Crab Rangoon (Chinese Fusion)

      Sorry to break it to you, but the Chinese food which you get delivered about once a week is in no way authentic Asian cuisine.  Case in point, Crab Rangoon.  Sweet crab meat mixes with cream cheese and onions and is stuffed into wonton wrappers and deep fried until it is golden brown and all kinds of delicious. But cream cheese was never actually adopted by Asian cuisine. Cream cheese traveled from the middle east and went West, where it was used in an appetizer at the San Fransisco restaurant 'Trader Vic's' which they so dubbed Crab Pillows.
      When asked, the owner said the dish was Polynesian in origin.  It then took the Luau scene by storm where the name changed to meet the feel of the 1960's dinner party scene.  Thus the dish was dubbed 'Rangoon Crab Alla Jack' and later changed to the shorter Crab Rangoon which we know today.
      Despite the little deception, the dish itself is a wonderful finger food, especially when you need to feed a large crowd without breaking the bank.  A few notes for this recipe: DO NOT use imitation crab, if you do not want to get fresh crab meat then go canned, I don't know how you can imitate a crab but I shudder to think; use the smaller size wonton wrappers as it tends to feed more; and serve with a sauce for dipping (plum, sweet and sour, and duck sauces are great for this).

     

Crab Rangoon

16 ounces lump crab meat, cartilage removed

2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon soy sauce

2 scallions (about 1/4 cup) minced
2 tablespoons garlic, minced

1 package (12 ounces) small wonton wrappers.
1/4 cup water
6 cups Canola oil.

In a large bowl mix together the crab and cream cheese (I find a fork is the best for this).  Fold in the Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, scallions and garlic.

Spoon tablespoon fulls of the crab mixture into the center of the wonton wrappers. Brush the edges of the wrappers with the water and fold in the edges around the filling (this does not have to be uniform, just needs to seal in the filling).

In a large skillet heat the oil to 160* place the Rangoon into the hot oil and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes.  Remove the cooked Rangoon from the oil and place on a paper towel lined plate to drain.  Serve warm.

Makes about 40 Rangoon's.