better-than-takeout crab rangoon

i’m not sure i’ve ever placed a chinese takeout order that didn’t include crab rangoon. i mean, obviously you have to get the sweet and sour chicken and maybe general tso and of course a few egg rolls, but first and foremost, you order crab rangoon. when i worked as a weekend news producer, i would often order only crab rangoon because it’s not messy and you can eat it while you work. all of this preface is to establish credibility for that fact that i am a crab rangoon connoisseur. and this is undoubtedly the best i’ve ever had.

when the chef picked up crab meat from the seafood counter at the grocery and said we were making rangoons i was baffled! make crab rangoon?! the small town girl in me just assumed they were a proprietary food to chinese delivery only. i watched in amazement as he whipped them up… and then ate in bliss. my goodness, i’m glad i married this guy.

the prep time is all of 20 minutes for these things, which is totally worth it.

ingredients list:
~2 c. vegetable/canola oil (for frying)
wonton wrappers
8 oz. jumbo lump crab meat
8 oz. cream cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 egg

the wonton wrappers can be hard to find. they’re usually in the fresh/refrigerated pasta section, or near the tofu, or in the salad section. okay, really they could be anywhere.

heat the oil in a pot on the stove. this is where you’ll fry your rangoon dumplings.

meanwhile, throw the crab, cream cheese, garlic, lemon juice, worcestershire, and salt and pepper into a stand mixer (or do it manually, but make sure it’s mixed really well). drop a dollop of the mixture right in the middle of the wonton wrappers.

okay, now for the egg. crack it in a bowl and add a few tablespoons of water. whisk it really hard until it gets a little bit frothy. the egg is going to be the “glue” that holds these wontons together.

just use your finger to paint a stripe of egg all around the wonton.

you can fold these things anyway you’d like. we took all four wonton corners and pulled them together at the top, sealing the edges tight. you need the seal to be complete so the crab mixture doesn’t leak out when you’re frying them.

the rangoons only need about 30 seconds in the fryer. remember, everything is already fully cooked, you just want to get a nice brown, crispy look.

our assistant, our dog mochi, was of absolutely no help. ; )

pop the rangoons out of the oil and let dry off on a paper towel.

let cool, and enjoy!!!

the best part about this: you don’t have to fry them all at once. this recipe makes about 24 rangoons. we only cooked ten of them, and put the rest in the freezer to fry another day! you’ll want to put them in the freezer on a flat surface, but once they’re frozen you can throw them in a ziplock for long term keeping.