Chin Chin – West African Fried pastry enjoyed throughout the region especially in Nigeria- Crispy Crunchy and Addictive.
Chin chin is my all time favorite snack -it tastes so good , yet so bad for you .It is a scrumptious fried pastry made in various ways. Throughout West Africa and Nigeria Chin Chin originally was prepared for special occasions. It has evolved from a special occasion food to being a snack food, sold on street corners, kiosk and supermarkets.
Growing up, it was customary at most homes in Cameroon, to make this delicious snack during the Christmas season. Each home has its own variation: some soft to the point of falling apart, others so hard that after a couple of bites you feel like your teeth would break.
Some shaped like small balls; others kneaded and cut into small 1 inch squares. The overall experience of slowly feasting on chin-chin is immeasurable…..I never got tired of trying all the different variations of Chin-Chin.
Even at this ripe old age I still love it , the only issue is, “once I pop I cannot stop”. On one occasion I had to hide it in the trunk of my car. Well, that was a little extreme, but I had to. It is so addictive!!
The ingredients for this recipe are: butter, sugar, eggs and flour and some sort of seasoning. Although the thought of making chin- chin dough can be a little intimidating, this recipe is surprisingly simple and straightforward.
You can shape this however you like. They take no longer to make than any other cookie, and the most time consuming part is probably the frying.
Enjoy!!!
NOTES
- If you like your chin soft then add more butter – 1 or 2 Tablespoons more . Be careful not to use too much butter . If not your chin chin is going to crumble.
- A pasta machine helps in rolling out the dough and shaping it. check it out here
Check out this post here Popular African Food to Celebrate Christmas
Watch How to Make It
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Chin Chin
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups 440 grams all-Purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1- teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon grated lime zest
- 1/4 cup or 4 tablespoons margarine/butter
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup milk
- oil for frying
Instructions
- Using a mixer or by hand mix the dry ingredients; flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, nutmeg and lime zest
- Add the butter to the flour and mix well until the butter is well incorporated with the flour.
- Add milk and egg into the mixture. Keep mixing until you have formed a sticky dough ball
- Dump the dough ball onto a floured surface and knead, incorporating more flour into the dough as needed, until the dough is smooth, elastic, and even in color and no longer sticky. Chin-chin can be cut into many shapes and sizes
- Divide dough in half .On a floured board roll each half about 1/6 inches thick. Just like linguine or fettuccine. You can make it easy by using a pasta machine if you have one available. Make shapes as desired.
- Add oil (about 3 inches deep) to a heated skillet/sauce pan or my all time favorite Dutch oven that is over medium heat and bring it to 375 degrees .
- Fry in hot oil until golden .Remove from oil, drain, and serve. You can store this in an air tight container for up to a month.
Tips & Notes:
- For this recipe , I used a standard measuring cup( leveled ). I also used standard measuring spoons.
- If you like your chin soft then add more butter – 1 or 2 Tablespoons more . Be careful not to use too much butter . If not your chin chin is going to crumble.
- A pasta machine helps in rolling out the dough and shaping it. check it out here
Nutrition Information:
Olu says
Hello can I use oil instead of butter, I forgot to purchase it
ImmaculateBites says
Hello,
Oil is not a good substitute . Butter adds flavor and richness to the chin chin.
Aisha says
Hi, thank you for this receipe, My chin chin comes out with a little swell on the body and it peels of making the chin chin look ugly…pls any help
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Aisha,
Sorry to hear about that. Which recipe did you use? It might be the temperature of the oil.But can’t say for sure without actually being there. This recipe works out just fine .
Oluwatoyin says
Hi ma’am.
Thank you for the recipes. Please, what do i do to make my chin chin soft for clients who wants soft ones?
Thank you.
ImmaculateBites says
Add a little more butter – depending on how soft you want it to be .
Vvi says
Thank you for this recipe. What quantity of butter can I use for 6kg if flour.
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Vvi. Multiply the recipe by 12. That should give you the quantity of ingredients you would need for about 6 kgs of flour.
Jack Jordan says
Hi Imma. Will it get soggy over Time?
