Name: Crab Rangoon Appetizer
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients: 1 block cream cheese (8oz); crab meat, at least 8oz. (I used 1lb, I love crab!); 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce; 1 teaspoon soy sauce; one green onion, chopped; 2 cloves of garlic, minced; 1 package won ton wrappers

Submitted by nicole on Wed, 01/22/2014 - 11:14

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This Crab Rangoon recipe will teach you to make this delicious Chinese-American appetizer at home.

Catering pan full of crab rangoon appetizers with text overlay reading "How to Make Crab Rangoon."

What is Crab Rangoon?

Crab Rangoon is an appetizer found at many American Chinese restaraunts, and it is a distinct creation of Chinese-American cuisine. It's an appetizer made with a cream cheese and crab filling wrapped in a wonton wrapper, and deep fried. If you'd like to learn more about Crab Rangoon, there's a delightful article on Atlas Obscura all about the subject.

One of my husband's favorite things in the world is Crab Rangoon. I almost never fry things at home, so it's not something I even considered making until I was deciding on a Asian-inspired menu for the Firefly birthday party.

Crab rangoon was the perfect choice. Crispy on the outside, pillowy and warm on the inside, with a zesty mix of crab, cream cheese, and spices.

Crab Rangoon Recipe

1 block cream cheese (8oz)
crab meat, at least 8oz. (I used 1lb, I love crab!)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
one green onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced (or 1 teaspoon garlic powder, if you must)
1 package won ton wrappers

Crab Rangoon filling ingredients in a silver mixing bowl.

Combine softened cream cheese, green onion, Worcestershire, soy sauce, and garlic in a mixing bowl. I used my Kitchenaid mixer to combine all of these ingredients quickly and thoroughly. Only once the other ingredients are well mixed should you fold in the crab. I like the crab to remain distinct, and not get blended into a homogenous blend with the other ingredients. I used the mixer for all of the other ingredients, but a spatula and a light hand to incorporate the crab meat.

How to Shape Crab Rangoon

Crab Rangoon filling in wonton wrappers to make Crab Rangoon.

Place a small scoop of the crab mixture in the center of a square won ton wrapper. Wet all four edges of the won ton square.

Preparing Crab Rangoon for cooking.

Pull two corners together, and pinch *just* at the point. Then pull up the opposite two corners to the same center point to create that distinctive hat shape for the crab rangoon.

Crab Rangoon and lumpia in a catering tray.

Pinch all of the edges together very well. If you don't get a good seal, the filling will spill out when you fry it up.

How to Cook Crab Rangoon

Heat vegetable oil to between 350 and 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Fry the crab Rangoon until golden brown.

Can You Freeze Crab Rangoon?

Yes! These can be cooked right away, or, just like the lumpia and potstickers, you can freeze them (in a single layer! Not touching!), then put them in a freezer bag ahead of time, and pull them out when you're ready to cook. I love appetizers like these; the more prep work I can do well ahead of time, the better!

I attempted baking these, but I haven't figured out how to make that work. By the time the wrapper was nicely crisped, I always, always had a blowout of the filling. Maybe I should do them more like mini tarts? Bake up the shells, then add the filling, and pop in the oven to heat through? Have you cracked the baked Crab Rangoon code? If you have, please share your secret!