The past month has been crazy! In one week I had a close friend die of cancer; another friend die suddenly of a heart attack, have sung in concerts, my son started little league in addition to all the other stuff that my family is already involved in. Yes, I now have something going on every single day of the week until mid May. The cloud of dust is settling again though and life is beginning to look normal, despite the busy schedule.
After all that, I needed comfort food. Fried Comfort Food!
My husband and I went to a popular Chinese Restaurant and ordered Crab Wontons from their appetizer menu. Theirs came to a beautiful 4 point star shape. I wanted to make these myself so I could have them any time. Mine were not the star shaped wontons, I opted for the easy fold over and make a triangle – the taste was the same. I used a store bought Sweet and Sour Dipping sauce, but will try a homemade sauce next time. The dipping sauce was not as impressive. Although it is called Spicy Crab Wontons, I did not find it overly spicy. I didn’t make the whole batch, as it was just hubby and I, but for a party, do make the complete batch. I reserved the filling to make it again in the following days, but did not get around to it. I added more crab meat, less cream cheese (only because I did not have a pound of it), and added 2 green onions, chopped for color (only the green part)
I found this recipe in the book: The Chesapeake Bay Crabbiest Cookbook by Whitey Schmidt. It is a cookbook that I picked up on a trip to Baltimore, MD. You can find the original recipe on page 96. Here is my adaptation:
Spicy Crab Wontons
adapted from The Chesapeake Bay Crabbiest Cookbook (pg 96)
Serves 4-6 (or more if appetizer portion)
Ingredients:
- 16 oz crab meat (I used a quality canned crab meat found in the refrigerated section)
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp hot pepper sauce
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced (green part only)
- 1 (8 oz) package wonton wrappers (in refrigerated section)
- peanut oil for frying
Instructions:
In a medium bowl, combine the first 11 ingredients and mix thoroughly to combine.
Place a wonton wrapper on a clean surface, place 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp crab filling into the center. Moisten the edges of the wonton with water and fold the wonton in half diagonally, lining up the opposite corners. Gently press along the edge to seal. Cover the ready wontons with a damp paper towel to prevent them from drying out until you have finished making your wontons.
Heat peanut oil in a stainless skillet over medium high heat. Fry the wontons in batches, being sure not to crowd them turning them over from time to time until they are golden (about 1 minute total). Remove to a wire rack and finish frying the wontons in batches. Serve with your favorite Asian dipping sauce.
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