Brazilian Coxinha Recipe – Fried Chicken Dumplings

Garlic Butter

I love me some Parmesan Basil Garlic Butter and have plenty coming at you for garlic butter recipes. However, I want to finish up a few of the Brazilian Recipes I’ve made recently, especially this one: coxinha.

Brazil

There are so many things I miss about living in Brazil. I miss the fresh fruit and endless varieties to be found, the hand-laid brookstone (in Portuguese its known as paralelipido which is probably the funnest Brazilian word to say). I miss the street vendors with the delicious aroma of their questionable mystery meats floating through the air. And most of all, I miss the daily french bread made fresh by bakeries on almost any corner. At a select few of these bakeries can be found some sweet treats known as brigadeiro or mousse de maracujá or some savory snacks such as empanadas or coxinhas.

Coxinha (Co-sheen-yuh)

What is a coxinha exactly? I guess in English the best way to describe this salty treat is a deep fried shredded chicken dumpling. Typically you could find them at the padarías (bakeries) around the neighborhood and sometimes in a select few other areas. They are usually served with hot sauce and mayonnaise should you want either of them. I usually went for the homemade hot sauce. Today, I don’t mind putting some Tapatío on them.

Being a deep fried food, this is by no means a healthy recipe, however, it is a super tasty one, you’ll just have to plan a little extra gym time. You’re going to make it in two parts. First the dough. And then you make the shredded chicken. You wrap the chicken in a teardrop shape and then deep fry them. If you want to make them ahead of time, you can freeze them and then drop them in the fryer frozen when you’re ready to serve them.

Brazilian Coxinha Recipe – Fried Chicken Dumplings

Recipe by Chef ShamyCourse: Appetizers

Prep time

40

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 quart vegetable oil (for frying)

• 3 1/2 Cups chicken broth

• 1 Onion

• 1 Carrot

• 1 stick of celery

• 1 Large chicken breast

• 8 oz package of cream cheese

• 1 Garlic clove

• Salt and pepper

• 1/2 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

• 2 Cups All -purpose flour

• 1 Egg

• 1 Tablespoon whole milk

• 1 Cup regular flavored bread crumbs

Directions

• In a large pot or fryer, preheat oil to 350 degrees
• Quarter the onion and celery and peeled carrot and combine with the broth into a large pot. Bring to a simmering boil. Carefully add the chicken, cover and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for about 12 minutes, or until just cooked through. Turn off the heat and leave the liquid, but remove the chicken. Let chicken cool for about 10 minutes.
• With two forks, shred the chicken. Combine in mixing bowl with cream cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.
• Strain 1 1/2 Cups of the liquid you in which you poached the chicken. Combine with oil in new saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and immediately stir in flour until dough forms. Put on lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes until smooth.
• Roll out dough to about 1″ thick and use a cookie cutter or cup to cut out rounds about 4″-5″ in diameter. Place a small amount (about 1 1/2 Tablespoon) of the shredded chicken mixture in the center of the round. Seal the dough together by pinching it, forming a teardrop shape.
• In a small bowl, lightly whisk eggs and milk together and place bread crumbs in another bowl. Carefully dip the dough in the egg mixture and then the bread crumbs, coating the entire dumpling. Fry in oil for about 7-9 minutes or until a golden brown. Dry on paper towels and lightly salt while still hot.