This awesome American-Chinese recipe is simple and hard to resist once you have tried them. They're filled with cream cheese and crab meat, fried in wonton wrappers and perfectly served with any dipping sauce. If you have never tried crab rangoons before, then you need to give this recipe a test for your next party or appetizer at a family dinner.
Crab recipes are delightful and a nice break from our everyday routine. If you like crab, my crab cakes, crab dip, and stuffed shells are all top notch.
Contents
⭐ Crab Rangoon: The perfect party appetizer
I have been making crab rangoons and dipping them in soy sauce or sweet and sour sauce for years. The beauty of them is you can make a huge batch and freeze them for another day, then fry them in hot oil whenever you want.
Plus, they are not even that tricky to form into a lovely little flower, thanks to a few finger folding techniques to pinch the wonton skins into shape, and with only a handful of ingredients for the crab filling, you will be making this savory snack in no time.
Once you have mastered the art of wrapping the wontons, you can experiment with the filling as you please, with Chinese vegetables for making spring rolls or any other mixture you like.
🍽 What you need
They are straightforward and tasty to make with minimal fuss. All you need is some crab meat, cream cheese, some fresh green onion and cilantro, and a touch of sesame oil. The mixture is spread onto a wonton sheet, pinched together with the edges of the wonton, and then fried.
Ingredients
- cream cheese - 8 oz (250 g), softened
- lime juice - 1 tbsp
- sesame oil - ½ tsp
- Worcestershire sauce - 1 tsp
- powdered sugar - 1 tsp
- salt - ½ tsp
- cilantro - 1 tablespoon fresh, minced
- scallions - 2, green part only, finely diced
- crab meat - 8 oz (250 g), drained well
- wonton wrappers - 24
- vegetable oil - for frying
Equipment:
- A mixing bowl
- A pan for frying
- A cooking tray
🔪 How to make
The crab rangoon recipe is relatively straightforward and requires very few kitchen utensils to make the cream cheese wontons, just a good eye, and a steady pair of hands for pinching the wonton wrappers together.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese lime juice, sesame oil, and a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce. Then stir in the powdered sugar, salt, cilantro, and scallions until well mixed.
- Gently fold in the crab meat. The mixture should resemble a spreadable paste.
- Place about 1 tablespoon in the center of a wonton wrapper, then wet your finger and gently move your fingers over the edges of the wrapper so that it helps the edges stick together.
- Fold the edges into a triangle or pinch the sides of the wonton wrapper into the center decoratively. Making sure the edges are closed and the air is removed. Excess air in the wonton will damage them when being fried.
- Place each one under a damp kitchen towel while preparing the rest of them. This prevents them from drying out.
- Heat about one inch of oil in a medium saucepan. When it's hot, fry 6 at a time, for about 3 minutes - or until golden brown, turn them over once halfway through cooking.
- Remove from pan and drain the excess oil on a cooking tray lined with paper towels.
- Serve with hot mustard and sweet and sour dipping sauce.
💭 Tips
- Use real crab meat if possible for a better, meatier texture; otherwise, you can use imitation crab meat.
- Spice up the crab mixture with a pinch of chili powder, black pepper, and clove garlic crushed.
- You can also bake the wontons in the oven or an air fryer if you have the luxury of having one.
🥗 What to serve with
Crab rangoon is fantastic for dipping with some BBQ or chili sauce and also served alongside other Chinese dinner recipes like sweet and sour Chinese chicken balls, Peking duck, and my favorite shrimp lo mein (good seafood combo).
You can also serve them with a mixture of rice, noodles, and some steamed vegetables.
🥫 Storage
Crab Rangoon is suitable for storing in the fridge or the freezer. It would help if you did not store the wonton wrappers in the fridge before cooking; otherwise, they will dry out and lose their stick.
Fridge
You should never store crab rangoon in the fridge before cooking them first. When the cooked crab rangoon is cooled down, it can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
Can you freeze crab rangoon?
Yes, it is possible to freeze the crab rangoon before cooking and after cooking.
Before cooking:
Once you have filled and shaped the wontons, place them on a floured tray or with a baking sheet, so they do not stick. You can then transfer them to an airtight container or a zip bag for keeping in the freezer for up to 6 months.
There is no need to defrost them when you want to cook them. You can cook them from frozen in hot oil or bake them on high for around 12-15 minutes until golden brown.
After cooking:
On the off chance that you or someone has not devoured them, it is possible to freeze them after they have been cooked. Wait for them to cool down, transfer the crab rangoon to a plate and quickly freeze them for 15 minutes. Once they are semi-frozen, you can transfer them to a freezer bag or airtight container, so they do not stick to each other.
⏲️ Make ahead
Yes, preparing them in advance is the best solution to save time, and it also helps the cream cheese filling not soak into the wonton wrapper by freezing them.
Once they are formed into a pretty shape, place them on a tray with baking paper and freeze them for 45 minutes. When they are semi-frozen, you can transfer them to an airtight container or freezer zip bag and pop the ready-made crab rangoons in the freezer, ready for frying later or the next day.
When ready to bake, simply remove the crab rangoon from the freezer and drop them into the hot oil.
Related Recipes
For more delicious crab recipes check my collection of best crab meat recipes.
If you are looking for more Asian recipes I recommend you to explore my collection of best japanese comfort food recipes.
👪 Serving size
Out of all the recipes I have made over the years, this cream cheese crab rangoon recipe is in my top 3 of simple appetizers to make. This recipe makes 24 servings so for batch baking fans, this is a must-have on your meal prep list.
It will save you loads of time over a week or a month if you spend 30 minutes to an hour prepping loads of them. Perfect for a party or impress your friends with a homemade Chinese dinner!
📋 Recipe
Homemade Crab Rangoon
Ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese - softened
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro - minced
- 2 scallions - green part only, finely diced
- 8 oz crab meat - drained well
- 24 wonton wrappers
- for frying vegetable oil
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix together well the cream cheese, lime juice, sesame oil and Worcestershire sauce. Stir in the powdered sugar, salt, cilantro and scallions then gently fold in the crab meat.
- Place about 1 tablespoon in the center of a wonton wrapper, then run a wet finger around the edges and either fold into a triangle or crimp the sides up to the center decoratively. Keep the filled wontons under a damp kitchen towel while preparing the rest so they don't dry out. (be sure to remove all the air and pinch the edges closed very tightly so they don't leak or puff up too much when cooking)
- Heat about one inch of oil in a medium saucepan and when it's hot fry them 6 at a time, for about 3 minutes - or until golden brown. Turn over once halfway through cooking.
- Allow to cool and drain on a paper towel lined cooking tray and serve with hot mustard and sweet and sour dipping sauce.
Notes
- Use real crab meat if possible for a better meatier texture, otherwise, you can use imitation crab meat.
- Spice up the crab mixture with a pinch of chili powder, black pepper, and clove garlic crushed.
- You can also bake the wontons in the oven or an air fryer if you have the luxury of having one.
Kathleen
I loved this recipe. Of course I used freshly picked crabmeat, I live in Maine,lol! I love the extra ingredients that I didn’t see in other Pinterest recipes. It really made a difference. Thank you for sharing!
Sam Streubel
I like to gild the lily and use Alaskan king crab and I don't use sugar.
Anonymous
To give it that little hint of sweetness you always taste in the rangoons, its usually because of the crab meat but because we use canned crabmeat in this recipe some of that sweetness will be missing, thus the powdered sugar.
May
I am surprised to see powdered sugar just wondering why it's there.
Glenda Cavender
I'm going to try those
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