If you are Nigerian or have attended any fancy Nigerian wedding reception, you know that one of the first things you are served is small chops. Small chops are essential components of Nigerian cuisine, perfect as appetizers or snacks for various occasions.
We love the Christmas season for various reasons, one of those reasons being the food! Well you might have that one relative that joined team fitfam and won’t eat the soup you artistically prepared or the kids that need snacks before the main course. This recipe is fitfam approved.
Nigerian Spring Rolls
An essential component of small chops are Nigerian spring rolls.
So what makes Nigerian spring rolls “Nigerian”? Well, I am not sure, but I know Nigerian spring rolls tend to have some type of meat in it (even though the meat may be omitted to your taste), and they usually have that extra spicy kick that Nigerians love.
You will most likely find them featured as small chops in any Nigerian wedding you might happen to attend so look out for them!
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Ingredients:
- 1 lb Ground turkey (could be substituted with ground beef or ground chicken)
- 1 medium carrot (shredded)
- ½ small cabbage (shredded)
- ½ medium onion (sliced)
- 1 clove garlic (chopped)
- 2 tbsp oil
- 25 spring roll sheets (medium)
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper (hot pepper)
- Oil (for deep frying)
Spring Roll Sealing Paste:
- 1 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp water
Instructions:
Prepare and Cook the Filling
To make the spring roll filling, add in the oil and saute the onions in a large frying pan for 2-3 minutes on medium heat until it is translucent. Add in the chopped garlic and continue to saute for another 2 minutes. Add in the ground turkey, and turn up the heat to high. Continue to saute, making sure to constantly stir the contents of the pot until the meat changes color from pink to brown.
Once the meat is browned, add in the soy sauce, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Turn the heat down to medium and continue to saute for another 2- 3 minutes. Add in the shredded cabbage and carrots, turn the heat back up to high, and continue to stir fry for another 5 minutes. Be sure to keep stirring to make sure the contents of the pan do not burn. Feel free to turn the heat down to medium if it shows signs of burning. After 5 minutes, the cabbage and carrots should have shrunken. Turn the heat off, and set the spring roll filling aside and allow to cool completely.
Mix the Sealing Paste
Just before assembling the spring rolls, simply mix the 1 tbsp flour with 1 tbsp water to form a thick flour paste.
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Assemble the Spring Roll Wrappers
To prep the spring rolls, once the spring roll filling is completely cooled, fill and fold the spring rolls wrappers with 1 table spoon of the filling for one sheet (do not over stuff the spring rolls), following the steps pictured, using the flour paste. Be sure to keep the remaining spring roll wrappers under a damp (not wet) cloth so they do not dry out. Cover the prepped spring rolls with clear wrap and set aside until they are ready to fry. You may freeze them on a try, and once completely frozen, pack into a zipper back or container to store if they will not be used immediately.
Steps:
- Place filling close to one pointy edge of the wrapper.
- Begin the rolling by placing the short edge over the filling
- Roll the spring rolls tightly to a cigarette style shape till about half of the spring roll wrapper
- Continue rolling by pulling the left or right edges tightly into the center
- Pull the other edge into the center
- Roll the spring roll one more time towards the pointy edge
- Rub a little bit of the flour paste on the remaining pointy edge of the the spring roll
- Continue rolling to seal the spring roll.
- Place all the prepped spring rolls on a tray, and cover with clear wrap until ready to fry so they do not dry out
Fry the Spring Rolls
Once you are ready to fry the spring rolls, heat the oil up to 350 to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (about 177- 190 degrees Celsius) for frying in a frying pan. Fry the spring rolls (making sure not to crowd the frying pan), for 5-7 minutes, turning in between, until it is golden brown. Once the spring rolls are golden brown, take them out of the oil, drain, and allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.
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Nigerian Spring Roll Nutrition
The nutritional information for a serving of a single Nigerian spring roll is shown below with the assumption of 10% oil retention on deep fried foods.
| Nutrient | Value |
|---|---|
| Calories | 54.5kcal |
Puff Puff
Puff puff, puff puff and more puff puff. You can never have too much puff puff. Jazz it up with pepper to create spicy puff puff, you can also add in cocoa powder for chocolate puff puff.
Instructions:
- In a clean bowl, combine salt, sugar and yeast with warm water. Set aside for 5 - 10 minutes.
- Then add in your flour and mix until you get rid of lumps.
- Cover mix with an airtight lid. Leave mixture to rise for a minimum of two hours.
- After two hours, in a deep frying pan, add in your oil (enough to deep fry). Too little oil will make your puff puff flat.
- Heat up the oil on high heat and then lower. Test to see if oil is hot enough, by dropping a ball of batter. If the puff puff does not sink and starts to form, then you are good to go.
