Camp Chin Chin
Fried nutmeg dough squares, mixed at home and cut small so they crisp fast over a fire.
- calories
- 420
- weight
- 3 oz
- cal / oz
- 140
- protein
- 7 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 25 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total time
- 40 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Snack
- Dessert
- Campfire coals
- Liquid fuel
- Canister stove
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Backpacking
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| All-purpose flour | 400 g | plus a handful for dusting |
|---|---|---|
| Butter or margarine | 100 g | stick margarine holds up out of a cooler |
| Granulated sugar | 1/2 cup | |
| Powdered whole egg | 2 tbsp | stands in for 1 egg; add 3 tbsp water with it |
| Evaporated milk | 1/3 cup | small can, shelf-stable until opened |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp | |
| Ground nutmeg | 1 tsp | |
| Vegetable oil | 2 cups | for frying; depth matters more than volume |
Method
- At home, whisk the flour, sugar, salt, nutmeg, and egg powder together and bag it. Cut the butter in with your fingers until the mix looks like coarse sand, then seal it.
- In camp, add the evaporated milk and 3 tbsp water to the bag or a pot and work it into a stiff dough. It should be firm, not sticky. Add flour a spoonful at a time if it clings.
- Dust a cutting board or a clean stuff sack panel and roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch. Cut it into small squares with a knife.
- Pour oil into the pot to a depth of about an inch and heat it over the fire or stove until a scrap of dough sizzles and floats within a few seconds.
- Fry in small batches, stirring so they brown evenly. Three to four minutes a batch. Pull them when they are deep gold, not pale.
- Drain on a bandana or paper towel and let them cool fully. They crisp as they cool, not in the pot.
This is a Nigerian party snack, and the only thing standing between it and a trail food is the fridge. The egg becomes powdered egg, the milk is evaporated milk out of a can, and the butter gets cut into the flour at home so all you are doing in camp is adding liquid and rolling. That also means the fat is already distributed, which is what makes the dough short and snappy instead of tough.
Oil depth is the whole game. An inch is enough to float the squares and hold its temperature through a batch; less than that and they sit on the bottom, soak, and come out heavy. Cut the pieces small and uniform so they cook through before the outside darkens. They will seem soft when you pull them out. Wait until they are cold before you decide.
Packing
The dry mix with the butter already cut in rides in one quart freezer bag; keep it cool and it will not go greasy. Evaporated milk in its own can. Oil in a leakproof bottle, double-bagged. Cooled chin chin goes into a hard container or it turns to crumbs on day two.
Variations
- Cut the nutmeg with cinnamon or add a splash of vanilla to the milk.
- Bake the squares in a dutch oven at moderate heat for 20 minutes if you would rather not pack frying oil. They come out drier and more biscuit-like.
- Add 2 tbsp powdered coconut milk to the dry mix for a richer batch.
https://blog.9jakitchen.com/how-to-make-nigerian-chin-chin-crunchy-snack