ImmaculateBites says
Hey Jack,
No it wouldn’t unless its not been fried properly.
kemi says
pls imma, for 10 cup of flour, how many spoons of butter will i use
ImmaculateBites says
Hi kemi,
Use 12 Tablespoons of butter.
Olu says
Hi…thanks for your recipe…I have had issues with excess foaming when I’m frying chin chin…ant suggestions on how to reduce or completely eliminate this?
Dapo says
Hi imma
Please whats the type of mixing machine best used for chin chin flour mixing (A) Cake mixer (B) Dough mixer
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Dapo, Dough mixer is best.
Bev says
Cani leave the chin chin dough overnight
ImmaculateBites says
yes you can.
Peggy says
Thanks for the recipe, I will be grateful if I have the measurement in KG.
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Peggy, Click on metric below the recipe and it will provide metric measurements
Vincell says
Hi IB. I just wanted to ask if chin chin could be made with sachet milk?. thanks
ImmaculateBites says
Yes it can. Most milk would do just fine.
Liz says
Hi Imma! , your recipes are amazing, been using them for quite a while now and I just wanted to say thank you and you’re appreciated
ImmaculateBites says
Aww, that’s so sweet of you Liz. Thanks for taking time out to let me know.
SMO says
Hello Imma,
Im a new follower of your blog. Ive been bookmarking recipes of yours and have been trying to pluck up the courage to actually attempt one of your recipes. As ive got a major sweet tooth i thought the first recipe id try of yours is the chin-chin. Omg. It turned out absolutely immaculate. Hehe. Honestly i cant keep my hands off and keep finding myself walking to the kitchen to snack on them.
Theyre perfect for me crunchy but with a slight little give. But my husband prefers tooth breaking worthy style chinchin. Do i omit the butter completely to achieve this or is it just the case of adding 1tbl spoon only?
I found that as the recipe is (4 tbl spoons butter) you can achieve a greater crunch by a) leaving the cut up chin chin out dusted with a bit of flour before you fry them b) cutting the chin chin in smaller pieces c) fry them at a lower temp 170°c and then pop them in oven at 250°c for 3-5 minutes (watching constantly) gave them a bit more of a crunch too.
Love to hear some advice from you and cannot wait to start my adventure on cooking your delicious looking recipes over the year.
ImmaculateBites says
Welcome on board ! I would say cut down the butter to 1- 2 tablespoons chin chin. Start with one tablespoon and go from there, until you reach desired hardness. Also add more flour as you roll it out also hardens it up. Do let me know how it works out for you. So happy to have another sweet tooth gal- chin chin is addictive!!!
Solange says
Please can you help me with the recipe of Scott egg
ImmaculateBites says
Here is the recipe https://www.africanbites.com/scotch-eggsbaked-or-fried/. Enjoy!!!
Aminat says
Hi Ima being following for recipes for years,you are doing an amazing job. Please can i add other flavors e.g a mixture of vanilla and butterscotch powder to the listed ingredients? Or what other flavors do you recommend? Thank you
ImmaculateBites says
Hello Aminat,
All of the above sounds great. I have also tried almond extract , cinnamon, cardamon spice, pineapple extract – the possibility are endless. It all depends on your taste buds. Play with its Girl!
Thanks for following me along this delicious journey. God bless!!
Merilyne says
Thanks alot for the recipe. I had been wondering why my chinchin is never crispy. Probably because i use too much butter. Thanks you very much
ImmaculateBites says
Go easy on the butter. Do let me know how it works out for you. Thanks
Rachel says
HI Imma! what causes the dough to break after mixing all ingredients? what’s the best remedy for it?
imma africanbites says
Hi, Rachel. It’s hard to pinpoint the exact cause as it works fine on my end following this recipe to a “T”. But it may have to do with adding too much butter as it usually causes the chin chin to crumble.
Buchi says
Hi Immaculate! I must confess that your recipe is wonderful. But what should I do to stop the level of oil going down fast.
I discoverd that oil use to go down quickly after few number of frying though I fry with high heat from start to finish. It is eating my profit.
Thanks.
Buchi.
ImmaculateBites says
If the chin chin is too rich it happens. Cut down on the butter – you might have to adjust other ingredients. Best of Luck!!!