Crispy wontons meet a creamy crab filling in this popular Chinese-American appetizer. Crab Rangoon are easy to make at home and great for entertaining!
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Asian
Keyword Chinese takeout recipes, crab puffs recipe, crab rangoon recipe
In a bowl, stir together cream cheese, sesame oil, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and ground white pepper. Fold in garlic, scallions, and crabmeat.
Place 1-½ teaspoons filling in the center of a wonton wrapper. Do not overfill. Lightly dampen the perimeter of the wrapper with water or egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water).
Fold the bottom left corner up over the filling to meet the top right corner. Fold the two remaining corners toward the center to make a little wonton purse. Be sure to press out any air surrounding the filling and press all of the edges together firmly to seal.*
Keep the stack of wonton wrappers and the folded wontons covered with a lightly-dampened towel while working.
Heat vegetable oil to 350-360 degrees F in a large, deep pot. Fry wontons in small batches (4-6 at a time), being sure not to crowd the pan. Move them around with a slotted spoon or a spider strainer and fry until golden brown, 3-4 minutes.
Remove to a paper-towel lined plate to drain. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce, like sweet and sour sauce (recipe linked above), duck sauce, plum sauce, or hot mustard.
Video
Notes
*Proper sealing of the wontons and removal of air is essential--wontons that split during deep frying can cause dangerous oil splatter.**If using peanut oil, read my allergen notes here. I always like to tell guests when I've used peanut oil.
To Bake:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place filled and folded wontons on a parchment-lined baking sheet and spray them with cooking spray. Bake for 8-12 minutes, until golden.
To Airfry:
Preheat airfryer to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray both airfryer basket and wontons with cooking spray. (You can also brush the wontons with oil.) Airfry in small batches (single layer) for 8-10 minutes, until crispy, gently shaking the basket halfway through.(Airfryer models can vary significantly in terms of cooking times. Watch the first batch closely and adjust the time for your specific model.)Note that baked or airfried wontons will not be as puffy and blistered or uniformly golden as those that have been deep fried. The texture is different, but they're a delicious, lighter alternative!