Chef John's Crab Rangoon

I've made this 5 times. I can say that we prefer more cream cheese and the sweetness of the imitation crab. I used the S&S sauce from Lana's Meatballs. It's the best homemade S&S sauce I've made so far. I use the recipe as a base and season to our liking. I've also made different variations. Smoked oyster, beef bacon and feta with buffalo dipping sauce. Parmesan chicken with mushrooms and spinach with Chef John's mushroom gravy. I folded it as directed and also in a triangle. While the triangle is easier, the crispy edges from the "pyramid" folding are better tasting. I just need to master getting all they air out so the don't explode. Great recipe. Thanks Chef John!

I've tried a few different crab rangoon recipes and this has been my least favorite. The soy and worchestershire sauce completely overpowered the filling and that is all I tasted. I also like the idea of 4 crunchy "fins" but there was not enough room for the filling.

Be sure to get good wonton wrappers. The ones I got were not as thick and all that delicious filling burst through while frying (argghh!). So I had to ditch the nicer fold suggested by Chef John and doubled the wrap. This time it kept really well (although it wasn't as pretty and you don't get the crispness of the edges). One reviewer said to make sure you get all the air out to avoid bursting. Too bad I saw that suggestion too late. But doubling the wrap worked for me. By the way, if you do the simple triangle fold, you could keep them in a freezer bag and take them out to fry the following day and cook from frozen. I also used a different sweet and sour sauce. But the crab rangoon was really delicious. Thanks again Chef John for a wonderful receipe. Keep them coming! :)

Shouldn't really rate this, because I made it as fundidos - so much easier than those little wraps! Just spread the cream cheese over flour tortillas to within 1/2 inch of edges, mix crab with a little mayonnaise & seasonings and put about 1/2 cup into center of each tortilla. Fold side in to make a square packet & use toothpicks to hold together, if desired. I found I didn't need them if I browned the edge side first. Cook about 5 minutes on each side in about 1 inch of peanut oil in a large fry pan at 400 degrees. Yum! PS: If you have tortillas left over, cut them into triangles & brown in same oil. Drain on paper towels & sprinkle with powdered sugar and a little cinnamon. You have a great dessert as well.

I have made this twice, the second time I left out the fish oil and they were much better. Too fishy with the oil, it over powered the filling.

I made these for my husband and he really liked it. He is a chef so it is hard for me to do anything right by him! This recipe makes a lot so I will make again next time I have guests.

We really didn't care for this. The crab and fish sauce are overpowering. We will go back to plain Jane cheese wontons.

My family LOVED this recipe and yes I will make it again today as a matter a fact. Love them...

Thank you again Chef John! I only thought I loved crab meat rangoons but now realize the only thing I have ever had at a Chinese restaurant were cream cheese rangoons.These were absolutely delish. They not only looked fabulous but tasted amazing. Thank goodness the recipe made enough to make more tomorrow night.

I had been having a craving for crab wontons for months and finally gave in with this recipe. These tested better than ones I've had at restaurants. I did some with the 'warhead' fold, but eventually just did most with a triangle fold because it was faster. Super tasty.

I added more soy and rice wine vinegar to the sauce (mine tasted too much like ketchup).

The actual time to fill, fold and deep-fry a recipe (with a 1 liter deep fryer) was about 2 hours. This does not include the refrigerator time. I am not a real fan of fish sauce, but I used it anyway, and the next time I make it, I'll leave it out. All that said, they looked fantastic and tasted very good (fish sauce notwithstanding).

I made these and took a picture before frying. They were gone before I could photo them after they were done. I think that means they were a real hit. I don't know myself I didn't have one. Everyone loved these but not the dipping sauce. Made as written. I will be making these again and maybe I'll get to have a couple.

Thanks for this recipe Chef John! The filling burst during the fry, so I had to take it out sooner before it got golden brown. Very tasty and crispy even without any sauce.

I'm not one to criticize another mans work, but just to save you the headache my wife and I experienced this morning...you might want to skip this recipe. We made it EXACTLY as stated. The taste: Fishy. If we were to order this at a restaurant, we'd send it back. Can't blame the crab, it was sweet and tasty. Maybe the fish sauce? And for the dipping sauce in this recipe... it's not one I would ever serve with crab rangoon. We didn't like it, and I love most all things Chinese, Thai, Asian, etc. We ended up pitching everything in the garbage. This guy is a likable guy, and the video is great. And, thanks to Chef John, I learned the techniques of folding wanton wrappers. But based on this recipe, I doubt I will try anything else he has published, as our flavor profiles vastly differ.

YUM x a million!! :D

This was an awesome game time football snack! I followed recipe exactly except I cut the cream cheese in half as we enjoy the crab flavor more than the cheese. I didn't have any issues with wontons exploding. Also, not sure These are added to the list of new family faves.

I should have used smaller rice papers and worked harder at getting all the air out. I also would have liked a bit more cream cheese. Flavors were delish and after I got the hang of folding they started to look pretty good. So...more cream cheese, smaller wrappers and next time I might take a picture.

This is the first review I've ever left (I have made MANY recipes from here) and I'm still eating these as I type because I can't help but say something. These are GREAT! I must say that I didn't have sesame oil or fish sauce, and I'm actually glad because this was perfect without them. I used around 6oz imitation crab for my preference. I didn't even hear the part about getting air out until it was too late, but I still didn't have any "explosions" so I'm happy about that! Next time I'll follow user advice and just make them as triangles to save time. I'm also going to try this (reluctantly) with cooked chicken for my partner who doesn't like seafood. Lastly, I knew I wasn't going to like this sauce based on the ingredients so I used a different one. Thanks again Chef John!

