Southwestern Eggrolls

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You won’t find me at many chain restaurants these days but as a kid, Chili’s, was always a treat. Southwestern eggrolls are just the type of weird invention you’ve come to expect from a corporate boardroom and while I can sometimes be guilty of food smugness, I still have to admit that these have always been a guilty pleasure. Wanting to do something fun to ring in 2021 this year, I decided to try my hand at my own version and I’m happy to report that they were easier to put together than anticipated and were devoured very quickly by the small group I was with.

INGREDIENTS

EGGROLL FILLING (makes about 16 eggrolls):

  • 2 cups shredded chicken (I used a store bought rotisserie chicken)

  • 1 red bell pepper, diced

  • 1 jalapeño, seeded and diced

  • 1 15oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed

  • 1 cup sweet corn (frozen is fine)

  • ¼ cup green onions, chopped

  • 4 oz baby spinach, slightly wilted (frozen also fine)

  • 1 cup Monterey jack cheese, shredded

  • 2 tsp chili powder

  • 2 tsp salt

  • 1 tsp cumin

  • 1 tsp pepper

ADDITIONAL NEEDS:

  • Eggroll wrappers

  • 1 egg

  • 2 TBS whole milk

  • Oil for frying

GO FOR IT

SOUTHWESTERN EGGROLLS:

  1. In a large mixing bowl, combine all eggroll filling ingredients and mix together using your hands, then set aside

  2. In a small bowl, whisk together egg and milk to create an egg wash

  3. Brush eggroll wrappers with egg wash, then fill and fold wrappers with the filling

  4. Heat 1 inch deep of oil in a frying pan or dutch oven to 375°F

  5. Fry eggrolls until golden brown on each side (about 1 to 2 minutes per side depending on thickness of wrapper)

  6. Serve hot a fresh

NOTES:

This really is pretty simple. Your biggest task is simply gathering all the ingredients. What’s even better is that you can also mix and match. If you want to make some slight changes to what goes into your filling, then be my guest.

Be sure to have a dipping sauce on hand for these. I made a chipotle mayo dip and an avocado cream dip. Recipes for both these types of dips can easily be found online or just buy something from the store. These are tasty but don’t need to be as fancy and fresh as a main course. They will go quick at a party either way.

Watch a video on egg roll wrapping. I thought to explain it here but it’s one of those things that’s easier to pick up when seen. It’s pretty simple, though.