Fried Crab Rangoon with Pineapple Dipping Sauce

Published December 8, 2019

As you’ve read from my dining experience at Double Ai Asian Bistro in Wayne, NJ — Crab Rangoon are crispy fried wontons filled with a cream cheese and crab mixture.

Crab Rangoon are one of many dishes that I eat, and think to myself, “I can make this.”

This week, as I see how close we are to the end of the year, I decided that I wanted to tackle this recipe. I followed the ingredient list from The Cozy Cook blog.

While I had duck sauce at home for dipping, I decided this recipe would be better if I made my own homemade sauce. I followed The Inquiring Chef’s recipe for Pineapple Dipping Sauce. Paired together, we have this week’s recipe video for my first-time making Crab Rangoon!

Ingredients for Fried Crab Rangoon and Pineapple Dipping Sauce

Considering it is post-Thanksgiving and only a few weeks till Christmas the supermarket was mobbed.

I had a list of ingredients that I didn’t have on hand at home including:

• Pineapple

• Wonton wrappers

• Crab

• Extra Canola oil

• Bell pepper

• Green onions

• Cream cheese

I knew where to find most of these ingredients — except for the pineapple and wonton wrappers.

I originally planned on buying a can of the pineapple rings. Since I couldn’t find them, I went back to the produce section and bought a cleaned pineapple (it was the same price as a whole pineapple, so I thought I’d save myself some time).

I thought wonton wrappers would be in the refrigerated section with the tamales and empanada wrappers, or by the biscuits and pizza dough. My ShopRite stores them on the other side of the store, near the produce, on the wall of lettuce.

There was only one brand of wonton wrappers — Nasoya — and they were vegan. Which is fine by me, if the vegan-ness doesn’t compromise or alter what a non-vegan product would be. I bought two packs, as I wasn’t sure how many I would need for this recipe.

How to Make Fried Crab Rangoon with Pineapple Dipping Sauce

Homemade Pineapple Dipping Sauce

Since the sauce should be served cool / at room temperature, I decided to make it first.

You will need a food processor or hand blender to make this sauce. I roughly chopped the peppers and pineapples before blending. I added the base to a saucepan — you could see the texture of the peppers and pineapple (almost like a pulp).

If you wanted a smoother sauce, I imagine you could’ve pureed it until it was completely smooth, though it might’ve taken longer to thicken when you heat it on the stove.

Fried Crab Rangoon

I bought a 10 oz container of crab. It was the smallest size available. Thus — when I made my Crab Rangoon filling, I probably added more than 3 oz. Feel free to adjust the filling seasoning and sauces to match.

Frying the Crab Rangoon

I read a helpful tip, that the test the oil before adding the folded Crab Rangoon, was to place a wrapper in the oil and see how quickly it cooks.

I did this before adding my four-piece Crab Rangoon into the oil. I only filled the wrappers with about a teaspoon of filling. Even-so, it seems like the folded tops of the wontons would not get golden. They cooked, but not to the 100% golden color I was expecting.

I flipped one, to see if I could get the tops golden, but the oil caused the filling to boil out of the top and into the pan, which started to splatter.

Thus — the bottom and sides of my Crab Rangoon are golden and beautiful, but the tops don’t match. They’re still edible, but not an even color.

I think I will try to fold my wontons flat like Double Ai, so that there is an even color when frying.

The Final Product

Overall Thoughts

I’m happy with the final product for these Crab Rangoon with Pineapple Dipping Sauce.

The wontons held their shape to create fancy Rangoon. The pineapple dipping sauce had a brilliant orange-red color, which brightened the plate of golden Rangoon.

Flavor

As I mentioned before, my extra crab made it the most noticeable flavor. If you’re going to add more than 3 oz make sure to add more of the soy, green onion, and Worcestershire to balance out.

In my case, it wasn’t bad to have a crab flavor. The Pineapple Dipping Sauce had its own bold flavors (sweet, but not sickeningly so), with the tang from the vinegar and the depth from the red pepper.

If you like a spicier dipping sauce, you can add more of the red pepper. I would keep the same amount of sugar, as that counterbalances the vinegar.

The Rangoon was the vehicle for the sauce. The final bite was the crunchy wonton, warm cream cheese with the crab, and the bright dipping sauce.

Portions and Storage

I made the first batch of Crab Rangoon (which you see here) on Saturday, totaling 17 Crab Rangoon. I am finishing the filling (and trying an alternate folding method) tonight, and expect to get 17 more. This recipe totals about 34 Crab Rangoon.

We ate all the Crab Rangoon last night, but I read that you can freeze the uncooked Crab Rangoon and then thaw and fry. Or you can fry them, line them on a tray, freeze them, and then store them in a container of your choice.

I refrigerated my sauce. To serve, I will leave it at room temperature or microwave it for 15 seconds to remove the chill.

Recipe Score

I give the fried Crab Rangoon with Pineapple Dipping Sauce a 10/10 for the following:

• Recipe Level

  • Intermediate: This recipe is a bit of a commitment and has some elements which can get tricky if you don’t have patience. If you’re determined and enjoy the cooking process, you’ll do fine with making your own sauce, filling, and folding your Crab Rangoon.

• Ingredients

  • It might take you some time to find these ingredients at your supermarket. You can use real or imitation crab depending on your budget. I used real crab to boost the flavor and texture. The other seasoning and ingredients — including those for the pineapple dipping sauce, are items you probably have on hand, or will use again in the future.

• Prep

  • There’s no prep required, just the order of events so that your dipping sauce is ready and cooled by the time you fry your Crab Rangoon.

• Flavor

  • 10/10: The perfect combination of textures: Creamy warm crab filling, golden crisp wonton, sweet and sour pineapple dipping sauce — yum!

K. Martinelli Makes Fried Crab Rangoon with Pineapple Dipping Sauce

Thanks for Watching!

Have you made fried Crab Rangoon before? What did you think? Do you have a favorite sauce with pair with it? Tell me about it in the comments or check out my other appetizer recipes.