Nigerian Chin chin at its best! sweet, crunchy, flavourful and delicious. A great snack and appetiser loved by all. Let me show you how to make the best chin chin recipe ever with these easy steps.
How to make Chin Chin
We Nigerians don’t joke with our street foods at all. In fact, they are like the things that keep us going and together. We love our foods and we forget all our sorrows and problems and just enjoy the moment.
One of our favourite street snacks is chin chin. This snack is not only eaten in Nigeria but it is also appreciated in other parts of Africa. It is also served as appetisers at parties, get-togethers and picnics.
Chin chin is crunchy and sweet, but you can also decide to have it soft too. As simple as this recipe is, it also comes with a tedious task of cutting the dough and frying in batches.
If you want to achieve a really crunchy chin-chin, you will need to use less milk and butter in your recipe. I added a little bit of desiccated coconut to my chin chin recipe and this can be substituted with coconut milk. It is very important to know that this recipe calls for plain flour (all purpose flour) and not self-raising flour.
Can I sell Chin Chin
This will be your final stop to learning how to make Nigerian chin chin. If you are very entrepreneurial, you can fry these snacks and sell as a side hustle. In fact, chin chin is now sold in big supermarkets here in the UK.
Before you venture into the business, ensure you practice and practise until you perfect your craft. By doing this, you would know what works for you. It is important that you also test the market for what your potential customers would want.
Know your measurements and make a journal as you go along, this will ensure accountability and perfection to your recipe.
Start small, try different flavours, don't be scared to try! If you fail, try again. Also, aim for freshness at all times and know how to preserve it naturally if you wish to make this a commercial business.
Be prepared for criticism and know when to sieve out negative comments and advice. You have to be ready to be in continuous learning and development.
Ingredients
350g all-purpose flour extra for dusting
30g butter or margarine
1 whole nutmeg grated, substitute with ground nutmeg
80-100g sugar (I used caster sugar)
1 egg
1tsp baking powder
30g desiccated coconut (optional)
80ml evaporated milk or any other full fat milk of choice
1tsp vanilla essence flavour (optional)
Vegetable oil for frying
How to make Nigerian Chin Chin
Start by adding all the dry ingredients together in a bowl and mix together. Add the butter and mix together to form crumbs. Add the other wet ingredients and mix to form a stretchy dough.
Leave the dough to rest for about 15-30 minutes. (this is not compulsory)
Dust a cleaned work surface with flour; divide the dough into 2 or 3 batches. Roll out the dough flat and cut into long strips with a cut into desired sizes. Repeat this process till you have exhausted the dough
Place a shallow frying pan on medium-high heat; add vegetable oil and heat to about 350⁰ or you do an oil test. Drop one of the cut dough into the hot oil and if it floats to the top of the oil, then the oil is ready for use.
Carefully add the cut-out dough to the hot oil in batches and fry till golden brown.
How to serve Chin Chin
This popular Nigerian snacks can be eaten on its own or alongside soft drinks like Fanta, Malt drink or homemade drinks listed below.
Tips
Wrap the dough in a cling film and store in the refrigerator for up to 30 minutes, this process would help release the gluten in the flour.
Don't overcrowd the oil with the dough when frying. This would also help prevent the oil from foaming.
Maintain medium-high heat when frying to prevent the dough from soaking up the oil.
How to store chin chin
Chin chin must be stored in an airtight container or bottle. You can also store in a ziplock back but make sure it is not exposed to air as this would make the chin chin soft. Also, make sure it cools down completely before storing.
Homemade Nigerian chin chin can last for up to 2 weeks or longer when stored correctly. It doesn't have to be stored in the refrigerator. A cool dry place would do.
Other Nigerian Snacks you will love
Nigerian Chin Chin (How to Make Chin Chin)
Ingredients
- 350 g all-purpose flour extra for dusting
- 30 g butter
- 1 whole nutmeg grated
- 80-100 g sugar I used caster sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 100 ml evaporated milk
- Vegetable oil for frying
- 30 g desiccated coconut optional
Instructions
- Add all the dry ingredients together in a bowl and mix together. Add the butter and mix together to form crumbs. Add the other wet ingredients and mix to for stretchy dough that is firm but not hard.
- Leave the dough to rest for about 15-30 minutes. (this is not compulsory)
- Dust a cleaned work surface with flour, divide the dough into 2 or 3 batches. Roll out the dough flat on the floured surface and cut into long strips with a cut into desired sizes. Repeat this process till you have exhausted the dough
- Place a shallow frying pan on medium-high heat; add vegetable oil and heat to about until hot about 180°C/356°F or you do an oil test. Drop one of the cut dough into the hot oil and if it floats to the top of the oil, then the oil is ready for use.
- Carefully add the cut-out dough to the hot oil in batches and fry till golden brown. Do not overcrowd the oil when frying. transfer to fried chin chin into a bowl lined with a kitchen towel to soak up excess oil.Leave to cool completely before serving. Enjoy
Notes
- For crunchy chin chin, use less butter and milk. replace milk with water.
- Too much butter will make the chin chin crumble, only use the required measurent.
- don't overcrowd the oil with the dough when frying.
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Hi Ajoke, how much is ground nutmeg for substitution? Thanks!
Hello Hazel, 1 tsp should be fine. Kindly let me know how it turns out. Thank you
I tried a lot of recipes , but your own came out so perfect!
the best recipe ever!!
thank you so much
Thanks for the feedback. I am glad it worked for you
Thanks Ajoke, please how can i measure my ingredients when am making upto 4 kilo of flour or 1 custard bucket of flour. thanks I want to make it for my xmas.
Hi Ebere, divide the flour: (4kg) 4000g by 350g and multiply your answer by the other ingredients used in the recipe. Good luck and kindly keep me posted
Can we mix with water?.
Yes you can and thanks for stopping by.
Chin Chin...my weakness. I don't stop until everything is gone.
we are twin sisters. lol
This is really nice
Thanks Ore
I thought I was the only one, that have thought of putting some kind of flavor in my chin-chin, other plain .I made mine with coconut flakes and it was so good.
Hi Glory, I love coconut in my chin chin and I enjoy it more when it is baked than fried.
thanks for stopping by