Whenever I went out for Chinese food, crab rangoons were my favorite treat. I’m not going to lie, I’ve been missing this particular appetizer a lot. But, when I found rice paper in my pantry, it occurred to me that I might be able to use it to make my own crab rangoons. And guess what, it works. And here’s how! (this recipe makes 20-25)
Rice paper at its best!
Ingredients for the crab rangoons
- 8 oz soft cream cheese
- 12 oz cooked crab meat
- 1 Tablespoon powdered sugar*
- 1 Tablespoon green onions
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 20-25 sheets of rice paper
- Red palm oil for frying
*Use powdered sugar with tapioca starch instead of corn starch like the 365 Organic brand sold at Whole Foods.
Ingredients for the sweet and sour sauce
- 5 oz pineapple juice
- 2 Tablespoon tomato paste
- 3 Tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 1/2 Tablespoon tapioca starch
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
The sauce is very easy to prepare. Just mix all the ingredients together in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until thickened (about 4-5 minutes). Keep it refrigerated in an air tight container until ready to serve.
And now for the crab rangoons. First, mix the filling in a large bowl (cream cheese to minced garlic, on the list). The next few steps go quickly, so make sure you have oil ready for frying. I use red palm oil at 370F.
Take a sheet of rice paper and let it soak in a bath of hot (not boiling) water for 30 seconds. Take it out and remove excess water. Put about a Tablespoon of the crab mixture in the middle of the rice paper.
This will not get folded like a normal crab rangoon. Rice paper is very thin and it’s important that it’s not ever single folded, or it won’t hold the mixture. So, roll the rice paper into a cylinder with the crab mixture in the middle, fold one end over and one end under. That way, it’s folded the thickest way possible.
Fry about 5-7 minutes, but only a few rangoons at a time so they don’t stick. Scoop out and serve with sweet and sour sauce. It tastes pretty close to the crab rangoons we all love. Enjoy your treat!
