Baked Crab Rangoon

It’s pretty rare that Shane and I don’t eat dinner together during the week. We’re both usually home, and I generally try to make something that appeals to both of us so we can enjoy this one meal of the day together. This week was a bit of an exception, though, as Shane’s schedule meant I’d be left to my own devices two nights in a row. Any time Shane’s not around for dinner, I use it as an opportunity to make something I know he wouldn’t like (often something meatless or containing a ton of veggies). I’ve been pinning recipes like crazy over on Pinterest lately, and I knew I had a few that were not Shane-friendly, so I headed over to find some inspiration.

That’s when I remembered these baked Crab Rangoon! We don’t order Chinese food all that often, but when we do, Crab Rangoon is one of my very favorite indulgences. If you’ve never had it before, it’s basically a fried wonton wrapper stuffed with a cream cheese and crab mixture. Utterly delicious, but not exactly healthy, which is one reason I was so intrigued by this baked version.

This recipe was really easy to whip up, and I enjoyed the Crab Rangoon so much I ate them both nights Shane was out! The filling was super creamy, and the wrappers crisped up quite nicely in the oven. These also had way more crab flavor than anything I’ve ever had from a Chinese restaurant. I splurged on good crabmeat for the recipe, but it was absolutely worth it. One tip if you decide to make these – it’s really important to try to eliminate all of the air pockets around the filling as you assemble the Crab Rangoon because air bubbles will cause your wrappers to open up while baking resulting in some of the filling spilling out. It happened on a few of mine; it’s not the end of the world, but worth trying to avoid, if possible 🙂 (Updated: Check out the comments below for an idea from a commenter who suggested making these using a mini muffin pan to avoid the trouble of trying to get the air out of the wrappers!)

{PS – If you’re wondering where to find wonton wrappers, they’re available in most grocery stores these days. They’re over in the refrigerator section of the produce department in mine.}

{PPS – I’ve also included a sweet chili dipping sauce recipe below that accompanied the recipe for the Crab Rangoon on Kristin’s site. To be honest, I’m still on the fence as to whether I like it but she raved about it, and it had a ton of positive reviews on the original author’s site, so it’s entirely possible I’m the odd man out here.}

Baked Crab Rangoon
adapted from Food.com (via Iowa Girl Eats)

2 tablespoons sour cream (light is fine)
8 oz cream cheese, softened (I used reduced fat)
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup crab meat, drained
wonton wrappers

Preheat oven to 415 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, mix the sour cream, cream cheese, scallion, garlic, ginger, soy sauce and sugar together until well combined. Fold in the crab meat.

Lay a wonton wrapper on your work surface. Place about 2 teaspoons of the filling mixture in the center of the wrapper, then brush two adjacent sides of the wrapper lightly with water. Fold the wrapper over on the diagonal. Press around the filling to remove air pockets, then press the sides to seal the wrapper tightly. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.

Spray the tops of the wonton wrappers lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and crisp.

Makes 20-24

Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce
from She Simmers (via Iowa Girl Eats)

3 garlic cloves, peeled
2 red serrano or jalapeno peppers, seeds removed
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

Add the garlic, chili peppers, sugar, water, vinegar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Process until well combined – the pieces of garlic and chili should be very small. Transfer the mixture to a saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, cooking until the pieces of garlic and pepper soften a bit, about 3 minutes.

Whisk the cornstarch and water together in a small bowl. Add to the sauce mixture in the pan and continue simmering, whisking frequently, until the sauce has thickened, about 2 minutes. Leftover sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Makes about 1 cup