Crab Rangoon

Crab Rangoon. Crispy fried wontons stuffed with a delicious crab and creamy filling made of cream cheese and crab meat. These are best served with sweet Thai chili sauce. 

This is the best crab rangoon recipe and it’s totally addictive with that creamy crab mixture! This cream cheese rangoon recipe is one of my favorite appetizers to make for a gathering! 

What is Crab Rangoon?

They are a crispy wonton wrapper filled with a creamy crab mixture. They are fun and easy to make with minimal ingredients! 

It's a delicious and popular Chinese takeout dish that you can get at your local Chinese Restaurants! Funny enough, these cheese wontons also have nothing to do with Chinese cuisine origins, but it’s a Chinese food often served at American Chinese Restaurants.

Crab Rangoon Origin

Victor Bergeron, the founder of Trader Vic's, is the creator behind these crab wontons. This crispy wonton dish goes back to as early as the 1930’s in America!

Fried rangoon has become so popular in the United States that it went viral on social media! Who knew that this classic American creation would become so popular! It has certainly become one of my favorite things to eat!

Easy Crab Rangoon Recipe

This easy recipe is simple and quick to make with very accessible ingredients! The preparation time for these crab rangoon appetizers takes about 20 minutes and frying takes about 10 minutes. You're simply mixing the crab and cream cheese filling ingredients in a medium bowl and then adding the filling into the middle of a wonton wrapper to seal. Lastly, fry your uncooked crab rangoon in hot oil until you have a crispy wonton shell and enjoy. These are fantastic for as your next party appetizer!

You can even prepare the filled wontons ahead of time, freeze them and fry them up on the day of serving. They will easily become the most popular appetizer! 

More Crab than Cream Cheese

My authentic crab rangoon recipe is packed with a bit more crab meat than cream cheese making them perfect in texture. My crispy crab rangoon is deep fried giving the wonton skin a puffed and crunchy taste. The variety of seasoning elevates the taste of the inner creamy crab filling, making it savory, aromatic and downright tasty just like your local Chinese restaurant!

Imitation Crab Meat vs. Real Crab Meat

For my crab puffs, I prefer imitation crab meat or artificial crab as it’s less fishy tasting.  It's a good option that is easy to work with, accessible and affordable compared to real crab meat. But do what works for your taste buds! If you enjoy real crab meat, then go for it! You can use canned, frozen or fresh crab meat for my homemade crab rangoon recipe.

Crab Rangoon Ingredients

For this crab rangoons recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients. Please scroll down to Recipe card for full measurements. 

• Wonton wrappers: Wonton wrappers that are about 3 x 3-inches in diameter. The Asian markets or select Western grocers will carry these wonton skins. Make sure the square wonton wrappers are fresh as they are easier to work with. You can also purchase the frozen wonton skin, but you will need to thaw them before wrapping. You may also use egg roll wrappers if you can't find wonton skins, but I would cut them into the 3 x 3-inch-wide squares.
• Vegetable oil, or neutral tasting oil: I prefer using avocado oil but feel free to use any neutral tasting oil with a high smoke point, such as grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil, or canola oil.
• Water, for sealing wontons: Have a small bowl of cold water nearby to seal the filled wonton.

Filling:

• Imitation crab meat, or real crab meat: This is up to you! Both work fine. I just prefer imitation crab meat since it's more accessible and less fishy tasting. Your local grocery store will carry both. You can also purchase real crab meat in canned form which will make things much easier.
• Cream cheese: Feel free to use light or normal cream cheese for the cream cheese mixture. Tip: leave the cream cheese out 30 minutes before at room temperature to soften. This will make it easier to combine cream cheese with other ingredients.
• Green onions: To elevate and give our filling a delicious taste and aroma!
• Regular Soy sauce: Just your normal all-purpose soy sauce. Do not use dark soy sauce. Why? Dark soy sauce is less salty than regular and used to color a dish. Light soy sauce is saltier than regular soy sauce. You may use it by adding it to taste, but do not substitute as a 1:1 ratio. Feel free to use low-sodium soy sauce.
• Sesame oil: To lend a nutty taste and scent to the wontons! Most Asian grocery stores, select Western Grocers or online retailers, like Amazon, will carry this ingredient. If you're allergic, feel free to omit.
• Worcestershire sauce: This gives the filling a bit of acid which is needed to balance out the creamy and salty flavors!
• Sugar: To balance out the saltiness of the soy sauce.
• Garlic powder: For extra flavor!
• Black pepper: To season the crab meat.

