Crab Rangoon
American Chinese dumpling appetizers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Crab Rangoon, sometimes called crab puffs,[1] crab rangoon puffs, crab ragoons, cheese wontons, or cream cheese rangoons,[2] are filled crisp dumpling appetizers[3] served primarily in American Chinese restaurants.[1][2]
| Type | Dumpling |
|---|---|
| Course | Appetizer |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Main ingredients | Wonton wrapper, cream cheese, crab meat or imitation crab meat, scallions, garlic |
| Crab Rangoon | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 蟹角 | ||||||||||
| Hanyu Pinyin | xiè jiǎo | ||||||||||
| Cantonese Yale | háaih gok | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Crab horn | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 炸蟹角 | ||||||||||
| Hanyu Pinyin | zhá xiè jiǎo | ||||||||||
| Cantonese Yale | ja háaih gok | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Fried crab horn | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Second alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 蟹仰光 | ||||||||||
| Hanyu Pinyin | xiè yǎng guāng | ||||||||||
| Cantonese Yale | háaih yéuhng gwōng | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Crab Rangoon | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Preparation
The filling is made with a combination of cream cheese, crab meat or imitation crab meat, scallions or onion, garlic, and other flavorings.[3][4][5][6] A small amount of the filling is wrapped in each wonton wrapper. The dumpling is then shaped by either folding the wrapper over into a triangle,[1][3][7][8][9] by creating a four-pointed star,[1][2] by gathering it up into a flower or purse shape,[1][5] or by twisting it into the traditional wonton shape.[6]
The appetizers are cooked to crispness by deep-frying in vegetable oil or by baking.[3][4][5] They can be served hot or cold.[3][5] In North America, crab rangoon is often served with a sauce for dipping such as soy sauce,[6][10] plum sauce,[11] duck sauce,[10][12] sweet and sour sauce,[1][4][7][10] or a hot mustard sauce.[8][13]
History
Crab rangoon was on the menu of the "Polynesian-style" restaurant Trader Vic's in Beverly Hills in 1955[14] and in San Francisco since at least 1956.[15][16][17] Although the appetizer has the name of the Burmese city of Rangoon, now known by Burmese as 'Yangon',[18] the dish was probably invented in the United States by Chinese-American chef Joe Young working under Victor Bergeron, founder of Trader Vic's.[19][20][18] Trader Vic's featured a menu that included American Chinese cuisine, which could have led to the invention of the crab rangoon when working with wonton wrappers.[21] A "Rangoon crab a la Jack" was mentioned as a dish at a Hawaiian-style party in 1952 but without further detail and so may or may not be the same thing.[22]
Although cream cheese was a staple of 1940s and 1950s American cuisine, it is not found in Chinese or Burmese cuisine.[18][23]
Names
They may be referred to as crab rangoons, crab puffs, crab pillows, crab cheese wontons, or cheese wontons.[citation needed]