San Antonio chef puts a Thai spin on her version of Taco Bell's Crunchwrap Supreme
San Antonio chef Jennifer Dobbertin was tapped earlier this year to reimagine Taco Bell's iconic menu item, the Crunchwrap Supreme.
Dobbertin, chef and owner of Best Quality Daughter , was one of three chefs — the only one from Texas — chosen as part of Taco Bell's TBX Program to support emerging culinary talent.
Her creation, the Crispy Thai Noodle Crunchwrap Supreme, was officially unveiled last month at a popup event in New York City.
A traditional top-selling Crunchwrap Supreme features a tostada shell topped with beef, nacho cheese sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream, all wrapped in a toasted flour tortilla.
Instead of the signature beef and nacho cheese, Dobbertin chose to take inspiration from one of her favorite Thai dishes.
"When I was brainstorming on dishes, I kept thinking about what is a cohesive dish that is, like, saucy, crunchy and with modifiable toppings? And I kept coming back to a khao soi curry," she said.
Khao soi is a creamy coconut curry originally from Northern Thailand. It was thought to be created on the spice trade from China to Thailand.
"I thought that was really interesting when I was doing the research on it because my family is very much part of the Chinese diaspora," Dobbertin said. "My Chinese grandfather is also Chinese Muslim, and this dish is typically a halal Muslim dish. You don't find pork in it, you find chicken or beef."
Dobbertin's Thai Crunchwrap features marinated chicken tossed in a khao soi-inspired aioli sauce.
She said one of the most important elements of her dish was to replace the Crunchwrap's tostada shell with something fun.
After floating ideas like crispy rice or a scallion pancake, Dobbertin landed on using a nest of fired wheat noodle — modeled after the crunchy noodles typically found on top of a khao soi curry.
Dobbertin said there was a trial and error period in trying to make the crispy noodles work.
"I bought every spectrum of noodle you could think of and figured out the temps on how to fry it, and how many noodles, and how thick you want it," she said. "That was probably the most difficult part."
The Crunchwrap is finished off with an avocado basil ranch, a nod to Dobbertin's Taiwanese and Texas roots. She said the basil component is inspired after the fried Thai basil that is typically found on Taiwanese popcorn chicken.
"It's my nod to Taiwan. And then I married that with ranch, because that's just my love of Texas and the south. Everyone in Texas loves ranch."
Dobbertin said while her version of the Crunchwrap blends together her cultural influences and lived experiences, it still stays true to the main elements of the iconic dish.
"If you put them side by side together, you wouldn't think that they had parallels, but they do because khao soi curry is, like, sauce and protein, crunchy things, toppings," she said.
As part of the initial testing phase, Dobbertin previewed her Thai-inspired Crunchwrap last month at a popup event in New York City to great feedback.
Dobbertin said the next step will see the remixed Crunchwrap launch in select stores in the country — possibly sometime next year.
She hopes it will make its way to San Antonio.
