Super Easy Crab Puffs Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What are crab puffs made of? ›

Crab puffs, aka crab rangoons, are a staple at most casual Chinese restaurants. They are made of crispy wonton wrappers stuffed with juicy crab meat and cream cheese.

The filling is made with a combination of cream cheese, crab meat or imitation crab meat, scallions or onion, garlic, and other flavorings. A small amount of the filling is wrapped in each wonton wrapper.

At most Chinese-American restaurants, you can find Crab Rangoons and they are a hugely popular item. Also known as Crab Puffs, Crab Pillows, and Cheese Wontons, these are essentially fried wontons stuffed with cream cheese and imitation crab (or sometimes real crab).

Light and airy cream puffs, filled with thick pastry cream, fluffy whipped cream, or velvety crème légère (pastry cream lightened with whipped cream), are a classic dessert. Composed of just two versatile elements—pâte à choux and the filling of your choice—they're also cinch to whip up.

Set a steamer basket in the pot and the crabs in the basket or, if you have a lot of crabs, simply pile them in. Cover the pot and steam until the crabs are cooked through, 10 minutes for small blue crabs and 15 for larger Dungeness and up to 20 minutes for even bigger crabs.

Imitation crab, as its name says, is a mock version of crabmeat. It's a highly processed food containing minced fillet, egg whites, salt, sugar, and other additives to make it look like real crab meat. It's more affordable, but less nutritious, than fresh crab meat.

Trader Vic's in San Francisco claimed the crab rangoon they served (first appearing on their menu in the 1950s) came from an old Burmese recipe, but food historian Herb Caen says that dish most likely was invented in the restaurant's own kitchen. In other words, crab rangoon is just as American as apple pie.

In a mixing bowl, stir cream cheese, crab meat, sugar, MSG, soy paste, chinese five-spice, and scallions together until well-combined.

They're common to find in Chinese restaurants in America. Panda Express cream cheese rangoons are very popular but it only has cream cheese instead of crab too.

If you plan to boil or steam your crab legs, your first option is to use the water to impart extra flavor. Don't be shy about adding salt, pepper, lemon juice and lemon rinds, or the classic Old Bay seasoning to your pot before boiling or steaming your crab legs.

What crab is best for flavor? ›

Each crab variety showcases its distinct essence—snow crabs entice with their delicate sweetness, while blue crabs charm with their robust and flavorful profile. Dungeness crabs reveal a slightly nutty taste, reminiscent of the ocean's bounty.

Unless your seafood is literally catch of the day, chances are it will taste and smell a bit fishy, thanks to a compound found in nearly all seafood called trimethylamine oxide, or TMAO.

While they are made to look like crab meat, most crab sticks do not contain any actual crab. That's why they are often just called seafood sticks or imitation crab. The main ingredient of crab sticks is surimi – finely pulverised white fish – most commonly Alaska pollock.

Crab cake filling: I go light on the filler, using juuuust enough to bind the crab cakes together. You'll need an egg, mayonnaise, chopped fresh herbs (I like parsley, dill, and tarragon!), Dijon mustard, Old Bay seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, lemon zest, Kosher salt, and black pepper.

While actual crab is not the primary focus of crab rangoon, either imitation crab or the real stuff adds necessary flavor. The best shape for crab rangoon is a four-pointed star: It concentrates the filling and maximizes surface area for more crunch.

Puff pastry, also known as pâte feuilletée, is a flaky light pastry made from a laminated dough composed of dough (détrempe) and butter or other solid fat (beurrage). The butter is put inside the dough (or vice versa), making a paton that is repeatedly folded and rolled out before baking.