for. Sounds cocky 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
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.
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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 a portmanteau 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 ?
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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
Ingredients
- 280g (1 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp) all purpose flour
- 82g (1/3 cup) granulated sugar
- 57g (4 Tbsp) salted butter
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 large egg
- ÂĽ 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 Tbsp of water or milk. if it feels too tacky, add a Tbsp 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
I have never heard of chin chin before but I’m really interested in trying these! I’ll have to try this recipe soon!
If you love cookies, you will love these. We are crazy about it back home?
Looks like fun to make and munch!!
Yup. It’s fun to make and munch. Also a fun gift to give when visiting friends. Thanks Amy
I haven’t been looking for it but it sure does sounds good! This is something I would love to try? What type of taste is it?
You just cracked me up on ‘haven’t been looking for it’ ?. You definitely haven’t because you weren’t aware of its existence. But now that you are please give it a try and you are never going back… that is if you are a sweet treat kind a person. These are like cookies but fried instead of baked. We love them in Nigeria and other parts of West Africa. Thanks for visiting ?
Hello please I just want to ask a question,when preparing the chin chin if I don’t have butter can i improvise with oil?
Hi Dusu,
You can use Margarine or vegetable shortening instead of butter. I haven’t tried making chin chin with oil. So I am not sure it would work. Hope that helps. Thanks for stopping by.
I’ve never tried Nigerian Chin Chin!! I’d love to try out these! Thanks for sharing!
You are welcome Jasmine. Hope you enjoy it
This look like fun to make and easy. It would be fun to make with kids and something I would enjoy.
It’s absolutely fun to make with the kiddos. And delish too. Worth the try. Thanks.
I’m a food blogger and love discovering new foods, especially those from around the world. We live in a college town and my husband works for Iowa State University. The sweetest girl from Nigeria is an intern in his department. I can’t wait to ask her about Chin Chins! x
Really? That’s so nice. Can’t wait for your feedback. She’s sure to go on and on about this sweet Nigerian snack. ?
These look really unique. I have never heard of this snack before! I love having traditional snacks with my kiddos too. We always make oatmeal cookies with oats and bananas!
They are Brigette and your kiddos would definitely love these. Sweet, crunchy and tender on the inside. Would love to hear about it if you do give it a try. Thanks for stopping by.?
Yum!!!! I love to try different foods, I think is a great way to learn about other cultures.
True. Thanks ?
I’ve never tried Nigerian Chin Chin before but it looks like something i would try.
I think you should. You would love it. It’s kind of addictive too. Thanks ?
I have never heard of Chin Chin but it looks really easy to make which is a plus for me. I think I would probably enjoy it as a sweet treat and not tasteless.
Yes you will enjoy them. They are indeed sweet treats. Look at them like fried cookies ?. Thanks for stopping by