Name: Dynamite Cheese Sticks
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: Filipino
Ingredients: 20 pcs serrano, jalapeno or Anaheim chili; 20 sheets spring roll pastry; 10 sticks cheddar or mozzarella cheese

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Why are they called dynamite cheese sticks?

Dynamite cheese sticks recipe intrigues me. Wait, let me tell you this first: sometimes, I wonder, why we (I, in particular) bother too much about a recipe — what it is, what it has, and where it is from). But then, it comes naturally for me to be curious. But is everyone like me? Maybe, that is why you are here? Welcome to my curiosity.

Why am I curious? Honestly, the first time I had tried dynamite cheese sticks was in 2014. It was the first time I had seen such a spring roll! Wrapped in the usual lumpia wrapper, with a little tail coming out from one end, which to my surprise, turned out to be green chili pepper, I promised myself to find out more about it!

Here’s the confession: nothing much except the claims that it is a Filipino recipe, and no one says otherwise. Another confession is that I had already concocted my own version of the dynamite cheese sticks before I went ahead with my little research. You may ask, how did I get to concoct my version if my first time is relatively recent! Well, come on! Aren’t we all that courageous?

Some say that this is called its name because of its shape that resembles the dynamite; others say it is because of the chili peppers and the heat it brings or the impression of heat. It is very tempting to conclude that this is called dynamite because of its exploding spiciness from the green chili peppers. but, read on.

Ingredients

There are only 3 ingredients in the dynamite cheese sticks, obviously, and they are:

cheese – cheddar, and mozzarella, edam, gouda would be good
chili peppers – I suggest either serrano, Anaheim, or jalapeno
spring roll or lumpia wrappers

Chilis used for dynamite cheese sticks

Three must be my favorite number for now; there are at least three kinds of chilis that you can use in this recipe: jalapeno, Anaheim, and serrano. I earlier said “impression of heat” because not all peppers are the same. Let us take a closer look at the differences between these three chilis:

Chilis for dynamite cheese sticks

Serrano pepper is hot. Jalapeno comes second. Then, there’s serrano which is mild, almost none, just the aroma.
Jalapeno is shorter and rounder in comparison to the two, but serrano and anaheim are almost like twins. One has to be really good to see the difference immediately.
Serrano is what I prefer. The feel of the melting cheese and the crispiness of the newly-fried wrapper is the initial tease, followed by the spicy serrano, dynamite is definitely a one-of-a-kind spring roll.

What about dynamite sticks?

Imagine taking away the cheese and replacing it with meat? That would be another version, and that is also great. Just replace cheese with ground beef or ground chicken that has been sauteed in little oil. That would offer a different kind of punch.

How to Cook Dynamite Sticks

You can already tell that preparing and cooking dynamite sticks are easy-peasy.
Select fresh and sturdy chili and wash them. Using the pointed end of a sharp knife, make a slit lengthwise and remove the seeds. Make sure to leave the tail end intact.
Spoon or insert your choice of filling in the chili, close, and wrap it in a spring roll wrapper, leaving the tail of the chili to show outside of the chili. This would resemble a little popsicle.
Deep fry over medium heat until golden or golden brown.
Cook/fry them in batches.

How to Serve Dynamite Sticks

Dynamite sticks are best served as appetizers. I suggest sweet chili dipping sauce as its accompaniment. You can also serve this with steamed white rice or any fried rice.

Cooking Tips

Wait for the meat to cool first before inserting them into the chili slit. This would prevent the chili from limping too much.
Make sure the cooking oil is hot enough for frying, or the wrapper will take much of the oil that would not be easy to drain.
Drain the fried dynamites vertically with the tails sticking up for a crispier result.

I have a very strong feeling that there will be no left-overs! Dynamite sticks are hard to resist. If you would, however, consume it after a few minutes or up to a couple of hours, l suggest leaving it in the open air to retain its crispiness.

Another confession: I have not experienced re-heating dynamites, because there really are no left-overs… all the time.

This is best done – from prepping to cooking (to eating) – on the same day. If you were to prepare it ahead and cook another day, keep it in the fridge for a day, or in the freezer for no more than a week.

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