Here’s a little something you can do if you’re craving for a unique finger food–the Macaroni Chicharon! This is a healthier substitute for the more popular snack here in the Philippines, the pork chicharon. This is a good snack anytime you want, especially if you skip the sun drying part.
It can be for afternoon snacks, movie marathons with your friends, or beer night with your buddies. Read below to find out more information like cooking tips and suggestions.
What is Crunchy Macaroni Chicharon?
Macaroni Chicharon is a snack here in the Philippines which is growing in popularity because it is easy to make. It is an alternative for its more popular counterpart–the pork chicharon, but unlike that, this is a much healthier substitute.
It is made out of just the macaroni which is then dried or is coated with batter and then seasoned with flavorings depending on the preference.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Pasta
In this recipe, we use the elbow macaroni as our choice to make into a chicharon. If these are not available, you can use an alternative similar to this, such as the penne pasta.
Penne is the extruded type of pasta that comes in cylinder-shaped pieces, it is very much similar to an elbow macaroni in texture–just without the elbow-shape.
Spice
The macaroni chicharon is best to eat with a dash of spiciness, so it is recommended that you put at least a small amount of chili powder into the mix and you can adjust it depending on how spicy you want it to be.
But if you avoid spicy food as much as possible, it is fine if you remove that and replace it with other alternatives such as garlic powder or onion powder.
Macaroni Chicharon Flavoring
The most popular flavor you can add to the macaroni chicharon is the cheese powder–but really–the sky’s the limit when it comes to the flavoring of this snack.
You can use flavorings similar to the more popular snack, french fries. This includes barbecue powder and sour cream powder. Other options you can choose are chili powder, or even some plain ol’ salt.
Sauces in which you dip the traditional chicharon is also welcome.
Aside from these, we will also be using other regular pantry ingredients like flour, salt, black pepper, and cooking oil. If you are filling up your pantry, here’s a handy shopping guide:
Equipment You’ll Need
- Cooking Pot (Kaldero)- Since we will be using store-bought dried macaroni pasta, we will need a cooking pot or any deep casserole or pan to boil and cook it.
- Cooking Pan (Kawali)- We will also fry the macaroni pasta after, and we will need a regular kawali or cooking pan. Alternatively, you can use any pan deep enough to fry or use an air fryer.
In need of kitchen tools and equipment? Read this before you buy:
How to Make Macaroni Chicharon
Making this unique and delicious snack is easy as pie!
The whole procedure can be broken down into three processes, to make it easier to visualize how we want to prepare it: First, we have to cook the macaroni. It is straightforward and you can just follow the package instructions. Second, we have two options–to sun dry the macaroni or to mix it with a coating to turn it to chicharon. And last, we have to deep fry the macaroni and add some flavoring to it.
Sun-dried or Not?
There are two options to go about when preparing the macaroni chicharon. In this recipe, you have the freedom to choose which one you prefer to do.
There is no significant difference which method you choose, but sun drying is the “more natural” method of preparing the macaroni chicharon, although it takes a lot of time before you can actually eat the snack.
Other Macaroni Recipes
For a quick reference about this recipe, see the recipe table below:
Crunchy Macaroni Chicharon Recipe
Equipment
- Cooking Pot
- Cooking Pan
Ingredients
- 250 g (8.8 lbs) elbow macaroni
- 2 tsp salt
- 5 cups water, or as needed, for boiling
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
Without Sun-drying Ingredients
- ½ cup flour
- ½ tsp chili powder, (optional)
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 cups cooking oil, or as needed, for frying
Flavoring
- cheese powder
Instructions
- In a cooking pot, pour-in water and bring to a boil.
- Add-in the cooking oil, salt, and elbow macaroni. Cook for 7 to 10 minutes or until soft. A good tip is to cook a minute shorter than the package instructions. (Optional) Sun-dry for 2 days until texture is tough then skip to step 5.
- (If sun-drying is skipped) In a bowl, add-in the flour, chili powder, and salt and pepper as desired. Mix until well-incorporated.
- (If sun-drying is skipped) Add-in the macaroni and then mix until fully coated with the flour mixture.
- In a cooking pan, pour-in and heat the cooking oil over medium to high heat.
- Add-in the macaroni. Cook until crispy and golden brown.
- Transfer to a serving plate or serving tray and coat with cheese powder. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Pin and save this recipe to your Pinterest account! Click on the Pin button above 🙂
Thank you and I hope you find this article useful! It’ll mean a lot if you RATE THE RECIPE by clicking the stars and SHARE THIS TO YOUR FRIENDS! 🙂
