For the Crab Rangoon Cups

Here are the recipes for the appetizers I’m serving up 2 hours prior to the Thanksgiving buffet dinner. I figured I’d post the recipes now before the kitchen chaos begins…

For the Crab Rangoon Cups:

1 cup surimi
½ block cream cheese
1 stalk green onions, sliced
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ tablespoon sugar
salt & pepper to taste
½ package wonton wrappers
¼ cup canola or olive oil cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all ingredients except the last two ingredients.
Place cream cheese mixture into a plastic baggie and set aside.
Prepare muffin pan by spraying the inside of each well with cooking spray.
Place one wonton wrapper over a well.
Using the tart shaper, gently push the wonton wrapper into the well to form a cup.
Repeat until all wells are filled with wonton wrappers.
Take filled baggie and snip a small corner to use as a piping bag. I
n each well, squeeze a dollop of the filling.
Brush edges of wontons with canola or olive oil.
Bake filled wontons in preheated oven for 7-10 minutes or until golden brown.

Crab Rangoon Wonton Appetizers

We made these appetizers during the holiday appetizer cooking class I hosted. You can view pictures, the entire appetizer menu and get links to the other recipes from the class HERE.

Crab Rangoon Wonton Appetizers

1 cup surimi

½ block cream cheese
1 stalk green onions, sliced
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ tablespoon sugar
salt & pepper to taste
½ package wonton wrappers
¼ cup canola or olive oil cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Combine all ingredients except the last two ingredients.
Place cream cheese mixture into a plastic baggie and set aside.
Prepare muffin pan by spraying the inside of each well with cooking spray.
Place one wonton wrapper over a well.
Using the tart shaper, gently push the wonton wrapper into the well to form a cup.
Repeat until all wells are filled with wonton wrappers.
Take filled baggie and snip a small corner to use as a piping bag.
In each well, squeeze a dollop of the filling.
Brush edges of wontons with canola or olive oil.
Bake filled wontons in preheated oven for 7-10 minutes or until golden brown.

Wonderful Won Ton!

I’m loving the cool crispness in the air! To help keep warm, I made some won ton soup. It’s a favorite and to accompany it, I made some crab rangoon.Here is my recipe for Ginger Pork Won Ton Soup. My crab rangoon recipe can be found here.

Filling:
1 chub of pork sausage
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2-3 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon each: salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1-2 stalks green onions, sliced
1/2 cup mushrooms, finely chopped

1 pkg wonton wrappers – found in produce section by asian veggies
1 egg + 1 tablespoon water for egg wash
4-6 cups chicken broth
2-3 slices of ginger
2 stalks green onion, sliced

Combine all filling ingredients.
Place a small mound of filling on each wrapper.
Brush egg wash on 2 sides of each wrapper.
Fold over opposite side to form triangle.
Seal well and allow to sit for 20-30 minutes.
In a large pot, boil chicken broth with ginger.
Add filled wontons; allow it to boil until cooked.
To serve, garnish with sliced green onion.

Chinese Flair & Farewell

For the past week, we’ve had some special houseguests visiting from San Diego. Today was their last day with us and to send them off with full bellies, I made a special lunch of their favorites.

Crab Rangoon

Here’s my recipe for crab rangoon:

1 brick cream cheese
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 bunch green onions sliced
1 1/2 cups imitation crab meat, chopped
pinch of kosher salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 pkg wonton wrapper squares
1 egg, for egg wash

Combine all the ingredients except wrappers and egg.
Cover and let it chill overnight to allow flavors to meld.
When ready to prepare, add a small dollop of crabmeat mixture in the middle of the wonton.
Rub 2 edges of the wonton with egg wash.
Seal wonton by folding up to form a triangle.
Squeeze any air pockets out.
Heat oil and fry up until golden brown.

Mongolian Beef

Here’s my recipe for Mongolian Beef:

2 bunches green onion, cut in 1 inch pieces
1 lb lean beef, sliced thin
salt & pepper to taste
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 onion, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup oyster sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce

Season sliced beef with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder.
Sprinkle cornstarch over beef and toss to coat. Set aside.
In hot pan saute garlic and onion in cooking oil until softened.
Add meat and brown.
Add oyster sauce and soy sauce; stir to coat.
Just before serving, add green onions and toss.

I served this over steamed jasmine rice.