Jan 31, 20233 min read

Crab Rangoon | 炸蟹角

Updated: Dec 10

Initially, I was very skeptical about mixing cream cheese with crab wrapped in a wonton wrapper and then deep fried. I could not wrap my head around that. I mean, seafood with cheese is bad enough and to deep fried all of that in a wonton wrapper? Sounds bizarre right?

Eventually, I gave in to my curiosity; this is the 2nd American Chinese dish I learned from my friend. According to him, you can almost find this in every Chinese eatery in the USA, especially San Francisco.

As soon as I took that 1st bite, I was hooked. The fillings just make perfect sense as they exploded in my mouth. Metaphorically, eating those Xiao Long Bao aka Soup Dumplings. It is creamy, cheesy, crabby and with an onion backdrop plus that crispy crunchy eggy wrapper = party in my mouth.

To complement the crab rangoon, I serve them with some chili oil. The combination is life-changing. Anyway, I hope you will give this recipe a try. Ask your kids to join in the fun and help you shape these crab rangoon. It will be a blast!

Ingredients:

(Serve 8)

Fillings:
Yellow Onion, 1
Cream Cheese Softened at Room Temperature Preferably Philadelphia, 454g
Unsalted Butter, 2 TBSP
High Quality Crab Meat Fresh or Frozen, 100g
Granulated Sugar, 1 TBSP
Sea Salt, Pinch
Black Pepper, Pinch
Mushroom Powder, Pinch
White Sesame Seeds, Pinch
Black Sesame Seeds, Pinch
Crab Rangoon:
Square Egg Wonton Wrappers, 30 Pieces Less or More
Egg Lightly Beaten, 1
Rapeseed / Sunflower / Canola / Peanut Oil, For Frying
Chili Oil Homemade, For Serving

Equipment:

Dutch Oven

Directions:

Please visit my "How To Make Chili Oil" page for the recipe.
Prepare the fillings.
Grate onion onto a lint free kitchen towel.
Squeeze out as much liquid as humanly can.
Transfer to a large bowl.
*You can make onion tea with the onion juice and peels. Add 500g of water, simmer, add 3 tea bags, cover and steep for 5 mins.*
Add in the rest of the ingredients.
Fold and mix until well combined.
Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 30 mins.
Prepare the crab rangoon.
Add a splash if water to the beaten egg and whisk until well combined.
Lightly brush the 4 edges of wonton wrapper with the egg wash.
Scoop about 1 tsp of the filling and place onto the wrapper.
Fold it in half into a rectangle.
Pinch the middle and stretch out to form the shape of a crab rangoon.
Make sure to seal the edges properly or the fillings will leak during the frying process.
*Do not overfill. I repeat, do not overfill.*
Repeat the process for the remaining crab rangoon.
Add about 3 inches of oil to a dutch oven over medium heat.
*To check if the temperature of the oil is ready, place a wooden chopstick into the oil.
If bubbles start to form, the temperature is ready for frying.*
Gently drop the crab rangoon into the oil
Deep fry until golden brown on all sides.
Remove from heat.
Drain off excess oil on a wire cooling rack or on a plate lined with kitchen paper.
Repeat the process for the remaining crab rangoon.
Serve immediately with chili oil.