Southwest Fried Eggrolls

Chili’s

At this point, it’s impossible to think of Chili’s without picturing the character of Fat Bastard from Austin Powers singing ‘baby back ribs’ in the second movie. In fact, my first visit to Chili’s way back in the late 1990s involved ordering a half rack of baby back ribs and fries with a Dr. Pepper. I was in food heaven.

On my second visit, I perused the menu and decided up on their Southwestern Eggrolls served with a side of avocado-ranch. After that first bite, I was hooked and always made sure that it was my go to appetizer if I happened to find myself at Chili’s. Nowadays, it’s cheaper to eat at Chili’s than McDonald’s at this point and even cheaper to make these at home.

Ingredients

• Chinese eggroll wrappers (I got mine at Dong Phuong Oriental Food here in Amarillo)
• Rotisserie Chicken
• 1 corn on the cob (you can substitute canned corn)
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 green onion
• Pepper jack cheese
• 1 can of black beans
• 1 clove of garlic
• a handful of baby spinach
• Salt and Pepper to taste

For the Avocado-Ranch

• 1 cup of mayo
• 1/2 cup of buttermilk
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 Serrano pepper
• 1 Jalapeño pepper ( you can leave out the peppers, i just like a little kick to my ranch)
• 1 teaspoon of onion powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Small bunch of cilantro
• 1/2 of a large avocado (don’t leave this out!)
• 1 tablespoon of freshly chopped chives
• the juice from 1/2 a lime

Instructions

Combine all the ingredients for the avocado-ranch in a blender until mixed thoroughly. You can adjust the buttermilk and mayo amounts for the desired consistency. Place in the fridge and let it set for 2 hours.

For the Eggrolls

Finely dice the red bell pepper and green onion. Try to achieve a consistent size as this will allow it to cook evenly. I also lightly roasted my corn on the cob (just a personal preference). In a stainless steel pan, I added avocado oil along with the rest of the ingredients needed to fill the eggroll. Salt and pepper to taste. For the chicken, I was lazy and just purchased a rotisserie chicken from the local supermarket which I then shredded and diced a little to match the size of the vegetables. I added the baby spinach last and covered the pan until it cooked through.

Once the filling has cooled down, take one eggroll wrapper making sure to moisten all the sides, and add shredded pepper jack cheese along with a generous amount of filling. If the wrapper breaks during the roll up process, feel free to double up on wrappers. Ensure all corners are neatly tucked and tightly wrapped.

Preheat oil to 350°F (I used canola oil) and fry in small batches. I kept it to 3 eggrolls so as not to crowd the fryer and drop the temperature too low. Fry for approximately 4-5 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oil and place on paper towels or a rack to remove excess frying oil.

The hardest thing about making these is waiting for them to cool down before plunging them into the avocado-ranch and take the first bite.

Enjoy!