Crab Rangoon Nachos Recipes

CHEF JOHN'S CRAB RANGOON

Steps:

• Mix cream cheese, crab meat, green onions, garlic, soy sauce, fish sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, sesame oil, and cayenne pepper together with a fork until ingredients are blended thoroughly. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, 1 or 2 hours.
• Keep wonton wrappers moist by covering with a damp paper towel. Place a small bowl of water nearby on the work surface. With a wet fingertip, moisten surface of wonton. Place 1 1/2 teaspoons of crab filling in center of wonton. Fold 2 opposite corners toward each other over the filling but without touching tips together yet. Fold up the other 2 corners. Working gently from the bottom, squeeze out any air bubbles; pinch together the 4 seams from the bottom up to create a modified pyramid (or "warhead") shape. Place on a dry surface. Continue with remaining wontons.
• Heat oil in deep fryer to 350 degrees F. Fry wontons in batches until golden brown and crispy, gently moving them around in the oil with a strainer to brown each surface, about 3 minutes. Let cool about a minute before eating. Serve with the dipping sauce.
• Whisk ketchup, rice vinegar, brown sugar, and sriracha sauce together in a bowl for the dipping sauce.

CRAB RANGOON

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Lightly spray baking sheet with cooking spray.
• Combine garlic, cream cheese, crab, green onions, Worcestershire sauce, and soy sauce in a bowl. To prevent wonton skins from drying, prepare only 1 or 2 rangoon at a time. Place 1 teaspoon of filling onto the center of each wonton skin. Moisten the edges with water and fold the wonton skin diagonally to form a triangle, pressing edges to seal. Moisten one of the bottom corners. Create a crown by pulling both bottom corners together and sealing. Arrange the rangoon on the baking sheet and lightly spray with cooking spray.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

FRESH CRAB NACHOS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a medium bowl, stir together the cream cheese, mayonnaise, and sour cream until smooth. Gently stir in the crabmeat, scallions, chiles, lime zest, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper and set aside.
• Distribute half of the corn chips on a large (12 × 18 × 2-inch) ovenproof serving platter (or a sheet pan). Spoon half of the crab mixture over the chips in dollops and then sprinkle with half of the Cheddar, half of the Monterey Jack, and all of the pickled jalapeños. Sprinkle with the remaining chips, then distribute the remaining crab mixture and cheeses on top. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
• Meanwhile, prepare the topping. In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, onion, jalapeño pepper, lime juice, olive oil, avocado, parsley, and 1 teaspoon salt. Spoon onto the nachos, sprinkle with lime juice, and serve hot.

CRAB RANGOON

Steps:

• Remove the cream cheese from its packaging, set it in a large bowl and let it soften at room temperature for at least 1 hour.
• Make the dipping sauce, if desired: Stir the ketchup, sugar and rice vinegar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and bring it just to a boil, whisking until the sugar dissolves. Set aside to cool completely.
• Add the scallions, lemon zest, sugar and salt to the softened cream cheese. Using clean hands, gently flake the crab meat into a separate bowl; pick out any shell fragments. Using a silicone spatula, mix the shredded crab into the cream cheese mixture until evenly incorporated.
• Unwrap the wonton wrappers from their packaging and separate them from one another. (This will speed up the process when filling them.) Stack them loosely and completely cover with a damp paper towel to keep them moist. Place 1 cup water in a nearby bowl.
• Place a wrapper on a flat surface, rotated in a diamond position. Spoon 2 to 3 teaspoons of the filling into its center, using another small spoon to assist scraping it off the teaspoon. Dip your index finger into the water, then use it to moisten the entire edge of the wrapper. To make a simple rangoon, fold the wrapper into a triangle by pulling one corner to its opposite corner, pressing out any air and sealing the wonton shut. To make a star-shaped rangoon, lift the left and right corners underneath between your index fingers and thumbs, and lift them up toward the center, pinching your index fingers and thumbs along the seams to fold each tip as you do it, so that a four-pointed star shape forms. Squeeze out any air, then seal the wrapper along the other two tips so the filling is entirely encased.
• Place the sealed rangoon on a sheet pan or flat surface dusted with flour as you repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling. Freeze them for at least 15 minutes (or up to 2 weeks in an airtight container) before cooking to ensure that they leak less during frying.
• Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven to 350 degrees. (The temperature will fluctuate when frying, but make sure the oil doesn't smoke or dip below 300 degrees.) Keep the oil over a medium flame or half power on an electric range to help maintain the temperature. Working in batches, fry the rangoons until golden brown and crispy, about 3 to 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer them to a paper towel-lined baking sheet.
• Let cool a few minutes before enjoying, as they will be lava-hot out of the fryer. Enjoy with the optional dipping sauce or another sauce of your choice.