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
- 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 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
Thank you so much for this recipe ma.
I have learnt a lot from it.
Please, can I make use of my milk flavour for the chinchin?
Hi Ebie,
Yes you can.
I want to make 3 congos of chinchin how many butter and other receipe will I use
Hi,
I used coconut oil, which is healthier for frying, I think. This gave it that nice and exotic coconutty taste that I absolutely enjoy.
Thanks for the recipee. Only it didn’t produce enough to satisfy my chin-chin- pinching hubby and kids. So will be making another batch again soon!
Cheers!
Niki
Hi Nikki,
Thank you so much for your feedback. Yes coconut oil gives it an excellent flavor. In fact that’s what I use when I make coconut chin chin. Happy your chin chin loving family loved it. Go make some more already and be sure to double or triple the recipe too 😉🙌
– Chichi
nice recipe
Thank you ma for the recipe.pls can we use margarine and whats the measurement?
Hi Uchenna,
You are welcome. Yes you can use margarine. Use the same measurement of butter stated in the recipe.
– Chichi
Thank you
You are welcome
Hi mam, should I use same measures for I paint of flour?
Hi Goodness.
I don’t know how much flour will be in one paint of flour. However if you have a scale, measure out the flour by weight send it to me here and I will calculate the quantities of the other ingredients you need. Hope that helps.
– Chichi
Hi Goodness.
I made enquiries and have been told a paint bucket contains 3kg of flour.
To make this recipe with a paint of flour, multiply all ingredients in this recipe by 11. Hope that helps.
Awesome recipe! I made it on Christmas Eve, and it was perfect. I’m so happy I found this recipe. the chin chin was crunchy, did not soak oil at all, and very very tasty. Thank you!
Hi Vivian,
Thank you for your feedback. I am happy you enjoyed it. It’s truly yummy. Merry Christmas to you and yours ❤️ Stay Safe!
– Chichi
PS: Kindly subscribe to my YouTube channel it’s free! Thank you.
https://www.YouTube.com/c/mydiasporakitchen
my first but very successful attempt at chin-chin making, thanks to your detailed and easy to follow recipe. they taste heavenly. thank you so.
Hi Starr,
Yayyy! That’s nice to know. Thank you for the feedback. Happy you enjoyed it. Have a blessed 2021. Stay safe and well.
-Chichi
PS: I would be happy if you subscribe to my YouTube Channel it’s free! Thank you.
https://www.YouTube.com/mydiasporakitchen
Ma’am Chichi I’m so glad I came across your recipe today.
I tried it today and my brothers won’t stop munching and stealing the ones we’ve stored for christmas tomorrow.
Truly, if you start tasting, you won’t stop munching.
This is an awesome recipe ma’am.
Keep up the good work!
Hi Hephzibah!
First of all you have such a beautiful name. Thank you for taking time out to let me know you enjoyed this recipe. Hope you get to try more of my recipes.
Lol @ your brothers stealing it. That’s the story of my life too. Enjoy your chinchin and Christmas too. Stay safe! 😀
– Chichi
PS: Please Subscribe to my YouTube Channel below it’s free. Thank you
https://www.YouTube.com/c/mydiasporakitchen
Hi. Can I use self raising flour for this recipe?
Hi. Can I use self raising flour?
Hi Balkis,
I haven’t tried making chin chin with self rising flour. However I don’t think it will work and here’s why, self rising/ self raising flour has a higher amount of baking powder per cup than what is required in this recipe.
A cup of self rising flour has 1/2 tablespoon of baking powder whereas this entire recipe uses only 1/2 teaspoon. Hope that helps.
If you do try it out and it works, please let me know. Thank you for stopping by. Merry Christmas in advance. Stay safe.
– Chichi
PS: If you love my recipes, Please subscribe to my YouTube channel it’s free. Thank you.
https://www.YouTube.com/c/mydiasporakitchen
Indeed this has been the best chin chin recipe so far. I’ve followed this recipe twice and never had any reason to regret it because both times, my chin chin came out not just cruncy but yummy. Thank you so much ma.
Hi Victoria,
Thank you for your feedback. I am very happy you enjoyed the recipe. We love it too. So so good. Merry Christmas to you and yours. Stay safe!
– Chichi
PS: Would love it if you subscribed to my YouTube Channel for video recipes. It’s free. Thank you.
https://www.YouTube.com/c/mydiasporakitchen