Crab Rangoons Recipe

Crab rangoons—everyone’s favorite Chinese takeout is much quicker and easier to make at home than you may think. We make rangoons all the time and I’m always astounded how quickly everything comes together. Much quicker than my buffalo chicken rangoons because you don’t have to fuss with precooking the chicken.

Canned crab meat, cream cheese, green onion, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt, and pepper, all wrapped in a wonton wrapper and deep-fried in oil until golden.

Wonton Wrappers Versus Eggroll Wrappers

Wonton wraps are small square flat dough wraps made from egg, flour, and water. Eggroll wraps are essentially the same dough but made slightly larger for eggrolls. You can use either size for this recipe. Homemade crab rangoons are usually smaller than Chinese takeout rangoons. I would say those are more comparable to the eggroll size.

Folding Crab Rangoons

Crab rangoons can be folded in a simple triangular shape or they can be folded into a fancier more restaurant-style rangoon.

1. Place wonton on a flat surface and spoon a teaspoon of crab filling in the center. It’s important not to overfill so the rangoon filling doesn’t burst out when frying/folding.
2. Wet the four edges with water using your finger.
3. Bring the middle of each of four sides of the rangoon (not the corners) into the center and pinch in the middle only so the four corners flare out a little.

It’s hard to explain so maybe just watch my fancy gif below.

You absolutely want to prepare all of the rangoons at once before frying. I like to fry in batches of 5-6 at a time and transfer to a paper towel to drain and cool.

Deep Frying Rangoons

Deep-fry finished wontons in 2 inches of 360 °F canola/vegetable oil in a Dutch oven or pot for about 30 seconds. They will turn golden very quickly and continue to brown even after they are taken out of the oil. 

Test a few at first and keep a close eye on how quickly they cook. The oil will continue to get hotter as you cook, making the rangoons cook faster.

If you don’t have a lot of oil, you can use a small 6-8 inch pot so you can get the desired height of oil to cook. Triangular rangoons can be cooked in LESS oil because they can be flipped in the oil to fry each side. Restuarant-style rangoons will float.

Sauce

Rangoons go especially well with sweet and sour sauce. You can get this is the International section of the grocery store. You could even use some hot pepper jelly in a pinch.

Can I Freeze Rangoons?

Yes, you can! You can fully prep and freeze raw/unfried for best results. Take them out of the freezer and let them thaw/soften a bit on the counter before frying. They should cook at the same rate as freshly made.

You’ll Also Love

• Buffalo chicken rangoons
• Hibachi-style fried rice
• Hibachi chicken
• Fried pickles

Print