How to Make Chin Chin Fried Dough

Chin Chin is a famous fried dough dish originating from East Africa. There are many ways to prepare it, but the most popular is the fried dough that is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The traditional way to make Chin Chin fried dough is to fry it, but you can also bake it in the oven if you want a healthier dish.

Table of Contents

Ingredient

Prepare 10-15 servings

5 cups (2.5 liters) sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons (10 ml) salt
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) nutmeg powder
1 1/2 cups (375 ml) in diameter
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla
9 tablespoons (135 ml) softened and cubed butter
3 large eggs
1/4 cup (60 ml) milk
Canola or vegetable oil (for frying)
Powdered sugar (optional)

Making dough

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Mix dry ingredients. Mix sifted flour, salt, baking powder, nutmeg, and sugar in a large bowl until well combined.

Other spices can be used, including cinnamon and five spices. ^{[1] X Source of Study} Use up to 2 teaspoons (10 ml) of cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) of five spices. Similarly, you can use a spice blend that combines nutmeg with a similar-flavored seasoning. However, you need to adjust the amount based on the proportions of each seasoning used in the mix.
Use a spatula or whisk to mix the ingredients together.

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Put in the butter. Sprinkle the cubed butter over the top of the dry ingredients. Use a grater or fork to crumble the butter into the dry ingredients, continuing until the butter is evenly distributed and the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

The butter should be soft and cut into small cubes before adding to the dry ingredients mix.
Instead of just mixing the butter into the other ingredients, you need to press down to get the butter in contact with the dry ingredients more quickly. This step can be done as simply as a pulverizer or fork. If these two tools are not available, you can press by hand.

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Mix eggs, milk with vanilla. Beat eggs with milk until well combined in a separate bowl. Add vanilla and beat until vanilla is combined with other ingredients.

For a little twist on the traditional flavor, you can use coconut extract instead of vanilla.

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Slowly mix dry ingredients with wet ingredients. Make a well hole in the center of the dry mix. Pour the egg mixture into the hole and slowly mix the dry ingredients from the outside into the center of the hole. Continue mixing until dry and wet ingredients are completely combined.

You can try adding the wet ingredients bit by bit and mixing them with the dry ingredients. Make a hole in the center of the dry ingredients mixture and then pour 1/3 of the egg yolk mixture into the center of the hole. Mix well and then add 1/3 of the mixture to continue mixing. Repeat with the last part of the egg mixture.

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Dough. Pour the dough onto a clean surface sprinkled with some dry flour and knead by hand several times. Kneading time should be long enough for the dough to become smooth and pliable.

You can sprinkle some dry flour on your hands while kneading the dough. Otherwise, the dough will stick and feel messy.

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Freeze dough. Wrap the dough in cling film or return it to a bowl. Place the dough in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.

If the dough seems firm enough, especially if you’re kneading it quickly, this step can be skipped. Freezing helps the dough harden a bit for easier handling in the long run and less sticky to the surface.

Cut dough

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Roll dough. Place the frozen dough on a clean surface sprinkled with some dry powder. Use a rolling pin (scattered on some dry flour) to roll until the dough is 0.6 cm thick.

Try to keep the dough into a rectangle while rolling. If the corners are uneven, you can trim them off with a knife before cutting the main dough into small pieces. The cut dough needs to be kneaded and rolled again after you cut the main dough into small pieces. From the part of the dough that is cut off, you can continue to roll it into 0.6 cm thick pieces before cutting into many small pieces.

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Cut the dough into several small squares. Use a kitchen knife or pizza cutter to cut the rectangular dough into longitudinal strips about 1.3 cm wide. Next, cut across another 1.3 cm wide strips to finally form a 1.3 cm square.

The dough can be cut into larger pieces if desired, but keep in mind that larger pieces will take longer to fry/bake.

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Another way is to create a knot. Cut the dough into 5cm squares. Then, cut each square in half diagonally and poke a small hole in the center of each triangle. Carefully pull a triangle corner through the hole to form a knot. ^{[2] X Research Source}

To cut a 5-cm square, you’ll need to use a kitchen knife or pizza cutter to cut the flattened rectangle of dough into 5cm-wide strips. Then, cut it across one more time into 5 cm wide strands to form a square.

Fried dough

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Heat oil in a deep fryer. ^{[3] X Source of Study} Pour canola or vegetable oil 1.3-2.5 cm deep in a medium-sized pot or pan. Heat under high flame until the oil reaches 190 degrees Celsius.

The pot or pan you use should have a heavy bottom and high sides to prevent as much hot oil from splattering as possible.
Use a candy, jam or oil thermometer when frying to measure the temperature of the cooking oil.
If you don’t have a thermometer, you can check the oil’s proper temperature by dropping a small piece of dough into the oil. If the oil starts to sizzle, it means it’s hot enough.

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Fry the dough in batches. Each time you fry, put a fistful of dough into the hot oil. Fry for 3-8 minutes (only tossing as needed) until batter turns golden brown.

Small pieces of dough usually only need to be fried for 3-5 minutes and you do not need to stir during frying.
Knotted dough pieces need a longer frying time, from 6-8 minutes. Use a slotted spoon or tongs to gently turn the dough one at a time, after the bottom of the dough turns brown, so that the dough is evenly cooked on all sides.
Check the temperature of the oil when frying the dough. The oil temperature can rise when you remove the dough and drop when you add the dough. To achieve the best results, you should adjust the temperature of the stove to maintain the oil temperature at 190 degrees Celsius.

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Use a paper towel to absorb the oil. Use a spoon with holes to scoop out the batter. Place fried dough on a plate lined with clean paper towels to absorb excess oil.

Repeat the frying and oiling process until the entire batch of dough is fried.

Baking dough (alternative cooking method)

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Preheat oven to 190 degrees C. ^{[4] X Source} Prepare 2 large baking trays by stacking parchment or wax paper.

Strictly speaking, Chin Chin fried dough is dough that is fried, not baked. So the baking powder won’t taste quite the same as the fried dough. However, baking instructions will result in a finished product as close to the traditional taste as possible. This is also a good alternative if you want to prepare healthy and oil-free Chin Chin fried dough.
Avoid aluminum foil. However, if needed, you can spray a nonstick product instead of stencils.

Furnished

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Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired. Chin Chin fried dough is usually sprinkled with a little powdered sugar (sifted). Put the fried dough on a plate and sprinkle sugar on top before serving on the table.

Using a small sieve is a simple way to sprinkle powdered sugar over Chin Chin fried dough. Hold the sieve over the batter and pour the sugar into the sieve. Sieve lightly to let the sugar fall onto the fried dough underneath.

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Enjoy. At this point, you’re ready to enjoy delicious crispy, chewy dough.

Things you need

Big bowl
Mixing spoon or whisk
Flour mill or fork
Small bowl
Extra dough
Glossy food wrap
Flour Roller
Pizza knife or cooking knife
Deep fryer (used when frying dough)
Thermometer measuring candy, jam or measuring oil temperature when frying (used when frying dough)
Spoon with hole (used when frying dough)
Plate (used when frying dough)
Clean paper towels (used when frying dough)
Baking tray (used when baking dough)
Parchment paper or wax paper (used when baking dough)
Spoon (used when baking dough)
Colander
Plate