Crab Rangoon Recipe
What is Crab Rangoon?
It’s an appetizer found in many Chinese restaurants in the United States.
Many people wonder if crab Rangoon is authentic and the answer is no. It is a classic American creation even though they are mostly served in Chinese restaurants.
These dainty appetizers are basically fried wontons filled with cream cheese, with real crab meat in the filling.
They are deep-fried to golden brown and usually served with a pink-color sweet and sour dipping sauce.
I first encountered them at a Chinese buffet restaurant in the Midwest. They have since become one of my favorite appetizers!
How to Make Crab Rangoon?
There are three few key ingredients in the recipe: cream cheese, wonton wrapper and crab meat.
First, you make the filling by mixing cream cheese and crab meat together.
Next, wrap the filling in the middle of a wonton wrapper. Make sure you seal it tight and there is no leakage.
Finally, deep fry until golden brown. It’s that easy!
Tips for the Best Homemade Crab Rangoon
For the best results, please follow the cooking techniques below:
- Use square wonton wrappers to wrap the cream cheese and crab filling. You can get wonton wrappers at Asian supermarkets or food stores. You can also find wonton wrappers in many regular supermarkets now, for example: Whole Foods.
- Use real crab meat for the cream cheese filling. You can use fresh crab meat, frozen crab meat or canned crab meat. If crab is not an option, you can use imitation crab meat sticks. Just cut and shred up the imitation crab meat before using.
- Wrap the cream cheese and crab mixture using wonton wrappers. Do not overfill with too much filling.
- Seal each wonton wrapper tight so there is no leakage. Pinch it up like a little purse and deep fry to golden brown.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Is There Crab in Crab Rangoon?
Yes! You can use either fresh crab, canned crab or artificial crab.
What’s the Difference between Fried Wontons and Crab Rangoon?
Fried wonton is a Chinese appetizer wrapped with wonton wrapper and filled with meat such as ground pork, chicken and/or shrimp.
The latter is a type of wontons with cream cheese and crab as the filling.
Can You Freeze Crab Rangoon?
Yes, once they are assembled and wrapped, you can freeze them in the refrigerator. Thaw to room temperature before deep-frying.
Can I Use Air Fryer for This Recipe?
Yes, you certainly can. Just follow the instructions of your manual for perfectly crispy and authentic crab rangoons better than Chinese takeout.
Can I Bake Crab Rangoon?
Yes, you can use an oven to bake. The color of the wrapper won’t turn golden brown, but they are equally delicious!
Crab Rangoon Calories per Serving?
Crab Rangoon is pretty healthy and each one is only 26 calories, so you can definitely eat lots of them.
What Dishes to Serve with This Recipe?
Serve Crab Rangoon with other Chinese recipes. For a Chinese-restaurant style meal at home, I recommend the following recipes.
Crab Rangoon
Best and authentic Crab Rangoon recipe with cream cheese, crab and wonton wrapper. These Crab Rangoon are fail proof and much better than Chinese takeouts!
Ingredients
- 1 cube Kraft Philadelphia Regular Cream Cheese room temperature
- 2 oz. crab meat finely diced, or 2 sticks imitation crab meat
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 20 wonton wrappers
- oil for deep frying
Directions
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1
Mix all the cream cheese, crab meat, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Stir to blend well. Place about 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese filling in the middle of a wonton wrapper.
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2
Dab some water on the outer edges of the wonton wrapper and fold the two ends of the wrapper together. Fold the other two ends to make a tiny parcel pictured below. Pinch to seal tight and make sure that there is no leakage.
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3
Heat up a pot of oil for deep-frying and fry the crab rangoon until golden brown. Dish out with a strainer or slotted spoon, draining the excess oil by laying the crab rangoon on a dish lined with paper towels.
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4
Let the crab rangoon cools down a bit before serving them with sweet and sour sauce.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
Use real crab meat if possible. Don't serve the crab Rangoon immediately after deep-frying as the filling will be too hot! To make the sweet and sour Crab Rangoon dipping sauce, please refer to my sweet and sour pork recipe.
As an American ex-pat living in Australia, where crab rangoon do not exist, I really appreciate this recipe. It was spot on. After reading the comments I was unsure about the powdered sugar, but went with it and I’m glad I did. They were perfect! I did add a tablespoon of chopped spring onion (scallion). Maybe my wonton wrappers were smaller than yours. If I put more than a heaping teaspoonful I couldn’t seal them. They were super good, just like I remember them from back in the States. Next time I’ll be more careful about getting all of them completely sealed as I had two that lost their payload to the oil, the golden, crispy Wonton shells were still yummy though. :) Thank you, Rasa Malaysia!
Awesome!??