Typical Brazilian street food, similar to “our” Sicilian arancini, the coxinha, which in Portuguese means “little chicken thigh”, is traditionally filled with boiled and shredded chicken, but can also be stuffed with Catupiry cheese cream and vegetables.
Molded to resemble a chicken drumstick, it is breaded with breadcrumbs and fried in hot oil.
It is said to have originated in the 19th century to satisfy the whims of the son of Princess Isabel, daughter and heir of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil, who wanted to eat only the chicken thighs, even when there were none.
We had it in a “mini” version (see photo) at the restaurant “O ‘Cacau” in Trancoso.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 60 mini coxinhas
- Cooking methods: Frying
- Cuisine: Brazilian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 1.54 lbs chicken (boneless)
- 1 onion
- 3.17 cups chicken broth
- 1 carrot
- to taste parsley
- to taste salt and pepper
- to taste olive oil
- 3.17 cups chicken broth
- 2 egg yolks
- 1.06 cups milk
- 1.10 lbs flour
- 3.53 oz vegetable margarine
- salt
- 2 eggs
- to taste flour
- to taste breadcrumbs
- to taste salt
- to taste vegetable oil
Preparation
For the filling:
Sauté the onion in a drizzle of olive oil until translucent.
Add the chicken and chicken broth, pepper, and salt, and brown for a few more minutes.
For the dough:
In a saucepan, add the milk, margarine, chicken broth, and egg yolks, and stir until the margarine and broth have melted.
Adjust salt.
Add the flour and mix with a wooden spoon until the dough detaches from the pot.
Pour onto a flat surface and knead. Allow to cool.
Assembly and frying:
Roll the dough into a circle, fill with a bit of chicken, and close it into a bundle, shaping it into a “coxinha”.
In one plate, beat the egg and set aside, in another plate, place the flour.
Dip the coxinha first in the egg and then in the breadcrumbs, making sure all sides are well covered and breaded.
Fry in very hot oil.
Sprinkle with salt.
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You can try reading in Portuguese the drama that tells the story of the creation of the coxinha:
