This recipe is not Thai…and, truth be told, it’s not really even Chinese. But after we ventured over to Chinatown last night for the Chinese New Year festivities, I am in a particularly celebratory sort of mood. In the past, Frank and I always had this baked crab rangoon for Chinese New Year. You may remember that I am a sucker for crab rangoon, and although I know it is a bit inauthentic to write about crab rangoon (featuring a recipe by Kraft, no less) after the authentic dim sum dinner we had last night, these little guys are so irrefutably delicious, I figured you wouldn’t mind too much.
But first, here are a few pictures from the New Year festival in Chinatown. There were parades, goodies for sale, and lots of amazing food.
Along with dim sum dinner last night, we did have some little crispy fried shrimp wontons, but they didn’t fully satisfy my need for a crab rangoon fix. These little baked crab rangoon can always be relied upon to do the trick.
If you have a little extra time, it is worth the effort to make your own pineapple dipping sauce to go with the rangoon, but if you have ever used the store-bought kind, you know that it is a perfectly decent (um, actually amazing) option in a pinch. Enjoy and happy new year!
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- ½ cup canned pineapple, drained and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ red pepper, chopped
- ¼ tsp. dried red chili flakes (more if you prefer it to be spicy)
- 1 cup white vinegar
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened slightly
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 3 oz shredded crabmeat (the real stuff is good in these, but so is the fake “crab stick” that is often what take-out Chinese restaurants use)
- 3 green onions (white and green parts), thinly sliced
- 15 wonton wrappers (round or square will work)
- Combine pineapple, garlic, red pepper and chili flakes in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Pour mixture into a pan and add vinegar, sugar and water. Heat over medium heat until boiling. Reduce to a simmer and continue cooking until mixture thickens and becomes a clear, shiny red color, 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool before serving. Store in the refrigerator for up to one week.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Beat together cream cheese and mayonnaise until fluffy and evenly combined. Gently stir in crabmeat and onions.
- Fill each wonton wrapper with a heaping teaspoon of the cream cheese mixture. Dampen your fingers slightly and pull four points of the wonton wrapper together in the center. Squeeze gently to enclose the filling. Place filled wontons about 1 inch apart on the baking sheet.
- Bake until edges of wrappers are crispy and filling is heated through (and possibly bubbling slightly out of the wrappers), 15-18 minutes. Serve immediately with pineapple dipping sauce (recipe below).
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
These look so good! The pineapple dipping sauce is going to make them extra special. Also, your first photo of the boy in Chinatown stole my heart. Thanks for sharing.
Oh, I am so very happy that I stumbled upon your website from a pinterest post tonight. So many great ideas! I can’t wait to try them.
Thank you Haley – you picked one of my favorites here – I’ll definitely be making this crab rangoon around the holidays! It’s always a hit!
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