Content

• Resources
• Steps
• What you need

Chin Chin is a famous fried flour dish originating from East Africa. There are many ways to cook it, but the most popular is the crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Chin Chin's traditional way of making fried dough is to fry it, but you can also cook it in the oven if you want healthier food.

Resources

Prepare 10-15 servings

• 5 cups (2.5 liters) of sifted multipurpose powder
• 2 teaspoons (10 ml) of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) nutmeg powder
• 1 1/2 cup (375 ml) of diameter
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of vanilla extract
• 9 tablespoons (135 ml) of softened butter and cut into cubes
• 3 large eggs
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) milk
• Rapeseed or vegetable oil (for frying)
• Powdered sugar (optional)

Steps

Method 1 of 5: Making dough

1. 

   
   
   Mix the dry ingredients. Combine the sifted flour, salt, baking powder, nutmeg, and sugar in a large bowl until evenly combined.
   • Other spices can be used, including cinnamon and five flavors. Use up to 2 teaspoons (10 ml) cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) five flavors. Likewise, you can use a mix of nutmeg with a similar flavoring seasoning. However, you need to adjust the amount based on the proportion of each seasoning used in the mixture.
   • Use a mixing spoon or a whisk to mix ingredients.

2. 

   
   
   Add butter. Sprinkle the cut butter over the dry ingredients. Use a pulverizer or a fork to smash the butter into the dry ingredients, continue until the butter is evenly dispersed and the mixture looks like the coarse crumbs.
   • Butter should be soft and cut into small cubes before adding to dry ingredients.
   • Instead of just mixing the butter with the other ingredients, press it down so that the butter will contact the dry ingredients more quickly. This step can be done as easily as possible using a flour or fork grinder. If these two are not available, you can press by hand.

3. 

   
   
   Mix eggs, milk with vanilla. Beat eggs with milk to evenly blend in a separate bowl. Add the vanilla extract and continue beating until it blends well with the other ingredients.
   • For a bit of variation from the traditional flavors, you can use coconut extract instead of vanilla.

4. 

   Slowly mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Shape a hole in the middle of the dry ingredient mixture. Pour egg mixture into the hole and slowly mix the dry ingredients from the outside into the center of the hole. Continue mixing until wet and dry ingredients are completely blended.
   • It is possible to try adding wet ingredients to it bit by bit and mixing with dry ingredients. Shape a hole in the middle of the dry ingredient mixture and pour 1/3 of the egg yolk mixture into the center of the hole. Mix well, then add 1/3 of the mixture to mix. Repeat with the final egg mixture.

5. 

   Dough. Pour the dough onto a clean surface spread with a little dry powder and knead by hand several times. The kneading time should be long enough for the dough to become smooth and supple.
   • You can sprinkle a little dry powder on your hands while you are kneading the dough. Otherwise, the dough will stick and create a feeling of clutter.

6. 

   Freeze the dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap or put it back in a bowl. Put the dough in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.
   • If the dough seems firm enough, especially if you are kneading quickly, you can skip this step. Freezing helps the dough harden slightly for easier long-term handling and less adhesion to the surface.
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Method 2 of 5: Cut the dough

1. 

   Roll the dough. Place the frozen dough on a clean surface spread with some dry powder. Use a dough mill (spread over a little dry powder) to roll it until it is 0.6 cm thick.
   • Try to keep the dough into a rectangular shape while in rolling. If the corners are uneven, you can use a knife to cut them before cutting the main dough into small pieces. Cut dough needs to be kneaded and rolled again after you have cut the main portion of the dough into small pieces. From the cut off dough, you can continue rolling it into 0.6 cm thick pieces before cutting into small pieces.

2. 

   Cut the dough into small squares. Use a kitchen knife or a pizza knife to cut the rectangular dough into vertical strips about 1.3 cm wide. Next, cut it horizontally into strips 1.3 cm wide to finally form a 1.3 cm square.
   • You can cut the dough into larger pieces if desired, but keep in mind that large pieces of dough will take longer to fry / bake.

3. 

