''Coxinha'' (, ''little hickenthigh'') is a popular food in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

of Paulista origin which consists of chopped or shredded

chicken meat The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...

, covered in

dough Dough is a malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from flour (which itself is made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops). Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes ...

, molded into a shape resembling a teardrop, battered and fried.

History

''Coxinhas'' were originally made with any part of the chicken, and its traditional shape is meant to resemble a drumstick. In its modern processed form, it may have originated in

Limeira Limeira is a city in the eastern part of the Brazilian state of São Paulo. With a population of approximately 291,869 people (2022 IBGE.) and covering an area of 581 square kilometers, it sits at an elevation of 588 meters. The city is situated 1 ...

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, in the 19th century. In the book ''Stories & Recipes'', Nadir Cavazin says that the son of

Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil '' Dona'' Isabel (29 July 1846 – 14 November 1921), called "the Redemptress", was the Princess Imperial ( heiress presumptive to the throne) of the Empire of Brazil and the Empire's regent on three occasions. Born in Rio de Janeiro as th ...

(1846–1921) and

Prince Gaston, Count of Eu Prince Gaston of Orleans, Count of Eu (; 28 April 1842 – 28 August 1922) was a French prince and military commander who fought in the Hispano–Moroccan War (1859–1860), Hispano-Moroccan War and the Paraguayan War. He was the first son o ...

, a child who lived in seclusion for having mental problems, had a favorite dish, chicken, but only ate the drumstick. One day, not having enough drumsticks, the cook decided to turn a whole chicken into drumsticks, nop for a flour dough shaped into a drumstick. The child endorsed the results. Empress Teresa Cristina, when she was visiting him, could not resist the tasty delicacy; she liked it so much that she requested that the master of the imperial kitchen learn how to prepare the snack.

Preparation

The ''coxinha'' is based on dough made with wheat flour and chicken broth and optionally mashed potato, which is filled with shredded spiced chicken meat or a whole chicken drumstick. The filling consists of

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...

, catupiry cheese or requeijão and

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classifie ...

parsley Parsley, or garden parsley (''Petroselinum crispum''), is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae that is native to Greece, Morocco and the former Yugoslavia. It has been introduced and naturalisation (biology), naturalized in Eur ...

and

scallion Scallions (also known as green onions and spring onions) are edible vegetables of various species in the genus ''Allium''. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions. Their close relatives include garlic, shallots, leeks, chive ...

s, and occasionally

tomato sauce Tomato sauce (; ; ) can refer to many different sauces made primarily from tomatoes. In some countries the term refers to a sauce to be served as part of a dish, in others it is a condiment. Tomatoes have a rich flavor, high water content, s ...

turmeric Turmeric (), or ''Curcuma longa'' (), is a flowering plant in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. It is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia that requires temperatures between and high ...

. The ''coxinha'' is coated in batter, then in

bread crumbs Breadcrumbs are a culinary ingredient consisting of flour or crumbled bread of varying dryness, sometimes with seasonings added. They are used for a variety of purposes, including breading or crumbing foods before frying (such as breaded cut ...

manioc ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

flour and deep fried. It is shaped to roughly resemble a chicken drumstick. The dough used to coat the filling is generally prepared with the broth of the chicken, enhancing the flavor of the coating.

Variations

Different variations of the original are becoming more prevalent today – for example, the ''coxinha mineira'', for which the filling includes maize, so named because

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

is deemed a culinary tradition in the state of

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

, as well as areas where the caipira and sertanejo dialects are spoken. Cheese ''coxinhas'' are also very common in snack bars. In

Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Southern Brazil. The city's population was 1,773,718 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the larg ...

, chicken ''coxinhas'' filled with cheddar and Araucaria nuts can be found in local restaurants. To mark the cheese, they usually have a toothpick where the bone would be in a chicken ''coxinha''. Coxinhassemfritar

Other unconventional ingredients, generally used for home-made ''coxinhas'' made by aficionados, include

pea Pea (''pisum'' in Latin) is a pulse or fodder crop, but the word often refers to the seed or sometimes the pod of this flowering plant species. Peas are eaten as a vegetable. Carl Linnaeus gave the species the scientific name ''Pisum sativum' ...

s, chopped button mushrooms, palmheart,

carrot The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in colour, though heirloom variants including purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild ...

, cooked and seasoned

cashew apples Cashew is the common name of a tropical evergreen tree ''Anacardium occidentale'', in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to South America and is the source of the cashew nut and the cashew apple, an accessory fruit. The tree can grow as tal ...

, unripe

jackfruit The jackfruit or ''nangka'' (''Artocarpus heterophyllus'') is a species of tree in the Common fig, fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family (Moraceae). The jackfruit is the largest tree fruit, reaching as much as in weight, in length, and in d ...

or unripe

breadfruit Breadfruit (''Artocarpus altilis'') is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit family ( Moraceae) believed to have been selectively bred in Polynesia from the breadnut ('' Artocarpus camansi''). Breadfruit was spread into ...

, as well as whole-wheat flour batter or even a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

version of either

textured vegetable protein Textured or texturized vegetable protein (TVP), also known as textured soy protein (TSP), soy meat, or soya chunks, is a defatted soy flour product, a by-product of extracting soybean oil. It is often used as a meat analogue or Meat extenders, ...

(soy meat) or

falafel Falafel (; , ) is a deep-fried ball or patty-shaped fritter of Egyptian origin that features in Middle Eastern cuisine, particularly Levantine cuisines. It is made from ground fava beans, chickpeas, or both, and mixed with herbs and spic ...

with appropriate seasonings so its taste resembles a traditional coxinha more closely. These variants are rarely found in snack bars.

Related foods

''Coxinha'' literally means "little thigh", and it is how deep-fried chicken legs are informally named in Brazil (''coxa frita'' means a deep-fried chicken leg, while ''sobrecoxa frita'' stands for a deep-fried upper drumstick; It is not uncommon for people having a strong preference for certain

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of harvesting animal products such as meat, Eggs as food, eggs or feathers. The practice of animal husbandry, raising poultry is known as poultry farming. These birds are most typ ...

cuts over others). Battered and deep-fried chicken breast pieces, for example, are generally called by the name of English influence, nugget.

Political term

Starting in

, the word "" has been used as an insult, now referring loosely to people who display a

lavish ''Clancy'' is the seventh studio album by the American musical duo Twenty One Pilots, released on May 24, 2024, through Fueled by Ramen and Elektra Records. Titled after the protagonist introduced in their fifth studio album, ''Trench'' (2018) ...

but dull lifestyle and hold conservative

political Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

opinions, and also

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

officers.

References

External links

Coxinha recipe

The Rich History of Coxinha
{{Street food Brazilian cuisine Snack foods Street food Chicken dishes Deep fried foods Stuffed dishes