CCTV shows 'red hot' Coxinha chicken nugget explode in diner's face 'like napalm' causing burns

CCTV video footage (click to play above) of the bizarre snack attack shows the punter tucking into the tasty teardrop-shaped treat. But as he sinks his teeth into the deep-fried coxinha it explodes sending out a shower of its red-hot chicken filling sticking to his face like napalm.

The snack shop owner Christian de Souza Amaral stands open-mouthed in shock as the dazed customer tries to wipe the burning filling from his face. It later emerged that the customer, not named in local media, had been treated for burns to his mouth.

Amaral explained: "It went off with a sound like a tyre bursting. I was in shock watching the filling sticking to his face. It looked like a bomb."

He added: "We had already fried the coxinha and placed it in the display case. This guy was already there, he was a customer, and he said, 'The coxinha looks nice, doesn’t it?' and asked for one. It had only come out of the fryer about five minutes earlier when we handed it to him."

Bar staff in Curitiba, in the Brazilian state of Parana, on December 1, gave the customer emergency first aid but recommended he go to hospital. It is unclear, though, why the snack exploded so violently.

Coxinha nuggets are a popular Brazilian treat made from shredded chicken covered in breadcrumbs and batter which is then deep-fried.

Bioscience expert Dr Laura Marise explained that if not handled properly, air can build up in the snacks and burst under pressure.

She told local media: "Air can get trapped between the dough and the filling and, during the frying, it may have expanded, but not enough to break through the dough. But when it was bitten, the coxinha must have released all that pressure suddenly, which caused the explosion." Story: NewsX