Thursday, February 12, 2009

Baked Crab Rangoons


The crunch is achieved by brushing the wontons with melted butter and vegetable oil followed by a sprinkling of sesame seeds. While this will add a bit of fat, divide 4 tablespoons of butter/oil by 45 rangoons, and the fat per Rangoon is miniscule. If making these for a party, you can prep them ahead of time, then brush with butter/oil, sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake just before serving.


200 grams (6 ounces) package cream cheese (you can use low fat, not fat-free)
1, 170 grams (about 4 ounces) can crab, drained
2 green onions, using all by the dark green part, sliced thin
1 teaspoon plus one dash soy sauce
½ teaspoon mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)—optional
Couple of dashes of Tabasco
1 package wonton wrappers (about 45 2 inch by 2 inch sheets)
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Sesame seeds

1) Mix all of the filling ingredients together. Taste it and adjust seasoning, if desired. Scoop into a zip-top plastic bag, do not close the top, and snip off one bottom corner. You will then be able to pipe the filling into the wontons easily.

2) Pre-heat oven to 200 C (400 F). Beat the egg with a bit of water. On a clean counter top, lay out a row of wonton wrappers with a point facing you. Brush the two sides that come down to a point with egg wash, then pipe about 1 teaspoon of filling into the middle of the wonton wrappers. Fold the wrappers over so that form a triangle. Press all of the air out and press the edges well to seal. Keep the prepared rangoons under a slightly damp dish towel while you are making the rest.

3) Melt the butter and oil in the microwave. Lay the rangoons on a parchment paper lined baking tray and brush them with the butter/oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 15 minutes, until they are golden.

Serve immediately. Makes about 45 crab rangoons.

1 comment:

Cindy Rowland said...

I have a complete weakness for crab rangoon. Sometimes it's the only reason I want Chinese food. I've tried to make it at home before via the baking method. But the wontons were too lifeless. Thanks for the butter/oil/sesame seed variation. Can't wait to try it out.