Chimichanga Explained

Chimichanga
Alternate Name:Chivichanga
Country:
Type:Burrito
Main Ingredient:Tortillas, rice, cheese, beans, machaca, jalapeño, carne adobada or shredded chicken
No Recipes:yes

A chimichanga (pronounced as /es/) is a deep-fried burrito that is common in Mexican, Tex-Mex and other Southwestern U.S. cuisine. The dish is typically prepared by filling a flour tortilla with various ingredients, most commonly rice, cheese, beans, and a meat such as machaca (chopped or shredded meat), carne adobada (marinated meat), carne seca (dried beef), or shredded chicken, and folding it into a rectangular package. It is then deep-fried, and can be accompanied by salsa, guacamole, or sour cream.

Origins

The origin of the chimichanga is uncertain. According to Mexican linguist and philologist Francisco J. Santamaría's Diccionario de Mejicanismos (1959), Chivichanga is a regionalism from the State of Tabasco:[1] Chimichanga and its variants Chivichanga and Chibachanga are synonymous with the term Timbirimba, which means:[2]

Folk history

From the Mexican term, one account adduces that Sonoran immigrants brought the dish with them to Arizona.[3] Instead, most researchers agree that the chimichanga was created by accident at a Mexican restaurant in Arizona, United States, although they disagree over precisely where.[4] [5] [6] [7] The words and come from two Mexican Spanish terms: (past participle of the verb),[8] which means seared or singed, and, related to (third-person present tense form of the vulgar verb [9]), a rude expression for the unexpected or a small insult.[10]

According to one source,[11] Monica Flin, the founder of the Tucson, Arizona, restaurant El Charro Café (est. 1922), accidentally dropped a burrito into the deep-fat fryer in the early 1950s.[7] She immediately began to utter a Spanish profanity beginning "chi..." (chingada), but quickly stopped herself and instead exclaimed, a Spanish equivalent of "thingamajig".[12] Knowledge and appreciation of the dish spread slowly outward from the Tucson area, with popularity elsewhere accelerating in recent decades. Though the chimichanga is now found as part of the Tex-Mex cuisine, its roots within the U.S. are mainly in Tucson, Arizona.[7] [3] [13]

Woody Johnson, founder of Mexican restaurant chain Macayo's Mexican Kitchen, claimed he had invented the chimichanga in 1946 when he put some burritos into a deep fryer as an experiment at his original restaurant Woody's El Nido, in Phoenix, Arizona.[14] These "fried burritos" became so popular that by 1952, when Woody's El Nido became Macayo's, the chimichanga was one of the restaurant's main menu items. Johnson opened Macayo's in 1952.[5] Although no official records indicate when the dish first appeared, retired University of Arizona folklorist Jim Griffith recalls seeing chimichangas at the Yaqui Old Pascua Village in Tucson in the mid-1950s.[15]

Nutritional value

According to data presented by the United States Department of Agriculture, a typical 183-gram (6.5-ounce) serving of a beef and cheese chimichanga contains 443 calories, 20 grams protein, 39 grams carbohydrates, 23 grams total fat, 11 grams saturated fat, 51 milligrams cholesterol, and 957 milligrams of sodium.[16] [17] [18]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Santamaría . Francisco J. . Diccionario de Mejicanismo . 1959 . Editorial Porrúa . Mexico . 410 . 14 November 2023.
  2. Book: Santamaría . Francisco J. . Diccionario de Mejicanismos . 1959 . Editorial Porrúa . Mexico . 1048 . 14 November 2023.
  3. News: Margy . Rochlin . Where did the chimichanga, the glorious deep-fried burrito, come from anyway? . 24 September 2019 . Los Angeles Times . 23 September 2016 . 29 June 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220629073718/https://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-fo-chimichanga-20160914-snap-story.html . live .
  4. News: Trulsson . Nora Burba . Chimichanga Mysteries: The Origin of Tucson's Deep-fried Masterpiece Is an Enigma Wrapped in a Tortilla . . October 1999 . 0039-5404 . 2009-03-19 . dead . 2019-09-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190924040041/https://www.questia.com/magazine/1P3-44987460/chimichanga-mysteries .
  5. News: Henderson . John . We All Win as Chimichanga War Rages On . . Food & Dining section . 2007-01-24 . 2009-03-19 . 2016-05-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160517072601/http://www.denverpost.com/food/ci_5064265 . live .
  6. News: Chimi Eat World: Arizona's deepest-fried mystery is smothered in cheese, guacamole and sour cream . Michele . Laudig . . 2007-11-22 . 2014-05-07 . 2015-02-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150212232900/http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2007-11-22/news/chimi-eat-world/full/ . dead .
  7. News: Arizonans Vie to Claim Cross-Cultural Fried Food . . 2011-11-15 . Marc . Lacey . 2017-02-26 . 2020-09-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200930200718/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/16/us/arizonans-vie-to-claim-cross-cultural-fried-food.html . live .
  8. chamuscar . . . es . . .
  9. chingar . . . es . . .
  10. Book: Del Castillo, María . 1966 . Cocina mexicana . México, D.F. . Editorial Olimpo . 5th . 4682105 . es . Mexican cuisine.
  11. News: Burro tale origins of the elusive chimichanga still remain buried in local food lore . Jill . Jordan . . August 26, 1987 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060424090841/http://www.azcentral.com:80/home/food/mexico/articles/0427chimichange27-CR.html . 2006-04-24.
  12. Web site: Linda . Stradley . May 18, 2015 . April 27, 2017 . Chimichanga History and Recipe . What's Cooking America (blog) . February 23, 2007 . January 28, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210128074356/https://whatscookingamerica.net/History/Chimichanga.htm . live .
  13. News: On The Range: Chimichangas . Chris . Meesey . . 2009-04-29 . 2014-05-07 . 2010-12-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101227061430/http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/cityofate/2009/04/on_the_range_chimichangas.php . dead .
  14. Web site: The History of Our Traditional Mexican Restaurant - Macayo's . www.macayo.com . 5 February 2015 . 2019-03-17 . 2022-09-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220926215708/https://www.macayo.com/the-story/ . live .
  15. Book: Miller, Tom . Tom Miller (travel writer) . Jack Ruby's Kitchen Sink: Offbeat Travels Through America's Southwest . 79 . 2000 . National Geographic . 9780792279594 . 2020-12-12 . 2023-07-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230703234132/https://books.google.com/books?id=uFsUAAAAYAAJ&q=chimichanga . live .
  16. Web site: Basic Report: 21071, Fast foods, chimichanga, with beef and cheese . . . . 2015-02-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141108075754/http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/6586?fg=&man=&lfacet=&format=&count=&max=25&offset=&sort=&qlookup=chimichanga . 2014-11-08 . dead .
  17. News: Nutrition Facts About Chimichangas . . Natalie . Stein . May 22, 2012 . May 7, 2014 . May 24, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220524100318/https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/nutrition-chimichangas-2093.html . live .
  18. News: The Whole Enchilada: It's Too Fat for You, Study Says . . 1994-07-19 . Jeff . Leeds . 2014-05-07 . 2014-05-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140508025142/http://articles.latimes.com/1994-07-19/news/mn-17517_1_mexican-restaurant . live .

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