Southern Crab Rangoon truly is the perfect party appetizer, no matter what time of year it is. The secret to their great Southern flavor is a little bit of sweet and spicy pepper jelly added to their filing. And, after you dip these delicious little fried packages of cream cheese and crab meat into a sweet and flavorful boozy pepper jelly dipping sauce, you’ll definitely become an instant fan.
I’m finding it hard to believe that the holidays are only a week away; I’m so ready and so not ready at the same time. I’m ready to spend time with family and friends, finish putting up my last two full-size Christmas trees, go drunken caroling, see Next Stop Theatre Company’s holiday show, buy insane amounts of sausage and drink lots of beer at Christkindlmarket, and obviously drink copious amounts of rum-laced eggnog throughout the entire holiday season. I’m not so ready for the whole buying presents experience. Gifts are truly a pain in the ass. So this year, I’ve totally decided that “Christmas Light” is the way to go. If you aren’t family, if I don’t see you more than once a week, and if your name isn’t Brenna or B.O.B. Bob, then I’m sorry, but you’re only getting a card, perhaps a cookie or two, and maybe if you’re lucky the present of these little crab and cream cheese stuffed won ton wrapped packages.
B.O.B. Bob and I spent one evening this week wrapping up these little bundles of joy, which in itself was kind of a small gift. B.O.B. Bob and the kitchen don’t spend much time together, so it’s always fun to see how they get along when thrown together, especially when hot oil and a YouTube lesson on how to wrap Crab Rangoon won tons are thrown into the mix. I quickly decided to ditch the traditional wrapping method because nothing in life should be that much of an ordeal. Instead, I got to teach B.O.B. Bob how my mother taught my brother and me how to wrap won tons when we were children. She always explained it by saying that you’re basically wrapping each won ton like you would change a diaper. I never was quite sure about that whole description, seeing as I had never changed a diaper in my life at that point, but it seemed to make sense, and in this case, even B.O.B. Bob caught on quick to the method.
So just what possessed me to invite B.O.B. Bob into my kitchen domain and risk burning down the entire house with hot burning oil? Well, this month’s #FishFridayFoodies theme chosen by Wendy Klik of A Day in the Life on the Farm is “Holiday Appetizers or First Courses.” Nothing says holiday more to me than the little ol’ wrapped gift of fried food, stuffed with cream cheese and crab meat, which is then dunked in red pepper jelly. I’m pretty sure that’s a present that very few of us could resist. So much better than a card, a back scratcher, a pair of socks, underwear, lottery tickets, or yet another ugly Christmas sweater that isn’t funny ugly but rather hideously ugly. Who’s ready to do “Christmas Light” with me? Grab a spoon, heat up a big ol’ pan of oil, grab an eggnog, and let’s start wrapping? It’s just like changing a diaper.
Ingredients:
Crab Rangoon:
- Canola Oil
- 1 (8-oz.) Package Cream Cheese, Softened
- 2 Tablespoons Red Pepper Jelly
- 1/4 Teaspoon Finely Ground Sea Salt
- 1/4 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
- 3 Scallions, Chopped (Green Part Only)
- 1 (8-oz.) Package Crab Meat
- 1 (12-oz.) Package Won Ton Wrappers
- Water
Dipping Sauce:
- 1/2 Cup Red Pepper Jelly
- 2 Tablespoons Rum, Whiskey, Bourbon, or Beer
- 1 Tablespoon Honey
- 3 Scallions, Chopped (Green Part Only)
- Pinch of Salt
Directions:
Crab Rangoon:
- Bring oil to 350 degrees in a small to medium-size pot.
- In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, red pepper jelly, salt, and pepper until well blended.
- Fold the crab meat and scallions into the cream cheese mixture.
- Fill a small bowl with water.
- Use your finger to wet all four edges of a won ton wrapper with water and then add a small mound of crab meat filling to the center. Fold the won ton in half to form a triangle. Wet the two lower edges of the triangle with additional water and fold them to meet in the center of the won ton. Set aside on a large plate or platter and repeat the process with the remaining won tons.
- Fry 5 won tons at a time in the hot oil until golden brown. Drain and place on a paper towel-lined plate or platter and sprinkle with a touch of salt immediately. Repeat the process with the remaining won tons.
Dipping Sauce:
- Place all of the ingredients into a small saucepan over medium-high heat for 3 minutes or until the mixture begins to rapidly boil.
- Pour the dipping sauce into a bowl for serving.
Suggestions:
- I used jumbo lump crab meat in this recipe because I really like the taste and texture of it. However, you can also use backfin, claw meat, or even finely chopped imitation crab meat if you prefer.
- Make sure to lightly salt each batch of won tons as they come out of the cooking oil. The salt will not adhere to them if you wait too long.
- You can bake the won tons if you prefer. Simply spray them with cooking oil and bake them for 18 minutes in a 350-degree oven.
Improvements:
- Add 1-tablespoon of soy sauce to the dipping sauce.
- You can replace the alcohol in the dipping sauce with any liquid you prefer. Try using pineapple juice or orange juice if you aren’t comfortable using rum, whiskey, bourbon, or beer.
- A bamboo wok spatula will help you fish the won tons out of the hot oil without completely burning yourself.
- Having a candy or deep-fry thermometer in your kitchen always comes in handy. You don’t want your oil to be too hot or too cold. A thermometer helps to eliminate a lot of trial and error.
Ingredients:
- Canola Oil
- 1 (8-oz.) Package Cream Cheese, Softened
- 2 Tablespoons Red Pepper Jelly
- 1/4 Teaspoon Finely Ground Sea Salt
- 1/4 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
- 3 Scallions, Chopped (Green Part Only)
- 1 (8-oz.) Package Crab Meat
- 1 (12-oz.) Package Won Ton Wrappers
- Water
- 1/2 Cup Red Pepper Jelly
- 2 Tablespoons Rum, Whiskey, Bourbon, or Beer
- 1 Tablespoon Honey
- 3 Scallions, Chopped (Green Part Only)
- Pinch of Salt
Directions:
- Bring oil to 350 degrees in a small to medium-size pot.
- In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, red pepper jelly, salt, and pepper until well blended.
- Fold the crab meat and scallions into the cream cheese mixture.
- Fill a small bowl with water.
- Use your finger to wet all four edges of a won ton wrapper with water and then add a small mound of crab meat filling to the center. Fold the won ton in half to form a triangle. Wet the two lower edges of the triangle with additional water and fold them to meet in the center of the won ton. Set aside on a large plate or platter and repeat the process with the remaining won tons.
- Fry 5 won tons at a time in the hot oil until golden brown. Drain and place on a paper towel-lined plate or platter and sprinkle with a touch of salt immediately. Repeat the process with the remaining won tons.
- Place all of the ingredients into a small saucepan over medium-high heat for 3 minutes or until the mixture begins to rapidly boil.
- Pour the dipping sauce into a bowl for serving.
PIN THIS RECIPE
Don’t let this recipe slip away. How often do you find a recipe intriguing, yet forget where to find it when you finally get the hankering to make it? Instead of digging through old posts or wandering aimlessly around on the internet, why not Pin this recipe to Pinterest where you can find it when you eventually need it? Simply Pin the image above and you’ll have it when that time comes. You can follow us HERE on Pinterest or simply click HERE to find all of our pin-worthy recipes.
Would you like to join Fish Friday Foodies? We post and share new seafood/fish recipes on the third Friday of the month. To join our group please email Wendy at wendyklik1517@gmail.com.Visit our Facebook page and Pinterest page for more wonderful fish and seafood recipe ideas.
