Christmas Chin Chin'
I have very fond memories of my childhood particularly at Christmas time….
There was always something magical about Christmas; all that joy and merriment as well as the anticipation of guests and what you would give, share and of course as children, what we would receive!
My earliest memories of kitchen “duty” was in helping in chin chin making. At Christmas, our dear Aunt Kate who had a side business of making and selling chin chin would arrive at our home to spearhead the chin chin making routine. She would usually arrive late afternoon with the ingredients and would stay over.
At the crack of dawn, we’ll be up to get the process underway; flour, butter, sugar, baking powder, freshly grated nutmeg …It was starting to smell like Christmas! Crack eggs, add water, mix mix, knead, knead!
…And our work had just begun because, with the help of Aunt Kate, we had just mixed a large bowl full of chin chin dough and all that dough needed to be cut and that was a task that saw us chopping and chowing down gummy dough in the process till just before dinner time when we could then heave a sigh of relief when the last tray of dough had been cut and fried! We had just made buckets of homemade chin chin, enough to serve all our guests and ourselves (we had a relatively large home; mum and dad, five kids, nanny and an average of 2 in-house relatives) throughout Christmas until about the middle of January when the last few bits are scooped from the last 5 litre bucket!
The whole process of spending a whole day making chin chin, although tiring to the point where i felt like my hand wanted to break (Lol!) from all that chopping and filling tray after tray after tray with the sweet gummy dough was such a fun time and brought everyone in the house together in the dining room, working together with stories and laughter for a full day!
This is indeed one of those Christmas routines that i would like to see come alive again in my own home and maybe yours too!
Today, i make chin chin using different recipes and in different shapes and sizes but this chin chin recipe as well as the size is the very one that takes me back to Christmas time in my childhood….
Here goes the print ready recipe. Enjoy!
Christmas Chin Chin!
Ingredients
- 500grams Flour
- 100grams Butter or Margarine
- 125grams Granulated Sugar
- 50grams Powdered Milk
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons Freshly Grated Nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 Large Egg, Whisked
- 10 tablespoons Cold Water
- Vegetable Oil for Deep Frying
Instructions
- Place flour in a large bowl and using your fingertips, mix butter into flour until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add sugar, powdered milk, salt, nutmeg and baking powder. Stir until thoroughly mixed. Make a well in the center of flour mix then add eggs and cold water. Gently mix flour mix into the liquid until thoroughly combined. You should have a firm dough that is not too soft but pliable. Knead lightly.
- Divide dough into 6 equal rounds then roll each round out on a floured surface using a rolling pin or pastry roller, one at a time, to about ½ centimeter thick and then slice through vertically into 1cm strips then chop. Place chopped pastry bits on floured trays so they don't stick to the surface.
- Heat oil properly in a large sauce pan and then turn down heat to medium low (which would ensure that the chin chin doesn't brown too quickly and is properly cooked in the center so its nice and crunchy) and fry chin chin in small batches until golden brown. Remove with a spoon and place on kitchen paper to drain off excess oil. Allow to cool completely before transferring into airtight containers.
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