Crab Rangoon

Toby Jermain's Note:

My mom used to take my sister and me to a little Cantonese Chinese restaurant that served these. I loved them! These days, you can't even find a Cantonese restaurant, so I had to come up with my own version

• Total Time: 50 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 24 packets ...

• 12 ounces cream cheese (1-1/2 packages. Do not use reduced fat or non-fat)
• 1 (6 ounce) can crabmeat , drained and picked over to remove shell and cartilage pieces
• 3 -4 green onions , thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic , pressed
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1 (48 count) package wonton wrappers (3 1/2 inch square , package is about 2" thick)
• peanut oil or canola oil (for deep frying)
• vegetable oil cooking spray (or equivalent) (optional)
• soy sauce , as accompaniments
• sweet and sour sauce , as accompaniments
• hot Chinese chili paste or hot chili oil , as accompaniments
• Chinese mustard , as accompaniments

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients except wonton skins until well blended.
2. Adjust seasonings, but be gentle with the Worcestershire and soy sauces, or the cheese will turn a dirty brown color, which isn’t too appetizing.
3. Chill cheese well before starting assembly.
4. Place 1 rounded teaspoon of filling in the center of each wonton skin.
5. Moisten edges with water, and fold in half to form triangles, squeezing out air as you do so.
6. Moisten one bottom corner, pull bottom corners down and overlap slightly, pressing them together to seal.
7. To prevent wonton skins from drying out too much, prepare just a few at a time, keeping the remaining skins covered with a damp towel.
8. Transfer to a tray, cover with plastic wrap, and chill thoroughly before proceeding.
9. Your can either deep fry the Crab Rangoon, which tastes wonderful, or you can bake them, which is much better for you, but not near as crispy.
10. It is up to you.
11. To fry, you really need a deep fryer, even if it’s just a Fry Baby-- the bigger the better, though, unless you’re willing to stand there frying 2-3 at a time and then wait for the oil to reheat before the next 2-3.
12. Heat the oil to 375 degrees F.
13. Drop a few pieces in the deep fryer, place the fryer basket or something on top to keep the puffs submerged, and fry until golden brown.
14. Drain, place on a baking sheet lined with paper towels, and hold in a 220 degree F oven while you cook the rest of the puffs.
15. Let the oil return to 375 degrees F before frying the next batch.
16. To bake, spray a baking sheet with Pam or another nonstick vegetable spray, and arrange puffs on sheet, leaving as much space between them as possible.
17. Spray the puffs generously on all sides with Pam, or better yet, if you have one of those pump-up oil sprayers, spray with real grease.
18. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F, and bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.
19. Regardless of how you cook them, serve hot with sauces of choice, sweet and sour, plain old soy sauce, and/or hot mustard, so you can take a taste with one sauce, then another, then another, and then back to the first.
20. We have never tried these baked, but they are really good deep fried.
21. Variations: Instead of doing the triangle thing, moisten the whole top side of the wonton wrapper, add filling, pull all four corners together, and squeeze the wrapper into a little purse shape, squeezing out most of the air before sealing the neck of the bag.
22. OR Put the filling into a pastry bag with a 1/4-3/8" round tip, and pipe the filling onto the wonton wrappers.
23. Roll into a fat cigarette shape, folding in the ends as you roll.

Reviews

[Chef #518910]

At a restaurant I worked at we used a beaten egg to seal the wrapper. This helped keep it from splitting in the fryer. Just dip your finger in the egg and 'lubricate' two of the sides and fold over the other two sides to make a triangle.

[Takin' the Heat]

Since I hate green onions, I obviously left those out. Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly, and had some fantastic crab rangoons. They are a little time consuming, but definitely worth the time and effort! Way to go, Toby!