Made these and they turned out amazing ! Only thing different I did was close them in more of a triangle did not make a difference taste wise I don’t think ! They were gone with in 15 minutes of me making them.

I just wasted the ingredients to make these. I followed the recipe exactly. They are definitely missing something and don't taste anything like what you buy. Very bland.

Too much crab in recipe. Needs to be a little sweeter.

I made these although they are not like the ones that I use to make and lost the recipe to. I also added about a half a teaspoon of A1 for that extra spice.

I loved this recipe . The only thing I changed on this was that I cut the recipe in half due to only my husband liking crab Rangoon. He helped make it and found that it was pretty easy and tasted great!

I measured every ingredient precisely. I would omit the sesame entirely and use a little more garlic next time.

These are delicious! I did not have soy or fish sauce but they still came out great. I made Lana's meatball sweet and sour sauce recommended by another reviewer and it was delicious paired with Chef John's crab rangoons. I did a 1:1 ratio of crab:cream cheese and although there were 10/10, I would do a higher amount of CC to crab next time (just because I like them creamier). I made in a deep fryer and it was super easy to get the hang of the "warhead" shape. Will definitely make again!

Outstanding flavor in filling. ! I fried mine in both lard and canola oil - long story why but. My hubs said best he ever tasted.

Delish!

I thought these were awesome. The only trouble I had was with sealing the edges of the wrappers enough so that the filling did burst out while frying. Not sure how to fix that...

Made recipe exactly as written, no changes or substitutions. The flavors of onion and cream cheese were the main notes. Great recipe but not what I was aiming for. I wanted that slightly sweet Rangoon like you get as an appetizer with takeout. Thank you Chef John for another wonderful cooking experiment.

Made these for New Year's Day and they were pretty good. I prefer a sweeter taste to the filling so I may try it with lobster next time and skip the fish sauce. Dipping sauce was a little too hot so I'll cut back the sriracha next time. Video was very helpful for creation of perfect "pyramids" and they came out crunchy in just under 3 minutes.

added hotsauce on some for a little zing.

Omitted fish sauce. Used scant dash of cayenne; next time will omit it. Used 8 oz. low fat Cream Cheese but only 5 oz. imit. crab. Served with Duck sauce. Wonderful. I served as appetizers, but we both pigged out and didn't want supper! I forgot to count them, but it did not yield 60 wontons; maybe 20-25 or so. Thank you for the recipe.

My family liked the Crab Rangoon ( I have an allergy to shellfish)

This was not bad. I made some substitutions based on what I had on hand: imitation crab, and red instead of green onions. Next time I’ll use real crab. We liked it well enough, but it wasn’t amazing.

A great little treat!! Made recipe as written. The whole family enjoyed them.

I made this as a dish for a Chinese night with about 12 friends and everyone loved them. The only issue I had was when cooking them the crab kept boiling out of them, otherwise 5 stars.

Easy to make!! I chopped the crab to match the onions in size! Great bite size crab cheesy heaven!

Loved this!!! It only needs a little more cream cheese to be perfect. Really easy to make as well.

Great!

We used less cream cheese and stone crab claw meat. It was very good. folding the little pockets was time consuming, but worth it.

Just made it today. I dont know something is wrong with the flavour. Maybe the worcestershire sauce? I will do it again without that sauce. Also my first batch bursted. So the next one i deep fried was double wrapped. I will try to experiment more with this recipe.

I loved it, however not as good as the ones I get in Chinese restaurants.

Loved the recipe and it wasn't too hard to make. I did NOT like the ketchup based S & S sauce though. I'd like something smoother and lighter tasting. We didn't let the cream cheese soften so it was KINDA hard to fork. Had to use a knife and cut the ingredients in.. BUT since it was cold and we could make it into little balls easier we just went ahead and made them instead of letting it sit for 1-2 hours in the fridge. It was a family project. My daughter that is 11 doesn't like crab so we did all the same thing for her (all the ingredients) but left out the crab. We just need to find the best sauce! Thanks Chef John.

My family loves this recipe! The only thing I added was 1 tbsp of brown sugar to the cream cheese mixture. It balanced out the flavors well. The first time I made it without the brown sugar, the cream cheese was a little too salty for my taste.

I doubled the cream cheese, left out the crab. I didn't have fish sauce so I skipped it, and I used a heaping tablespoon of minced garlic. LOVE this! I was terrible at folding the wontons so I gave up and ate the filling with crackers. So good. I also added more chopped scallions. This is a great recipe for people to adjust to their preferences.

Great for parties! My guests were so impressed! Imitation crab worked wonderfully as well of you are looking for a less expensive way. I love all of chef John's recipes!

Delicious! Definitely a keeper.

I left out the crab practicing to make this for my mom (she's allergic). Filled with half chocolate hazelnut, half jalapeno cream cheeses, with fresh garden herbs (I have cinnamon basil and german thyme). These were amazing! I'll make them with the crab next time though. I crave rangoons sometimes.

Totally the favorite of the evening.

My young daughter make these wonderful crab rangoon. They were delicious and perfect. She is not much of a cook but she did an excellent job and the recipe was simple for her try. Thank you please try these they're awesome.

freakin awesome.i did find they were better with my homemade S&S sauce. However, Chef John's sauce is actually better than cocktail sauce to dip shrimp and crab in! it has a nice punch to it. Anyway, the blue crab is the bomb, but a little more challenging to find. Well worth your time. These Rangoons are dynamite.

Yhis is the first time a recipe has been so bad that it made me angry. These taste awful. Yes, I followed the recipe to the letter. Everything fresh. Oil fresh and to temp. It's just an awful recipe. First negative review I've left.