Coxinha de frango — the street salgado
A teardrop-shaped (or chicken drumstick-shaped) croquette: a soft broth-based dough envelops a heart of shredded chicken, breaded and fried to golden. Crispy outside, melting inside — the king of salgados.
A teardrop-shaped (or chicken drumstick-shaped) croquette: a soft broth-based dough envelops a heart of shredded chicken, breaded and fried to golden. Crispy outside, melting inside — the king of salgados.
Ah, a coxinha! When I left class at PUC, or later between meetings at the Câmara, that's what we grabbed at the counter, nice and hot, in a paper napkin. The secret is the well-seasoned shredded chicken inside, and the dough you have to work by hand while it's still warm. You shape it into a little teardrop, bread it, and into the oil. You eat it standing up, talking — it's the food of those who never stop.
- •Chicken (breast preferred) — two breasts (shredded filling)
- •Chicken broth — two cups (dough liquid)
- •Wheat flour — two cups (dough structure)
- •Onion, garlic, tomato — a little (filling seasoning)
- •Egg and breadcrumbs — for breading (crispy crust)
- •Frying oil — a bath (cooking)
Coxinha de frango — the street salgado
A teardrop-shaped (or chicken drumstick-shaped) croquette: a soft broth-based dough envelops a heart of shredded chicken, breaded and fried to golden. Crispy outside, melting inside — the king of salgados.
Why this dish? Coxinha is the essential street snack for every Carioca: you buy it leaving university, at the corner lanchonete, between meetings. For Marielle, a student at PUC-Rio and later a vereadora rushing from one appointment to another, it was the meal on the go, in the neighborhood.
Ah, a coxinha! When I left class at PUC, or later between meetings at the Câmara, that's what we grabbed at the counter, nice and hot, in a paper napkin. The secret is the well-seasoned shredded chicken inside, and the dough you have to work by hand while it's still warm. You shape it into a little teardrop, bread it, and into the oil. You eat it standing up, talking — it's the food of those who never stop.
Ingredients (period version)
- Chicken (breast preferred) — two breasts (shredded filling)
- Chicken broth — two cups (dough liquid)
- Wheat flour — two cups (dough structure)
- Onion, garlic, tomato — a little (filling seasoning)
- Egg and breadcrumbs — for breading (crispy crust)
- Frying oil — a bath (cooking)
Ingredients
- Chicken breasts — 2 (≈400 g) (filling)
- Chicken broth — 500 ml (dough liquid (reserve chicken cooking water))
- Wheat flour — 300 g (dough structure)
- Onion — 1 (filling)
- Garlic — 2 cloves (filling)
- Tomato paste — 1 tbsp (color and flavor of filling)
- Parsley — a few sprigs (freshness)
- Beaten egg + breadcrumbs (farinha de rosca) — for breading (crust)
- Frying oil — 1 liter (cooking)
- Salt, pepper — to taste (seasoning)
Method
- Cook the chicken breasts in salted water, reserve the broth, then shred the meat with a fork.
- Prepare the filling: sauté onion and garlic, add shredded chicken, tomato paste, parsley, salt, pepper. Let cool.
- Prepare the dough: bring 500 ml broth to a boil, add the flour all at once and stir vigorously off heat until a homogeneous dough that pulls away. Let cool slightly and knead by hand.
- Take a ball of dough, flatten it in your palm, place a spoonful of filling, close and shape into a pointed teardrop.
- Dip each coxinha in beaten egg then breadcrumbs.
- Fry in oil at 170 °C until golden brown. Drain on paper and eat hot.
How it was made : Born in São Paulo state in the late 19th century, the coxinha ('little thigh') originally imitated the shape of a chicken drumstick. It became the most popular salgado in the country, the emblem of the lanchonete and boteco: mobile, affordable, democratic food, sold everywhere on the street.
The contemporary twist : 'Catupiry' version: a core of creamy fresh cheese mixed into the chicken as you close the dough — the birthday party coxinha of Cariocas.
Marielle Franco · Charactorium