   Another way is to create a knot. Cut the dough into a 5 cm square. Then, cut each square diagonally and poke a small hole in the middle of each triangle. Carefully pull a triangle corner through the hole to form a knot.
   • To cut a 5 cm square, you need to use a kitchen knife or a pizza knife to cut flat rolled rectangular dough into 5 cm wide strands. Then cut it one more time into strands 5 cm wide to make a square.
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Method 3 of 5: Frying dough

1. 

   Heat oil in a deep fryer. Pour 1.3-2.5 cm of canola oil or vegetable oil in a medium saucepan or pan. Heat in high heat until the oil reaches 190 degrees Celsius.
   • The pan or pan that you use should have a heavy bottom and high walls to keep the hot oil from splattering as much as possible.
   • Use a candy or jam thermometer or a frying oil thermometer to measure the temperature of the cooking oil.
   • If you don't have a thermometer, you can check your oil's proper temperature by dropping a small piece of powder over the oil. The oil is starting to sizzle, meaning it's hot enough.

2. 

   Fry the dough into batches. Each time frying, fill the hot oil with a fist full of dough. Fry for 3-8 minutes (stirring only as needed) until the dough turns even golden brown.
   • The small dough usually only needs to be fried for 3-5 minutes and you don't need to stir during the frying process.
   • The knotted dough needs a longer frying time, from 6-8 minutes. Use a hole spoon or a tongs to gently flip the dough once, after the bottom of the dough turns brown, so that the dough is evenly ripe.
   • Check the temperature of the oil when frying. The oil temperature can rise when you remove the dough and decrease when you add it. For the best results, you should adjust the temperature of the stove to keep the oil temperature at 190 degrees Celsius.

3. 

   Blot the oil with a paper towel. Use a spoon with a hole to remove the dough. Place the fried dough on a plate lined with a clean paper towel to absorb excess oil.
   • Repeat the frying and oil blotting process until the batch is finished.
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Method 4 of 5: Baking the flour (alternative processing method)

1. 

   Preheat oven to 190 degrees Celsius. Prepare 2 large baking trays by placing parchment paper or wax paper.
   • Strictly speaking, Chin Chin fried flour is fried, not baked. So the baking powder won't taste exactly the same as the fried dough. However, the instructions for baking the dough will get the finished product as close to the traditional taste as possible. This is also a good alternative if you want to prepare a healthy and oil-free Chin Chin fry.
   • Avoid aluminum foil. However, if necessary, you can spray non-stick products instead of wax paper.

2. 

   Place the baking tray in the preheated oven and start baking until the top of the dough turns slightly yellow.
   • Make sure the dough is layered and does not touch. The dough will stick if you touch each other when baking and cook unevenly if stacked.

3. 

   Flip the dough and continue baking. Use a spatula to flip the dough. Continue baking for another 15-20 minutes or until the batter turns golden brown.

4. 

   Let it cool a little. Take the Chin Chin powder out of the oven and let it cool for about 3-5 minutes on the baking sheet.
   • Do not let the dough cool completely. The powder should only cool down enough to handle it.
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Method 5 of 5: Presentation

1. 

   Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired. Chin Chin fried flour is usually sprinkled with a little powdered sugar (sifted). Put the fried dough on the plate and sprinkle sugar on it before serving on the table.
   • Using a small sieve is an easy way to sprinkle powdered sugar on Chin Chin frying flour. Hold the sieve over the pan and pour the sugar into the sieve. Gently sift the sugar into the fried dough underneath.

2. 

   Enjoy. At this point, you can be ready to enjoy a delicious chewy, crispy fried dough. advertisement

What you need

• Big bowl
• Mixing spoon or egg whisk
• Pulverizer or fork
• Small bowl
• Powder added
• Glossy food wrap
• Tree rolling dough
• Pizza knife or cooking knife
• Deep fryer (used when frying flour)
• Thermometer measures candy, jam or oil temperature when frying (for frying)
• Spoon with hole (used when frying flour)
• Plate (used when frying flour)
• Clean paper towel (used when frying flour)
• Baking tray (used when baking)
• Stencils or wax paper (used when baking)
• Baked (used when baking)
• Colander
• Plate