Vegan Crab Rangoons!

Full disclosure: I've never eaten crab in my life. My parents had (and still have) an aversion to seafood, so we didn't eat any of that stuff in my household. But we did eat our fair share of cream cheese wontons when we hit up the Chinese buffet at Dragon & Phoenix Restaurant. We just ordered the kind without the crab.

And a time or two, my mama and I made cream cheese wontons at home. I was really young, but I remember how fun it was to stuff the square wrappers and pinch them into a wonton shape before my mama dropped them into hot oil.

Even though I've never had an actual crab rangoon, I'd imagine they are much like a cream cheese wonton but with added crab. So when Match meat sent me a package of their vegan crab meat, I knew exactly what I'd do with it. The package has sat in my freezer for a few months though because Match sent me so many review products that I'm very slowly working my way through them.

I also had some Tofutti cream cheese in my fridge that my mama had leftover from Thanksgiving. And I'd stashed some vegan wonton wrappers in my freezer when I saw them at the Viet Hoa Asian market a few weeks ago. Crab rangoons were meant to be!

Look at the inside, all creamy and crabby.

I dipped these in Mr. Wong's Oriental Wok Sweet and Sour Sauce. And to balance the very deep-fried rangoons, I made a helpin' of Isa's Un-fried Rice from Appetite for Reduction. It's a low-oil fried rice that is only lightly sauteed in a teaspoon of sesame oil.

 An Unfried Rice close-up! I added broccoli, carrots, and peas.

Here's the super ridiculously easy rangoon recipe. It only has four ingredients. Match meat can be tough to find in stores, but it is available to order online.

Vegan Crab Rangoons
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2 cups canola oil
20 vegan wonton wrappers (some brands contain eggs, so read the labels)
6 Tbsp. vegan cream cheese
6 Tbsp. Match crab meat, thawed

Pour the oil into a deep pot of medium width (if it's too wide, the wontons won't be submerged). Heat it on medium-high for about 10 minutes. You'll know it's ready when you drop a pinch of flour in the oil and it sizzles.

While the oil is heating, place a scant (not quite full) teaspoon of crab meat and a scant teaspoon of cream cheese in the center of one wonton wrapper. The cream cheese and crab don't need to be mixed together, but it is better if the cream cheese blob is mostly on top of the crab meat. This allows the folded wrapper to stick better.

Grab two opposite sides of the wonton wrapper and bring them together. Squish the bottom part of the sides so that the wonton is pinched and sticking to the cream cheese. Repeat with the other two opposite side. This is kind of hard to explain, and honestly, there are a million ways to fold a wonton. If these instructions are confusing, just google it and watch a video! Repeat with the rest of the wonton.

Once the oil is hot, carefully drop the wontons into the pot. You'll probably only be able to fit 5 to 8 per batch. