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.
[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 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 ?
[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
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
Wao thanks I learnt a lot this night i have learnt From my mistake I am now a great chin chin maker! Thanks mydiasporakitchen!
Hi Miriam,
Thanks for your feedback! You are now a certified chin chin maker! Good job!!
– Chichi
When i followed all the procedures the chinchin is till soft when i fried it what is the cause?
Hi Oluwafunbi,
The chin chin shouldn’t be soft. It may be soft when it’s scooped right out of the oil. However it hardens as it cools.
If it remains soft, be sure to check if you used the right amount of ingredients. Hope that helps.
– Chichi
I tried to order chin chin for a party tomorrow….was too late. Came online and saw the caption….I agree! I wasn’t a chinchin fan till I ate one recently and I wanted same flavour and texture. Literally just finished making it….came out great, tasted even greater. Making a second batch now….thank youbso much for sharing 🙂
Hi Olamide!
Thank you so much for taking our time to leave a detailed review! I was literally smiling while reading it. Happy you found the recipe helpful.
-Chichi
What kind of flavor can I add to my chinchin to make it tastier
Hi Marvellous,
You can add vanilla extract or ground cinnamon or any cake flavor you like
Please make chim chim to be soft and yummy, what’s the need if cinnamon
Hi Stella,
Cinnamon is one of the flavor options. Feel free to leave it out.
I added ginger too and it came out with an outstanding taste.
Hi Ebby!
That’s such a yummy addition! Thanks for sharing 🤗
Please, can I use both nutmeg and cinnamon powder?
Hi Ola,
I would use one of the two not both.
I Baked ( not fried) chinchin but some are soft while some are strong… What is the cause ma
Hi Hope,
It probably didn’t cook evenly. You need to stir the chin chin around with a spatula every 10 mins to ensure they bake evenly. Also be sure not to overcrowd the pan.
Hi if I did use egg will my chin chin still trun out nice
Hi Gift,
Did mean if you didn’t use eggs. Yes it will turn out well. Replace the egg in this recipe with 1/4 cup water or milk. I usually replace 1 egg with 1/4 cup of milk or water
And is yeast not needed???
Hi Sa’adat,
Yeast is not needed for chin chin