These buffalo chicken fried ravioli were supposed to be buffalo chicken wontons, but apparently if you go looking for wonton wrappers the day before Super Bowl Sunday, even if you go to three different stores, you might not find any. For some reason, even though every store was out of wonton wrappers, they all seemed to have egg roll wraps, so I decided to improvise, having already bought everything else I needed to make some sort of buffalo chicken appetizer.
I cut two large circles out of each egg roll wrap and topped half of the circles with my buffalo chicken filling. Then I pressed and sealed the remaining wrappers on top to form ravioli. I quickly fried the ravioli in hot oil on each side and then served them with celery sticks and blue cheese dip. The ravioli were crispy on the outside and filled with spicy chicken and gooey, melty cheese. We enjoyed them while watching the game, but they'd be a hit at any party!
Buffalo Chicken Fried Ravioli
(adapted from my Buffalo Chicken Stromboli recipe)
These fried ravioli offer a new spin on the ever-popular Buffalo chicken.
Yield: Makes about 24 ravioli (I only made 12 but there's enough filling for more.)
Ingredients
24 egg roll wraps
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and cut in 1-inch strips
1/4 cup Frank's RedHot Sauce, plus extra to taste
1 cup mixture of shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese
Canola oil, for frying
Blue cheese dip (optional)
Celery sticks (optional)
Preparation
Using 3-inch biscuit cutter, cut 2 circles out of each egg roll wrapper. Place circles in plastic baggie or wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in chicken and hot sauce. Reduce heat and simmer for 6 to 8 minutes, turning chicken occasionally, until chicken is cooked through.
Shred chicken and toss with sauce. Add extra hot sauce, if desired. (I stirred in an extra 2 tablespoons.)
Drain chicken of excess liquid and transfer to bowl. Stir in cheese.
Clean skillet, fill with thin layer of canola oil, and heat over medium heat until hot and shimmering. (If oil starts smoking, lower heat.)
Meanwhile, fill a small bowl with water and lay egg roll wrapper circles out on cutting board (work in batches).
Top half of the circles with a spoonful of buffalo chicken mixture. Dip your finger in the water and trace the outline of the circles and press a filled wrapper and an empty wrapper together, making sure to seal edges.
Repeat with remaining circles and remaining buffalo chicken mixture.
Line a large plate with paper towels. Fry the ravioli, 4 at a time, for about 1 minute on each side, or until golden brown.
Transfer to paper towels. (Adjust temperature and add extra oil as necessary while frying batches of ravioli.)
Serve hot with blue cheese dip and celery sticks, if desired.
What did you make for the Super Bowl?