Ingredients
Dough
- 500 gplain flour
- 100 gsugar
- 100 gbutter, cold and cubed
- 1egg
- 100 mlevaporated milk
- 1 tspbaking powder
- ½ tspgrated nutmeg
- ¼ tspsalt
- 1 tspvanilla extract, optional
To fry
- 1 litreoil
Directions
- Rub the cold butter into the flour with the sugar, baking powder, nutmeg and salt until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs.
- Add the egg, milk and vanilla and bring it together into a firm dough, adding the milk sparingly. A soft dough gives puffy doughnut-like pieces, and chin chin should be hard and crunchy.
- Knead for 5 minutes until completely smooth, then rest it for 20 minutes.
- Roll out to about 4 mm thick and cut into small squares of roughly 1 cm.
- Cut them small and cut them evenly. Uneven pieces mean some burn while others stay raw in the same batch, and that is the commonest complaint about home-made chin chin.
- Heat the oil to 160°C (320°F), which is lower than instinct suggests.
- Fry a large handful at a time, stirring constantly with a slotted spoon so they colour evenly, for 5 to 7 minutes until deep golden.
- Low and slow is deliberate. Hot oil browns the outside inside ninety seconds and leaves a soft doughy centre that goes stale within a day.
- Drain on a rack and cool completely before storing, because any residual warmth turns to steam in the jar and softens the whole batch.
- Keep in an airtight jar, where they last two or three weeks, and hand them out at parties in small bags.
Technique
- Firm dough, small pieces, moderate oil. Get those three and the rest looks after itself.
- Nutmeg is the signature. Chin chin without it tastes like plain fried dough.
- It became standard party takeaway food, sent home with guests by the bag.
Substitutions
- Milk powder mixed with water in place of evaporated milk.
- Margarine for butter, which is very widely used.
Variations
- With desiccated coconut worked into the dough.
- Cut into long strips rather than cubes.
- Made softer and puffier, which some households prefer and others consider wrong.
History
Small, deep-fried pastry pieces, sweetened and often flavoured with nutmeg, developed in Nigerian home and street food cooking as a popular snack, particularly associated with Christmas and other major celebrations, when Nigerian households traditionally prepare large batches for guests and family gatherings, though it is also commonly eaten as an everyday snack outside of any specific holiday context. Its dense, slightly crumbly texture and long shelf life once fried and cooled, keeping well for days or even weeks without refrigeration, made chin chin a practical snack for both home enjoyment and gifting or selling. It remains one of Nigeria’s most widely recognized and commonly made fried snacks, with both homemade and commercially packaged versions widely available.
Frequently asked questions
What is Chin chin?
Chin chin is a snack from Nigeria: crunchy fried sweet dough cubes. Small, deep-fried pastry pieces, sweetened and often flavoured with nutmeg, developed in Nigerian home and street food cooking as a popular snack, particularly associated with Christmas and other major celebrations, when Nigerian households traditionally prepare large batches for guests and family gatherings, though it is also commonly eaten as an everyday snack outside of any specific holiday context. Its dense, slightly crumbly texture and long shelf life once fried and cooled, keeping well for days or even weeks without refrigeration, made chin chin a practical snack for both home enjoyment and gifting or selling. It remains one of Nigeria’s most widely recognized and commonly made fried snacks, with both homemade and commercially packaged versions widely available.
How long does Chin chin take to make?
Chin chin takes 25 min plus 20 min resting of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 1 large jar. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Chin chin?
Yes, within limits. Milk powder mixed with water in place of evaporated milk. Margarine for butter, which is very widely used.
What is the most important thing to get right in Chin chin?
Drain on a rack and cool completely before storing, because any residual warmth turns to steam in the jar and softens the whole batch.
