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Chimichanga

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Chimichanga
Chimichangas
Alternative namesChivichanga
TypeBurrito
Place of origin
Main ingredientsTortillas, rice, cheese, beans, machaca, jalapeño, carne adobada or shredded chicken

A chimichanga (/ˌtʃɪmɪˈtʃæŋɡə/ CHIM-ih-CHANG-gə, Spanish: [tʃimiˈtʃaŋɡa]) is a deep-fried burrito that is common in 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

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Chimichanga served in restaurant (Melbourne, Australia)

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]

In Tabasco, it's any trinket or trifle; something unimportant and whose true role or origin, is not known legitimately. — Variants: chibachanga, chimichanga.

Chimichanga and its variants Chivichanga and Chibachanga are synonymous with the term Timbirimba, which means:[2]

Term used in some parts of the interior of the country, to refer to a thing whose name is unknown, or a thing that is properly ignored. What timbirimba is that? Synonym of chivichanga.

Folk history

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From the Mexican term chivichanga, one account adduces that Sonoran immigrants brought the dish with them to Arizona.[3][failed verification][original research?] 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 chimi and changa come from two Mexican Spanish terms: chamuscado (past participle of the verb chamuscar),[8] which means seared or singed, and changa, related to chinga (third-person present tense form of the vulgar verb chingar[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),[original research?] but quickly stopped herself and instead exclaimed chimichanga, 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

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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

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References

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  1. ^ Santamaría, Francisco J. (1959). Diccionario de Mejicanismo [Dictionary of Mexicanisms] (in Spanish). Mexico: Editorial Porrúa. p. 410. Retrieved November 14, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ^ Santamaría, Francisco J. (1959). Diccionario de Mejicanismos [Dictionary of Mexicanisms] (in Spanish). Mexico: Editorial Porrúa. p. 1048. Retrieved November 14, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  3. ^ a b Rochlin, Margy (September 23, 2016). "Where did the chimichanga, the glorious deep-fried burrito, come from anyway?". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 29, 2022. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  4. ^ Trulsson, Nora Burba (October 1999). "Chimichanga Mysteries: The Origin of Tucson's Deep-fried Masterpiece Is an Enigma Wrapped in a Tortilla". Sunset. ISSN 0039-5404. Archived from the original on September 24, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2009.
  5. ^ a b Henderson, John (January 24, 2007). "We All Win as Chimichanga War Rages On". Food & Dining section. The Denver Post. Archived from the original on May 17, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2009.
  6. ^ Laudig, Michele (November 22, 2007). "Chimi Eat World: Arizona's deepest-fried mystery is smothered in cheese, guacamole and sour cream". Phoenix New Times. Archived from the original on February 12, 2015. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  7. ^ a b c Lacey, Marc (November 15, 2011). "Arizonans Vie to Claim Cross-Cultural Fried Food". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  8. ^ "chamuscar". Diccionario de la lengua española (in Spanish). Real Academia Española.
  9. ^ "chingar". Diccionario de la lengua española (in Spanish). Real Academia Española.
  10. ^ Del Castillo, María (1966). Cocina mexicana [Mexican cuisine] (in Spanish) (5th ed.). México, D.F.: Editorial Olimpo. OCLC 4682105.
  11. ^ Jordan, Jill (August 26, 1987). "Burro tale origins of the elusive chimichanga still remain buried in local food lore". The Arizona Republic. Archived from the original on April 24, 2006.
  12. ^ Stradley, Linda (April 27, 2017) [May 18, 2015]. "Chimichanga History and Recipe". What's Cooking America (blog). Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2007.
  13. ^ Meesey, Chris (April 29, 2009). "On The Range: Chimichangas". Dallas Observer. Archived from the original on December 27, 2010. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  14. ^ "The History of Our Traditional Mexican Restaurant - Macayo's". www.macayo.com. February 5, 2015. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
  15. ^ Miller, Tom (2000). Jack Ruby's Kitchen Sink: Offbeat Travels Through America's Southwest. National Geographic. p. 79. ISBN 9780792279594. Archived from the original on July 3, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  16. ^ "Basic Report: 21071, Fast foods, chimichanga, with beef and cheese". United States Department of Agriculture. Archived from the original on November 8, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  17. ^ Stein, Natalie (May 22, 2012). "Nutrition Facts About Chimichangas". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  18. ^ Leeds, Jeff (July 19, 1994). "The Whole Enchilada: It's Too Fat for You, Study Says". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 8, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
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