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
Please how many eggs can i use in one tier and cand I also add vanilla flavor the liquid one?
Hi Katie,
I didn’t quite understand your question. Could you retype it so I can help. Take care,
-Chichi
Are you asking how many eggs for 1 kg of flour? 4 eggs. Yes you can add liquid vanilla flavor.
Please
Hello,
Thanks for the recipe
I already have no salt butter, actually a lot of those.
Can I use no salt butter and salt? how much salt will you recommend for your measurements
Hi Jack,
For the quantity in my recipe I would add 1/8 teaspoon of salt. For accuracy, please make sure you are using standard measuring spoons.
Here is a quick conversion for unsalted to salted butter.
For 1/2 cup of butter add 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
Hope that answered your question. Thanks for stopping by.
– Chichi
Hello , thanks for the recipe. Will I be able to preserve my chin chin for some months if I add egg and or milk ? Or should I leave out the ingredients? Thanks
Hi Ella,
Yes you can preserve your chin chin in an air tight container for up to 2 months. ( it won’t last that long because it’s so tasty) don’t leave out the egg and milk. It’s no longer fresh milk or egg so it won’t affect the chin chin.
– Chichi
How many eggs for 1kg of flour pls
I would use 4 eggs
A cup is 125g,y 280g
pls reply
Hi Chyma,
125g to 130g is the universal measurement for 1 cup of flour. But that depends on how the flour is measured. If you use the spoon in and sweep method you may get more than that. If you use the dig in method, you will even get a higher value.
Have you tried measuring flour yourself into a cup and then weighing it? I have several times and to be honest, I have never really got 125g.
That is why I prefer using scales to cups when baking. Chin chin is a very forgiving recipe so you can actually get away with it if you are not accurate. For cakes you might not.
If you have a scale, measure out the 280g and then find out what it comes out to for you in cups. Hope that helps.
Thanks for dropping a comment. I love reading from you guys 😊
– Chichi
Thanks so much,these are really helpful,well done.
God bless you
Hi Rebecca,
You are welcome. Thank you for your feedback. Amen. God bless too 😊
– Chichi
5 stars! I just used your recipe and Kamso is right, its ‘croft’! Thank you!!!
Hi Joy,
Yes he’s definitely right on the Croft matter 😄 thanks for reading my story (ramblings), trying the recipe, and dropping your feedback. Your time is appreciated. Happy you liked the recipe too😊.
– Chichi
Have tried today following your recipe I must say thank you Mom. But for the 2kg flour haven’t tried scared of the 4 eggs I feel it could be too much God bless you
Hi Flora,
Amen. I am happy you tried the recipe and it worked out perfectly for you. If you need to double the recipe. Go ahead and do so. Don’t be afraid I have made up to 5 times this recipe and it worked out well.
Four eggs for 4 times the recipe is fine. If it still worries you, you can make individual batches 4 times or a double batch twice.
Thank you for your feedback and God bless you too. Go ahead and enjoy your delicious homemade chin chin. 😉
– Chichi
Hey thanks please must try this recieps.but I wanted to make for my school children which is a big quantity can I get quantities like 2kg flour measurements. Then how long do they last
Hi Flora.
You need to try it. Yes you can double or triple the recipe to get any quantity you like. For 2 kg flour you need to multiply this recipe by 4.
Chin chin can last up to 3 months in an air tight container. But trust me it won’t last that long because your kids won’t let it. It’s that good 😀
Let me know how it goes.