I recently found a real treat in my mailbox. I recieved a big bag of chin-chin from the Motherland Cuisine and Market in Charlotte, NC. This combination market / restaurant carries African groceries and serves authentic West African dishes.
Chin-chin is a Nigerian snack or street food, "small chop" as I like to call it. The basic ingredients are butter, sugar, eggs and flour. I've made it flavoured with cinnamon and orange, and shaped in sort of bowtie with one end pulled through a slit in the middle. That's a bit fancy. This chin-chin is more of a casual snack. The small crunchy rectangles are irregularly shaped. After an extremely satisfying crackley crunch, they have a smooth buttery, almost nutty taste that makes you want more. They would be perfect to munch with a cocktail, or your afternoon tea.
See my chin chin recipe.
You can order this chin-chin from Motherland Cuisine and Market at dollywey2000@yahoo.com. Or if you are in Charlotte, stop in and sample their food. They are at 6024A The Plaza.
thanks..…delicious..iam going to prepare it soon..
Hi my fellow nigerians. I have come here to tell you guys that I also enjoy chin chin. I make them for weddings and for all my family. I dont like the ones they sell at the african market because they are just too hard. I acutally put a recipe up on recipezaar a couple of months back. If you guys want to check out the recipe go to recipezaar and type chin chin. Click the chin chin that says Emmanuel1234. Try my recipe guys, I hope you enjoy. I also have puff puff recipe up there. I guarantee you guys the best quality. Every ingredient I put down I have tested and I made sure it is the best. I dont need any profit, I really just love to help people in what ever way that I can. Tell me what you think about it. But then again I am talking to a bunch of nigerians that also know how to make everything I make so if you have any advice feel free to let me know. Take care my brothers and sisters.
Thank you, Emmanuel! I will certainly check out your recipes. I am tinkering with chin-chin recipes myself lately, and am interested that you don’t like the hard chin-chin, because my family doesn’t either. They prefer softer but still crunchy. However, is the hard chin-chin more “Nigerian”? Or is it just a matter of preference? I know there are as many different variations on the recipe as there are ethnic groups in Nigeria, and that is a lot. Thanks for your comments!!
Yeah I believe it is up to preference. Some nigerians dont like baking powder in their chin chin. This will make the chin chin hard. But I add baking powder to make it softer but still crunchy. Sometimes I bite those chin chin from the african market and my tooth feels like it is going to fall off lol. But I guess you will eat less if it it harder to chew. So less caloric intake. It is definately up to preference. But yeah if you try it, tell me what you think. Thanks
All the other chin-chin I’ve tasted is either too oily, too salty or just plain nasty. This chin-chin is the real deal and Mrs. Wey (the lady who makes this chin-chin & owns the restaurant) is starting to sell this stuff nationwide, if that’s any hint to how good this is. Recipe Collector: you should definitely stop by her restaurant if you’re ever in Charlotte, she always has chin-chin.
I agree, Laydebugg, this chin-chin was very tasty!!
I’ve never had mass produced chin-chin either. but homemade is awesome. and yes it is absolutely nothing like crackers, i cant even imagine compairing the two. if i had to compare it to something, i’d compare it to a cookie. And the chin-chin in the picture looks bigger than i’ve ever seen it.
African Chin Chin Eater – I’ll bet your homemade chin chin is good. Do you have a recipe that you would like to share?
My mom, brothers, and i used to make chin chin when we were kids i ve never had mass produced chin chin but homemade is still yummy
I agree that chin-chin are not the same as crackers. They have a much more rich and buttery taste. I have made chin-chin and served them as a dessert, but the commercial ones that I buy are clearly meant as snack food. Azuka, I’d love to hear more about when and how you eat chin-chin, and whether you make it as well.
Chin Chin is not street food and it is different from crackers. It is like comparing Apples and Oranges. Chin Chin is very different from crackers and has a very different taste. The taste is dependent on how it is made. For example, homemade chin chin have a different taste from those that are mass produced.
Yummy! I wonder how it is different from the usual crackers that I buy from the bakeshops. I’m sure this would really taste good. I’m gonna try this.