Copycat ChiChi’s Seafood Enchiladas

Adapted from Food.com

Remember ChiChi’s Mexican Restaurant? Remember their seafood enchiladas? These are my take on ChiChi’s Seafood Enchiladas. Personally, I think they’re even better!

A long, long time ago, back before I even started college, I worked at ChiChi’s. It was my boyfriend who got me the job there and I absolutely loved it. My boyfriend who got me the job was a busser at the time and we bussed tables together for a while, racing to see who was faster, then he decided to become a cook. Everyone said you could tell when he was working because the food just TASTED better. At the time, ChiChi’s was the “cool” place to work. I worked at ChiChi’s for many years … through high school and college and made so many marvelous friends. We would stay out all night partying after closing down the restaurant. It was a magically fun time of my life. 

My boyfriend decided he wanted to be a chef and so he went to cooking school. At the time, that didn’t sound very exciting to me. (What a foolish young girl I was!) We broke up and I went to college, got my engineering degree and embarked on my professional career. After lots of travelling for work, meeting new people, trying new things and exploring the world, eventually I got married and had kids … then later got divorced. I often wonder now what happened to my boyfriend the chef. I heard he got married and is still cooking. I woke up this morning with him on my mind … and so I decided to make these enchiladas. I remember they were always a favorite of those who frequented ChiChi’s.

My dad made these enchiladas with leftover fish a while ago and told me how good they were and how to find the recipe. I don’t recall all of my dad’s recipe alterations, so I made a few of my own. I cut the butter in half and used 1% milk, and instead of fake crab filling, I chopped up some of my crab & spinach stuffed fish fillets. I added some powdered New Mexico red chile to the sauce, giving it a pretty orange hue, and used fish sauce in place of the lobster base. I changed the cheese to a lovely Italian Blend of cheeses.

Copycat Chichi’s Seafood Enchiladas

• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: 10 enchiladas 1x

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the sauce:

• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 Tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon powdered Chimayo chiles (or cayenne, more or less to taste)
• 3 1/2 cups low-fat milk (I used 1%)
• 1 cup white wine
• 2 oz. shredded Italian blend of cheeses

For the filling:

• 12 – 15 oz. mixed chopped cooked seafood (or leftover crab & spinach stuffed fish fillets)
• 1/2 cup of the sauce

For the enchiladas:

• 10 small (6-inch) flour tortillas, warmed
• 6 oz. shredded Italian blend of cheeses
• For garnish: fresh cilantro leaves, avocado, chopped tomato, and/or pico de gallo

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F. Spray a casserole pan with cooking spray.
2. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, then add the flour. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes or until the mixture smells nutty and starts to brown a bit. Add the powdered chili and fish sauce and stir to mix.
3. Slowly add the milk, then the wine, stirring while adding. Cook and stir until the sauce is thickened, about 5 – 10 minutes.
4. Chop up the seafood and mix it with 1/2 cup of the sauce. Take a tortilla and spoon a good amount of this mixture down the center, then fold it over the seafood and place in the prepared pan. Repeat with the rest of the tortillas until you run out of filling or tortillas.
5. Pour the rest of the sauce over the enchiladas, then top with the shredded cheese. Bake at 425 for 12 – 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the sauce is hot and bubbly.
6. Garnish and serve immediately while still hot. (Although they do reheat very nicely.)

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Notes

RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/

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This recipe was shared at Superbowl Linky, Sweet & Savoury Sunday, Munching Monday, Tuesday’s Table, Talking over the Fence Tuesday, Wine’d Down Wednesday, Wonderfully Creative Wednesday and Hearth & Soul Bloghop.