Takeout-Style Crab Rangoon (Fried Cream Cheese Wontons)
Takeout style, not any one restaurant's recipe: wonton wrappers folded into points around sweetened cream cheese, scallions and chopped crab, fried golden at 375°F and served hot with a soy, honey and sesame dipping sauce.
Takeout style, not any one restaurant's recipe. Crab rangoon is named for Rangoon, now Yangon, in Burma, but Wikipedia calls it an American creation, probably invented by the Chinese-American chef Joe Young working for Victor Bergeron of Trader Vic's. It was on the Trader Vic's menu in Beverly Hills by 1955, and Town & Country listed it at the San Francisco Trader Vic's in 1956. The giveaway is the cream cheese: Wikipedia notes it is not part of Chinese or Burmese cooking but was a staple of 1940s and 1950s American kitchens.
Today, Wikipedia says, it is served mainly in American Chinese restaurants, deep-fried or baked, with soy, plum, duck or sweet and sour sauce. This recipe is The Woks of Life's cream cheese wontons. Sarah Leung writes that buffets usually labeled these "crab rangoon," and that crab rangoon is basically a cream cheese wonton with imitation crab stirred in, so that is what we do.
Why it works the kitchen science
A small pot
The Woks of Life fries in a small pot so a couple of inches of oil is deep enough for a few wontons at a time, with far less oil to heat and manage.
Sugar in the filling
A little sugar is what makes takeout crab rangoon taste like takeout: sweet, salty and creamy against the crisp, blistered wrapper.
Step by step
- Step 1
Mix the cream cheese, crab, sugar, salt and scallions until evenly combined.
- Step 2
Wet the edges of a wonton wrapper with a thin layer of water. Put about 1 tsp filling in the center, fold it into a triangle and press out the air. Bring the two corners of the long side together, dab them with water and press to seal. Repeat.
- Step 3
Heat 2 to 3 inches of oil in a small, heavy pot over medium-high heat to 375°F on a thermometer.
- Step 4
Fry the wontons a few at a time about 2 minutes, turning once, until golden brown and crisp. Drain on a rack or paper towels and let the oil come back to 375°F between batches.
- Step 5
Stir together the dipping sauce ingredients and serve the wontons hot.
Takeout-Style Crab Rangoon (Fried Cream Cheese Wontons)
Serves 6 · about 3 dozen · 45 min total
Filling
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 4 oz imitation crab or cooked crabmeat, finely chopped
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 scallions, finely chopped
Wontons
- 1 package square wonton wrappers (about 36 needed)
- Vegetable oil, for frying (2 to 3 inches in a small pot)
Dipping sauce
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tsp honey
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp Sriracha (optional)
Method
- Mix the cream cheese, crab, sugar, salt and scallions until evenly combined.
- Wet the edges of a wonton wrapper with a thin layer of water. Put about 1 tsp filling in the center, fold it into a triangle and press out the air. Bring the two corners of the long side together, dab them with water and press to seal. Repeat.
- Heat 2 to 3 inches of oil in a small, heavy pot over medium-high heat to 375°F on a thermometer.
- Fry the wontons a few at a time about 2 minutes, turning once, until golden brown and crisp. Drain on a rack or paper towels and let the oil come back to 375°F between batches.
- Stir together the dipping sauce ingredients and serve the wontons hot.
Adapted from The Woks of Life (Sarah Leung), "Cream Cheese Wontons" (updated August 21, 2020), about 3 dozen. We follow it as written: 8 oz cream cheese, 2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp salt and 4 scallions; about a teaspoon of filling per wrapper, folded into a triangle with the long corners joined; fried in batches about 2 minutes in a couple of inches of oil at 375°F; and its dipping sauce of soy sauce, water, honey, sesame oil and optional Sriracha. The Woks of Life says to stir in imitation or real crab to make crab rangoon but gives no amount; the 4 oz of crab and the 6 servings are ours. This is a takeout-style recipe, not any restaurant's own recipe. The Woks of Life. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (2)
Tips
- Keep the wrappers under a damp towel; dry edges won't seal.
- Duck sauce (a plum sauce) is the other classic dip, The Woks of Life says.
- Leave out the crab for plain cream cheese wontons, as the original recipe does.
- Fold all the wontons before you heat the oil, and never leave hot oil unattended.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Crab rangoon is Burmese. Documented as false: Wikipedia calls it an American creation named after Rangoon.
- Trader Vic's invented it. Disputed: Wikipedia says it was "probably" created by Joe Young at Trader Vic's, with menu listings from 1955 and 1956, but notes a "Rangoon crab a la Jack" at a 1952 party reported in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that may or may not be the same dish.
- Real crab rangoon has real crab. Folklore: The Woks of Life and Wikipedia both say imitation crab is common.
- Crab rangoon is Chinese food. Disputed: it is served mainly in American Chinese restaurants, but its cream cheese is not part of Chinese cooking (Wikipedia).
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