I don’t know about you, but I could eat Rangoons all day every day! Every time I go to an Asian restaurant or fast-food place, I always order these and there are never enough. This recipes makes enough for about 6 people with no leftovers. I like to make these when I have friends coming over.
Even if you are feeding only 1 or 2 people, these Rangoons make excellent leftovers! You can eat them cold (like I do sometimes), or you can re-heat them in the oven or air fryer (for best results) or in a microwave. You can even make them and freeze them in batches for future frying!
The hardest part of this recipe for me was getting over my fear of frying with hot oil, and making the mixture. Even if you leave the cream cheese to sit out for over an hour, it is still quite stubborn to work with and does not want to combine with the other ingredients. I also didn’t know how to fold wontons and unnecessarily stressed out about that step.
Learning how to form, fold, and fry!
The first step is to gather and prep your ingredients. I recommend pulling your cream cheese out of the refrigerator for an hour before you plan to begin.
I also like to chop up the green onions before starting. You’ll want to cut these up as finely as possible. I haven’t tried this yet, but you could probably use a food processor to chop it up for you.
Note: If you save the chopped off bottom ends of the green onions, you can set them in water to re-grow new onions for your next recipe!
Shred the imitation crab into the bowl. If you didn’t set the imitation crab out for a few minutes first, your fingers will get really cold while shredding.
Mix in the chopped green onions, and add in the salt and pepper. Thoroughly stir until all ingredients are combined.
Scoop the cream cheese into the bowl and mix. I recommend using a fork and a spatula because the cream cheese does not want to be mixed.
Folding the Wonton Wraps
There are 3 ways that I know how to fold the wraps. The first two methods end up with a fairly flat rangoon that only needs to be cooked on two sides. The third method is taller and you will either need extra oil, or to fry it on at least 3 sides.
Note: Be gentle as you fold the wonton wraps. They do have a tendency to split. You can still fry them up even if they’ve started to rip.
The Flat Triangle Fold
Personally, this is my favorite method. It is simple, easy, and requires very little effort. Put a small amount of the rangoon mixture onto the middle of the wonton wrap. How much you put in, is totally up to you. Personally, I do a smaller amount because I LOVE the crunchy parts of the Rangoon and only want a small section to be soft.
Fold the wrap in half forming a triangle shape (although, now that I think about it, you could probably fold it in half to form a rectangle… if you really wanted to 😂). Gently pinch the edges of the wrap around the filling to seal the wonton.
The Squished Triangle Fold
This second folding method is also pretty simple. Start off with the folded half triangle again, without sealing the edges. Take the bottom corners and fold them towards the center (both sides). Flatten the entire thing and gently pinch on both sides so it is all smushed together.
The Dumpling Fold
The dumpling fold is the most dynamic of the three folds. You can also fit a little extra filling inside this one.
The only downside I have discovered to this fold, is the amount of oil needed to fry it quickly. You can fry it with a small amount of oil, but you’ll need to turn it multiple times to get it to brown and crisp on all sides.
You once again fold the wrap into a triangle. Then use two fingers to fold both corners in to form a 4 equal sided rangoon. When you bring in all four corners it will form a little pocket on the bottom instead of being flat like the Squished Triangle Fold.
Frying
Now that you have all of your rangoons prepped and ready to go, it is time to get frying! Don’t forget, if you made too many, to freeze the extras for a future frying session!
Find a deep pan or a wok. Pour in oil to about a half inch depth. You can put in more, just make sure there is space left between the oil and top of the pan. As the oil heats, it will expand, so don’t fill the pan up to the rim.
Turn your stove-top on. The exact settings will vary depending on your stove and the specific stove eye you choose. For one of my stove-top eyes, I set it to a medium heat and that works out perfectly! For another one, I need to set it to medium-low otherwise it burns the oil and food.
How to tell when the oil is ready
When you hold your hand a few inches above the oil, you will feel heat radiating off of the surface. You should also see the surface of the oil moving.
If you need to check the temperature, you’ll want the oil to be around 350-360 degrees Fahrenheit.
You’ll know you have the right temperature if the oil sizzles as you place the rangoon in (be sure to always put it in away from you so if it splashes at all the oil is not hitting you). The edges of the rangoon should also start to curl right away. If the rangoons are cooking too quickly, then try lowering the temperature a bit.
Make sure to not overcrowd the pan. I repeat. Do not overcrowd. No matter how quickly you want to be done with the frying stage. It will not fry correctly if you squeeze in as many rangoons as possible into the pan.
My pans fit about 4-5 rangoons at a time comfortably. However, it only takes 10-15 seconds per side so as long as you have the rangoons prepped, it doesn’t take too long to cook them all up.
Once the first side of the rangoon is brown enough for your liking, flip it over and allow the other side to brown. When all sides have been thoroughly crisped, pull them out with tongs and place on a plate with paper towels.
I recommend placing them so that the corners can drip out any excess oil onto the paper towel. This will keep them from being overly greasy.
Ingredients:
Green onions (1/2 to 1 bunch)
8 oz. imitation crab
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
16 oz. Cream Cheese
Wonton Wrappers
Cooking Oil (I use vegetable oil)
Sweet & Sour Sauce (optional)
Steps:
This recipe makes approximately 50-75 rangoons depending on how full you fill each wrap.
Pre-step: Pull the cream cheese out of the fridge an hour+ before beginning. Make sure to set a timer so you don’t forget about the cream cheese and leave it out for 2-3 hours.
1) Rinse, pat dry, and shred the imitation crab.
2) Add in the salt, pepper, and chopped green onions. Mix thoroughly.
3) Add in the cream cheese, stirring with a spatula and/or fork until thoroughly combined.
4) Open up the wonton wrappers and place a small amount of the mixture in the middle. Close using whatever method works for you. Store on a plate until you’re ready to start frying.
5) Heat up about a half-inch to an inch of oil in a deep pan or a Wok over medium to medium-low heat.
6) Add in a few rangoons to the oil making sure not to crowd the pan (mine usually fits 4-5 rangoons at a time). Fry on all sides until golden brown.
7) Using tongs, carefully place the fried rangoons on a plate with paper towels or over an oil draining rack.
8) Serve with your favorite dipping sauce. I recommend a sweet and sour sauce.
I like to serve Crab Rangoons with Fried Rice or Fried Noodles. As you can see below, every time you make this recipe, the rangoons may come out slightly different. That is ok! Experiment with different folds and frying temperatures to see what you like best. 🙂
