They have many names, crab puffs, crab rangoon, cream cheese wontons. If you've ever eaten at an American-Chinese restaurant, then you've likely had these before. They're pretty good but we can make them completely homemade, very easily, and more importantly... much, much better.
SUPPLIES USED:
INGREDIENTS:
Wonton Dough:
125g all purpose flour
20g tapioca starch
4g salt
10g teaspoons vegetable oil
70g hot water
Sambal Gastrique:
1/2 cup (120ml) rice vinegar
1/2 cup (100g) sugar
3 tablespoons (35g) sambal oelek
2 inch knob ginger very finely minced
5 cloves garlic very thinly sliced
Filling and assembly:
1/2 lb crab (king crab ideally)
12 oz (350g) full fat cream cheese
2 cloves garlic
1 green onion very thinly sliced
2 teaspoons (12g) worcestershire sauce
15-20 wonton wrappers
INSTRUCTIONS:
Method:
In a medium-sized bowl, add in 125 grams of all-purpose flour, 20 grams of tapioca starch and 4 grams of fine sea salt. Whisk together.
In a separate bowl, you’ll need 70 grams of hot water and mix in 10 grams of vegetable oil. Using a fork, begin mixing your flour mixture and streaming your oil and water mixture. Keep mixing until you have a shaggy dough.
Begin kneading your dough by hand for 1-2 minutes until you get a smooth and supple dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.
To make the sweet chili sauce; combine ½ cup of granulated sugar and ½ cup of rice vinegar and place it on the stove over medium high heat. Bring to a vigorous boil and let that reduce for 4 minutes or until it begins to turn syrupy.
When it has completely cooled, pour that into a bowl and let it cool down until just barely warm. Simply mix in 3 tablespoons of sambal oelek, 1 fresno chili finely diced, a two inch knob of ginger finely diced and 5 cloves of garlic thinly sliced. Mix together and let it sit until completely cooled.
Once your sauce is done, take your dough and divide it into four pieces. Press it into a flat oval and run it through the thickest setting of a pasta roller; slowly working your way thinner and thinner until you reach number 4 or 5.
Once it is thin enough, cut your dough into manageable segments. Then using a knife, slice those segments into evenly sized squares, dusting each of those pieces generously in tapioca starch and stack them on top of eachother. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough.
To make the filling, roughly chop 225 grams of good quality crab meat. In a separate medium-sized bowl, add in 350 grams of full fat cream cheese softened at room temperature. Beat your cream cheese until it is light and creamy. Beat in 2 teaspoons of worcestershire sauce, 1 thinly sliced green onion, 2 cloves of garlic freshly grated. Then using a spatula, fold your mixture together while adding in your chopped crab meat.
Line up your wonton squares, then using a small cookie scoop; place about 2-3 teaspoons of your filling in the center of each. Brush the edges of each wonton with an egg wash that consists of one beaten egg.
To shape your wontons, take one side and pinch those two edges together. Repeat with the other side, then bring those two points to the center to meet. Pinch together to create a four winged shape. Repeat with your remaining wontons.
To fry, fill a pot with frying oil at least 2 inches in depth. Heat that to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and fry your wontons in batches about 5-6 at a time for about 3 minutes.
Remove your wontons from the oil and drain them on a wire rack. Repeat with your remaining rangoons.
Serve with your sweet chili sauce.