Dipping Sauce: feel free to enjoy each small parcel with any store-bought sweet chili sauce or duck sauce, which is a sweet and sour sauce.

How to make Crab Rangoons

Below are brief steps with visuals to show you how to make homemade crab rangoons. Please scroll down to the recipe card below to find full instructions and details.

1. Chop imitation crab meat into small pieces, about 2 cm wide, and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, soften room temperature cream cheese with a spatula until smooth.
3. Add imitation crab meat into your bowl of softened cream cheese, along with the rest of filling ingredients as listed.
4. With a fork, mix very well until crab meat breaks down.

Folding a crab rangoon

1. On a clean flat surface, lay out a wonton wrapper. Add ¾ tablespoon of the filling into the center of the wrapper. Use your index fingers to dab a bit of cold water along the edges of the wrapper.
2. Lift and pinch the two opposite corners of the wrapper. 
3. Then lift the adjacent corners and seal the edges. Make sure to pinch them very well to prevent leakage as you fry, especially the tip of the wonton. (See images in blog post)
4. Place crab rangoons on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover them with a damp paper towel or plastic wrap to prevent the wonton skins from drying out.

Frying

1. In your pan, add oil and bring to medium heat or 325 F. Once oil is hot, add crab rangoons in two separate batches or small batches. Do not overcrowd. Deep frying 2 minutes on both sides, until golden brown.
2. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to wire rack set on a baking pan or a plate with clean paper towels to drip or absorb excess oil.
3. Allow this to cool down a bit before enjoying. Serve with store bought sweet chili sauce or any sauce of your liking.

Storage

Crab rangoon is best enjoyed while they're still crispy. However, if you have leftover crab rangoon, store them in an airtight container and they will last up to 4 days in the fridge. To reheat, bake them in a preheated 350 F oven for 6-7 minutes or air fry for 5-7 minutes at 300 F or until warm. 

FAQ

Below are frequently asked questions about these fried crab rangoons:

How long are Crab Rangoons Good for?

Once fried, they should be consumed within 1-4 days while being stored in an airtight container in the fridge. You can reheat them in the air fryer or oven for best results.

Can you freeze crab rangoons?

Yes, you can make them ahead and store them in a single layer in a freezer bag, so they don’t stick to each other. They will last 2 months in the freezer or until freezer burn begins to form. You can then deep fry, air fry or bake them from frozen.

Can I air fry these crab rangoons?

Yes! Please see my Recipe Card below for further instructions.

Can I repurpose the oil?

Yes! I usually reuse it a second or third time depending on how clean I can keep the oil. Cool down the hot oil, then strain of any browned bits and transfer to a reusable container to store in the fridge.

What's the difference between Wontons and Rangoons?

Wontons can be filled with a variety of fillings, but the classic Chinese wonton is usually filled with pork, shrimp, garlic, and other seasoning ingredients. Whereas Rangoons are filled with either imitation or real crab meat with cream cheese.

Why is there no crab in crab rangoon?

You may find at certain Chinese restaurants, the ratio of crab meat to cream cheese is very little for cost cutting reasons. Crab can be expensive, so restaurants tend to cheap out on that ingredient. However, in my recipe you’ll have a 50/50 ratio of crab to cream cheese.

Are crab rangoons healthy?

Unfortunately, this beloved appetizer is not a health food as they’re packed with cream cheese which is high in fat and then deep fried in oil. However, these are a delicious treat and sometimes life is too short to restrict yourself!

Are crab rangoons Chinese?

No, surprisingly they're not authentic Chinese cuisine food despite being sold and served at many Chinese restaurants. Crab rangoons were actually invented in the USA. 

Which cream cheese brand did you use?

I find Philadelphia cream cheese works the best for most of my recipes, so I used their light cream cheese. You may use regular cream cheese if you wish!

Other recipes you may like!

If you enjoyed this fried crab rangoon recipe, you may enjoy these other dishes:

• Chicken Chow Mein
• Shrimp Fried Rice
• Chinese Lemon Chicken
• Spicy Asian Cucumber Salad
• Crispy Soy Garlic Tofu
• Chinese Spicy Garlic Eggplant
• Egg Drop Soup