- Repeat this step, until there is no more space for more batter.
- When the puff puff starts to cook, it will turn over by itself. Fry puff puff till golden brown.
- Use a large spoon to remove puff puff from oil and place on a paper towel lined plate. This will help soak up all the excess oil.
- You can serve the puff puff on its own hot, or roll in powdered sugar if you have a sweet tooth.
Gizdodo
Gizdodo! This is an increasingly popular dish in Nigerian homes and parties. It is usually served with rice dishes but it also makes a perfect “small chops” snack or starter at Nigerian parties. Gizdodo is simply peppered Gizzard and Plantain. It’s the awesome fusion of Chicken Gizzard, Fried Plantain and Spicy Tomato Stew, what’s not to love?
Pour 1 cooking spoon vegetable oil into a pot, place on a hob on medium heat. Decant some of the oil if you end up with too much, now add the chopped peppers and onions, sauté for a further 3 minutes…. Tip; It’s better to add the stew to the plantain instead of the other way round so you can control the amount of stew which goes in.
Other Small Chops Ideas
- YamGizDodo is simply a twist to the increasingly popular Nigerian GizDodo recipe. YamGizDodo is a yummy fusion of Chicken Gizzard, Fried Plantain, Fried Yam. and spicy Tomato/Pepper stew.
- Nigerian Chinchin is a popular Nigerian deep fried dough snack. Chinchin can also be baked though the baked version isn’t as popular as the fried version. Chinchin can be prepared hard, soft or in between.
- Nigerian Doughnuts are simply Nigerian style Doughnuts. For me, nothing beats home-made Doughnuts, they are simply delicious and rewarding, well, for the hard work and effort put into them.
- Spicy Peppered Pork is simply tastily fried or grilled Pork infused with a Spicy Pepper Sauce.
- Dodo Ikire, yes!!! Remember my secondary school days when we’d travel through the Lagos toll gate and I would just binge on Dodo Ikire like no man’s business.
- Barbecued Chicken …Yess! Yes, I love my Chicken, funny how I hardly cook with Chicken, in fact, I don’t use Chicken for any Nigerian soups or stews, I’ll only eat them grilled or roasted or for intercontinental sauces.
- Nigerian suya is a very popular Nigerian street food snack. It is simply skewered meats covered with a spicy peanut spice mix and roasted to perfection. Beef or Chicken can be used for Nigerian Suya.
- Spicy Grilled Fish was requested by a lovely Instagram follower last week.
- Stovetop Popcorn is pretty much Popcorn made on a Stove (Hob) as opposed to using a Popcorn machine or microwave. When making Stovetop Popcorn, it’s advisable to use a heavy base saucepan/pot (Stainless steel preferably) to prevent accidents.
- Peri Peri Chicken or Piri Piri Chicken is a popular Portuguese chicken recipe. Peri Peri Chicken is prepared with a marinade made with African Bird’s Eye Chilli also known as Piri Piri. Now, you know how the name came about.
- Scotch Eggs are one of my favourite Nigerian snacks ever.
- My absolute best are Nigerian Chicken Pies, followed quite closely by Nigerian Meat Pies.
- Nigerian Assorted Peppered Meats is a Nigerian party style peppered meats recipe. A party is never complete without Nigerian assorted Peppered Meats on the menu. Assorted Peppered meats are basically grilled or fried meats infused into spicy pepper sauce.
- Yaji Spice Beef Fajitas - When Nigerian Suya meets Mexican Fajitas! This is simply a twist to the all too popular Mexican Steak Fajitas. It is a Yaji / Suya Spice infused Steak Fajitas recipe.
- If you love chicken and are somewhat of a sweet tooth, then this Honey Glazed Chicken recipe is just for you.
- Crispy fried chicken, what’s not to love? This is my go-to crispy fried chicken recipe, it’s easy and guarantees a satisfactory result each time.
- Nigerian Chicken pie! I’m sure you’re wondering why I’ve got a Chicken Pie recipe up barely two weeks after putting up a Nigerian meat pie recipe.
- Nigerian Meat Pie is my go-to Nigerian pastry. I always make sure I’ve got them stored away in my freezer so I can easily reach for them whenever I begin to crave junk food.
Quick and easy to make. This is a favorite in our home as it can be completely customized to suit the season/ mood. Make use of an array of protein including beef, chicken, fish, turkey, even shrimps.
We took this street food and tried a remix. It tasted great, looked pretty as well. Jazz up your small-chops platter with this reimagined version of boli and epa.
If you have trouble finding wrap, you can make yours from scratch.
These spicy and delicious Nigerian spring rolls are an essential favorite of Nigerian small chops (hors d'oeuvres) commonly served in Nigerian parties and events.
