Crab Rangoon Recipe (Takeout Copycat) - How To Make a Crab Rangoon (2024)

This Crab Rangoon recipe is like the triangle pockets from American-Chinese Restaurants. Dip in a sweet and sour duck sauce and enjoy these deep-fried appetizers!

In Chinese, a Crab Rangoon literally means fried crab horn.Crab Rangoons are cheese wontons (crab puffs) that are fried to crisp dumplings by using wonton wrappers. This appetizer is folded in different ways throughout American-Chinese Restaurants then deep-fried in hot oil and typically served with a dipping sauce known as duck sauce.

To make these at home you will need wonton wrappers (small square dough sheets sold at the fridge section of most grocery stores), cream cheese, imitation crab meat (leg-style), sugar, and oil for deep frying. Water is another essential element as it works to seal the edges, once filled.

Chinese Crab Rangoon ingredients differ from the Panda Express Rangoons because Panda Express makes a plain cream cheese Rangoon and Chinese Restaurants mix in crab meat to the cheese filling. What’s in a Crab Rangoon is simple yet so delicious!

Crab Rangoon Ingredients:

• Wonton Wraps-square wonton wrappers (3 ½ x 3 ½-inches) can be found in the fridge section of most grocery stores or freezer aisle. Make Vegan Crab Rangoons by buying the Vegan wrappers and omitting the crab meat.
• Cream Cheese-Rangoons can hold a whooping tablespoon of filling so don’t be fooled by the small squares! Use 2 packages of softened cream cheese to fill a 12 oz package of wrappers!
• Crabmeat-some use chopped lump crab meat for more nutrition to these seafood appetizers, however, Chinese Restaurants use imitation crab (much cheaper too!)
• Scallions-use the white ends of a scallion sprig for the most flavor, plus it will seamlessly blend into the cream cheese.
• Sugar-powdered sugar will thicken the filling and add the best-sweetened flavor, which makes these addictive!
• Oil-for deep-frying (soybean oil for authentic Chinese flavor) or sunflower oil (for a healthier option.)

A fried Crab Rangoon is easy to make and requires simple filling ingredients. Serve with a sweet and sour dipping sauce (similar to duck sauce) for the best eating experience!

1. Wet the edges with water by running a wet finger along the border of the dough sheet (wrapper).
2. Fill with a heaping teaspoon of the cream cheese filling, right onto the middle.
3. Wrap the Rangoon by folding the opposite edges together to form a triangle. Then, pinch the bottom sealed edges together to form a wonton shape.
4. Fry the Rangoons over low-medium heat for even browning. Don’t overcrowd the pot (4-5 Rangoons at most.)
5. Using a slotted spoon transfer the Rangoons to a wire baking rack or onto paper towels. Cool completely before eating.
6. Dip into Duck sauce or sweet and sour sauce.

Chef’s Tip:Freeze, uncooked Crab Rangoons before frying for perfectly shaped Crab Rangoons that don’t bend into odd shapes before hitting the oil!

Crab Rangoon sauce is sweet and sour making these wraps irresistibly delicious! Cream cheese wontons is an American-Chinese appetizer best suited to Asian Condiments. Here are popular choices:

• Sweet and Sour Sauce
• Duck Sauce
• Sweet Chili Sauce
• Hot Mustard Sauce
• Soy Sauce

Duck sauce can be found in the Asian aisle of most grocery stores nowadays. If you can’t locate it, sweet and chili sauce is similar with a little extra heat. And if you’re stuck at home you can make your own from an apricot jam!

How to Make Duck Sauce:

• 1/2 cup apricot preserves
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp soy sauce

1. Sir together and serve with cream cheese wontons.

There are 4 ways to fold Crab Rangoons:

• triangle fold (classic)- brush the edges of your wonton wrapper with water and fold diagonally in half to form a triangle.
• Wonton Shape- (also known as the boat fold)make Rangoons into a triangular shape and fold the bottom two edges together to make a wonton shape.
• purse fold-bring the opposite edges together to create a purse shape and press corners together.
• star fold-pinch the corners together to form a four-cornered star as seen in this tutorial.

My favorite way is the first two as they hold the filling well.

Some moisten the edges of a wonton wrapper with a little egg wash but I find plain water to seal great! However, there is a rule to go by. Only work with a few wonton wrappers at a time. Once you wet the edges they need to be sealed immediately, otherwise, the wrappers will get soggy and by the time you come back to seal them, they don’t stick anymore. (Lesson learned.)

Working with a few wonton wrappers at a time will help seal the edges before the liquid seeps into the dough sheets. If you wait too long the dough softens and then doesn’t want to stick together. So work with 3-4 wrappers at a time and keep the other stack covered to prevent from drying out.

You can freeze uncooked Crab Rangoons before frying or for longer storage. Most food suppliers will par-fry the appetizers for Restaurants to later finish cooking them in hot oil.

To Freeze Uncooked Crab Rangoons:Lay onto a single layer over a lined tray or baking sheet. Keep from touching. Flash freeze until solid. Transfer to a freezer bag and keep frozen for up to 6 months. This makes a great make-ahead option for the busy cook!

Reheating Instructions: deep-fry until golden and done.

• Electric mixer or really good whisk.
• Spatula
• Teaspoon for scooping the filling into wrappers.
• Pot, Wok, or deep Skillet for deep-frying.

To troubleshoot your Rangoon experience, here are some helpful tips for successful results.

• Remove air- from wontons when folding to prevent any air pockets. Otherwise, they can burst when frying and you’ll end up with brown cheese bits floating in your oil. (Quick tip- remove those bits with a slotted spoon after each batch if necessary.)
• Fry over low heat to prevent burned Rangoons and from the filling oozing out too quickly.
• Make sure you seal all the edges tightly before adding to the hot oil.
• Wet the edges 4 at a time to prevent the dough from getting too soggy to pinch and seal. If the dough gets too soft from theater it won’t seal.
• Keep the dough sheets covered when making, otherwise they can dry out and not seal properly.

Crab Rangoons are best served with other Chinese Takeout Favorites like Orange Chicken,Chicken Lo Mein, Chinese Egg Rolls, and Fried Rice! Add some steamed vegetables or brown rice for added nutrition.

Servings: 48 wontons

Ingredients:

How To Make Crab Rangoons:

• 

  In a medium bowl beat the cream cheese, sugar, scallions, and imitation crab until creamy. Preheat the oil over medium heat (10 minutes.)

• 

  Meanwhile, fill the wonton wrappers with 1 heaping teaspoon of the cream cheese filling in the center of each wrap. Then run your finger with water around the edges (working with 4 at a time*.)

• Fold the wonton in half (or pick up the corners*) and press corners together. Seal until all wontons are finished.

• 

  Fry 4-6 crab rangoons in oil until nicely browned and cooked thoroughly (3-5 min per batch.)

• Once the edges are wet*you need to seal them! If you leave the edges wet and come back to them later they'll get soggy and won't seal together which is why it's best to work with a few at a time. However, each wonton can be filled beforehand.
• To prevent burned wontons-fry crab rangoons at a med-low temperature. If they're browning too fast the oil is too hot.
• Picking up the corners-prevents the filling from gushing out.