COXINHA
This iconic Brazilian street food was supposedly developed for a little Brazilian prince who loves chicken drumsticks but on one occasion the royal kitchen ran out of drumsticks so they made something that looked like a drumstick for the little fella!
This recipe has a few steps to it, but its quite delicious at the end product…
Filling
1 small brown onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small carrot, diced
1 whole bbq chicken, skin removed, meat picked and chopped
1 x 225g cream cheese block
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste (you can also add some chicken bouillon powder if you want!)
Dough
2 cups chicken stock
2 tbs butter
1/4 cup mashed potato
2 cups plain flour
Breading / Frying
3 eggs, whisked
Plain flour
Breadcrumbs
Vegetable oil, for frying
Step 1. In a large frying pan saute off the onion, garlic and carrot until all has softened and become aromatic. Add the chicken and stir well to combine. Remove from the pan into a large mixing bowl and add the cream cheese, parsley and seasonings. Mix well to incorporate all the cream cheese into the mix. Set aside until ready to fill.
Step 2. For the dough, heat chicken stock over a medium heat until warm. Add butter and mashed potato and whisk until butter is melted and potato is combined. Continue whisking and slowly add the flour a little at a time. As the dough begins to form replace the whisk for a spatula and continue to work the dough in the pot until it comes together and then remove to a clean floured bench and continue to knead the dough for 5mins.
The dough will be warm / hot so be careful.
You may need to add a little more flour if you feel that the dough is a little sticky.
Step 3. Allow the dough to cool / rest slightly. Set up your crumbing station with flour, egg and bread crumbs in separate bowls.
Step 4. Shape the coxinha. Grab a golf ball sized piece of dough and roll into a ball. Flatten out into a large circle and spoon a tablespoon full of chicken mix into the center. Fold the dough around the chicken mix and then shape in the the classic coxinha shape. Dredge through the breading station and place on a tray until ready to cook. Repeat with the remaining filling and dough.
Step 5. Heat a large pot 3/4 full with vegetable oil to 175C. In batches fry off the coxinha for 5-7mins or until golden and filing is hot inside. Serve hot and enjoy.