Chick’n Chimichangas with Orange Mole Sauce

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It’s been over 9 months since my last post. I’m due.

The following recipe is a testament to the deliciousness of the newly minted tradition of Super Mug Monday. Some back story is needed: my friends Richard and Paul Marc recently moved into a decent new condo building in the King West area of Toronto. Hereafter referred to as The Suburban Embassy (its tenants and frequent guests often hailing from the suburbs west of Toronto). Shortly thereafter, the Embassy became our weekly Monday evening meeting spot to nerd out on fine beers that we had either bought in preparation of our little snob fest or had been procured for us by Bill as a result of his frequent journeys to the States in search of choice American craft brews. In addition to imbibing moderate to large amounts of great beer, we recently started making food, which invariably ended up being deep fried.

For the last Super Mug Monday, I attempted to make us chimichangas, the deep fried version of a burrito popular in Southwestern cuisine. It was something I had wanted to try for a while. The real star of the show in this particular case was the mole sauce which the burritos were smothered in. Mole is typically a chili pepper sauce in Mexican cuisine that often involves chocolate of some sort. The beer pairing was spot on for our chimichangas: the Maharaja Imperial IPA from Avery Brewing Company, based out of Colorado. Delicious malts balanced with strong and bitter hops that had a great floral citrus taste. It went killer with the bright flavours going on in the burrito. Another Super Mug success. Will I have to put these on the menu at Hot Beans? A weekly special perhaps? Chimichanga Tuesday? Chimi Chewsday? All signs point to… maybe.

Orange Mole Sauce
Ingredients:
4 ancho chilis, stems removed
¾ cup orange juice concentrate
1½ cups water
½ small clove garlic, minced
½ cup canola oil
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
Juice of 1 lime
Sea salt, to taste

Instructions:
1. In a dry medium skillet, toast the ancho chilis until soft and roasty smelling.
2. Combine the toasted chili peppers, orange juice concentrate, water, and garlic in a blender or food processor and blend until the anchos break apart and the colour is a deep orange.
3. Drizzle in the oil while blending.
4. Heat skillet over medium heat and pour in the ancho-orange mixture. Add cocoa, sugar, cumin, cinnamon, lime juice. Bring to a boil.
5. Once boiling, turn heat down to low and let simmer for about 8 minutes. Season to taste with a big pinch of salt.

Chick’n Filling
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon canola oil
Yellow onion, sliced
Red and green bell peppers, sliced
Vegan chicken breasts or filets, sliced (I used Gardein)
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon good quality soy sauce (tamari or shoyu)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon chili powder
Juice of one lime
Small handful cilantro, chopped

Instructions:
1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté onion, peppers, and chicken breasts for about 8 minutes, stirring frequently. Add cumin, coriander, chili powder, and lime juice. Sauté for another few minutes.
2. Turn heat off and stir in the cilantro.

Burrito Fixins
Refried beans (click here, or just buy a can; Ducal is a decent brand)
Guacamole (click here)
Cooked rice (season your rice, bland food is bad)
Chick’n filling (see recipe above, duh)
Orange mole sauce (again)

Instructions:
1. You’re going to need to make a paste with some flour and water that will act as a glue to keep the burrito from exploding in the hot oil. Just whisk the flour and water together with a fork until there’s no lumps. Don’t make it too thin, it should be the consistency of Elmers glue, maybe a tad thinner.
2. I don’t feel like explaining in detail how to roll a burrito, so just watch this video. Except when you’re watching it, just pretend that there isn’t a hamburger broken into three pieces inside your burrito. Also, pretend that the guy is wearing a shirt like normal people do when they are cooking in a kitchen. Jesus.
3. Before you finish the roll, spread some of the flour glue around the edges of the tortilla. It should seal. I was actually surprised at how well it worked. Heat your oil to about 375°F. Be careful if you’re using a pot of oil and not a deep fryer. Hold the burrito in the oil with tong until it’s golden brown all over. It’s important to do this, because if you let it sink to the bottom of the pot, it won’t cook evenly and just get scorched on the bottom.