A teardrop-shaped croquette of shredded chicken wrapped in a dough made with its own stock, breaded and fried.
What makes it coxinha
A dough of flour cooked in chicken stock.
Shredded chicken, often with requeijão or catupiry.
Shaped like a drumstick, breaded and deep-fried.
Where it comes from
The name means 'little thigh', for its shape. One well-loved story says it was first made for a child of the royal family who would eat only chicken thighs; it's almost certainly a legend.
What's clearer is that it became the standard snack of São Paulo's lanchonetes and bakeries as the city grew in the twentieth century, and from there the whole country's.