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
Thanks, very explanatory. But my problem us the measurement. I wan to make large quantity. I don’t know how to go about the measurement. The amount of flour and sugar to use to get plenty quantity.
Hi Diana,
Multiply the recipe by how much you want to increase it by. You can double, triple or quadruple the recipe. Hope that helps.
– Chichi
pls what can make my chin chin to rise up very well
Hi Judith,
Have you tried the recipe yet? It should rise with the baking powder. If yours didn’t rise, maybe the baking powder you used isn’t fresh and has lost its potency.
– Chichi
What makes my dough sticky..it sticks together when I’m cutting..Also, what ingredient shouldn’t be added when I want a harder chinchin
Hi Mary,
If your dough is sticky, it means it’s too wet and needs more flour. If you want a harder chin chin add about 1/4 cup more flour to this recipe and fry for a little longer than the 10-12 mins mentioned in the recipe.
Note: the longer you fry, the darker it will be. Be careful not to burn the chin chin.
Hope that helps. Thank you for stopping by. Stay safe!
-Chichi
PS: if you haven’t already, I would be honored if you subscribe to my YouTube Channel it’s free. Please share with family and friends too. Thank you.
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can you refrigerate chin chin dough and then just fry it whenever you want? If so should you put it in the fridge of the freezer
Hi Martin,
You can refrigerate the dough for up to 5 days in the refrigerator. I haven’t tried freezing it cos I haven’t needed to. Hope that helps.
– Chichi
I love this!
Thank you for sharing with us your knowledge on this.
I’m really thankful.
Hi Brave,
You are very welcome. Thank you for stopping by and for your kind feedback. Hope you get to try more of my recipes. Stay safe!
– Chichi
PS: Have subscribed to my YouTube channel yet. I would be honored if you do and also share with your family and friends so that can subscribe too. Thanks.
You can Subscribe here⬇️
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Great work dear. Please I want to go into chinchin business but people complain is too hard why some don’t complain how do I get it right so it won’t be too soft or hard. Thanks.
Hi Jewel,
Thank you for stopping by. Have you tried my recipe? It’s not too hard neither is it too soft. Maybe you should try it and see if that’s what you are looking for. Personally I don’t like my chin chin too hard. Let me know if you try it out. Stay safe out there!
– Chichi
PS: Have subscribed to my YouTube channel yet. I would be honored if you do and also share with your family and friends so that can subscribe too. Thanks.
You can Subscribe here⬇️
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Hi,
I tried cooking this today. They look good however not everything was crunchy. My husband said i really tried. lol Some were like a fried bread and some were crunchy. I wonder if it’s with my dough or the way of frying it. Low fire maybe. Thanks!
Hi Nadz,
Thank you for your feedback. Your husband is so kind. Let’s figure out what went wrong because they should all come out the same.
It could be one of the following.
-the oil wasn’t hot enough or
– the oil was overcrowded or
– you didn’t fry long enough.
When next you try the recipe keep the above in mind. Let me know how it goes. I will be very happy to help. Stay safe!
– Chichi
Have subscribed to my YouTube channel yet. I would be honored if you do and also share with your family and friends so that can subscribe too. Thanks.
You can Subscribe here⬇️
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Hi… Can unsalted butter be used
For this recipe?
Hi Nicole,
Yes you can use unsalted butter. If using unsalted butter, add 1/2 teaspoon of salt per stick of butter (113g) for this recipe, add 1/4 tsp. Stay safe!
– Chichi
This is really helpful thanks
Happy to hear that Omobewaji, thank you for stopping by 😊
Did you know I now have a YouTube channel? Please subscribe to my YouTube channel and share with your family and friends
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Thank you
Pls whats the recipe for 1 paint of flour
Hi Ante,
If you can tell me the weight of the flour in the paint bucket, I will be able to help you calculate the measurements. Hope that helps. Stay safe!
-Chichi
Did you know I now have a YouTube channel? Please subscribe to my YouTube channel and share with your family and friends Thank you 😊
Kindly subscribe here ⬇️
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