chimichangas

I did a surprise attack on my boss and coworker, serving them chimichangas. This was my first time ever making chimichangas, which are basically big, fried burritos. I learned a few things while making them. First, the tortillas fry fast: thirty seconds, and you're ready to flip. Second, don't put too much filling into each tortilla, or it'll be too hard to close. Third and most important: if you don't want your chimichangas (or burritos, for that matter) to come out looking flat the way mine did, you have to tighten as you roll—something I'll do next time. And a bonus pro tip: microwave or bake your chimichangas before you deep-fry them: they're not in the oil long enough to do much more than melt the cheese. I had cooked all the elements that went into my tortillas, but the interior was unsatisfyingly cool even after the shallow-fry, and I had to microwave my tortilla to get it to a decent temperature.

The boss said his chimichanga was good; my Korean coworker quietly threw half of his away, probably because he'd been defeated by the refried beans.

The pic below shows the ingredients going into the tortillas: refried beans, my version of "Mexican" rice, chorizo, and some crema. I ended up pan-frying the beans after adding a bit of jalapeño juice and crema in order to soften the beans' texture, making them spoonable. The crema was a mix of sour cream and yogurt, plus jalapeño juice, garlic + onion powder, salt, harissa powder, and cilantro. The result was unwontedly magnificent. The rice, too, ended up being awesome: I used regular Korean long-grain rice, fresh cilantro, diced red and green chili peppers, onion flakes, and a bit of fresh garlic. This, too, was far better than expected.

A closeup of the beans before I softened them:

Rice, up close:

Chorizo:

Crema (a bit liquidy thanks to the addition of the jalapeño juice):

The twelve-inch (it bizarrely says "12-foot") tortillas:

A package of mixed "pizza cheeses" from my building's grocery:

The refried beans, after they'd been tamed:

Not enough room on the sides for a proper tuck-in:

And the volume of ingredients was a bit too much:

My flattened rectangles, all packed up with the crema:

At the office, I shallow-fried the ugliest chimichanga for myself:

That's technically the bottom.

My boss's plate, jazzed up with homemade salsa, crema, and store-bought jalapeños:

My plate:

Looks hilariously bad. I'll do better next time.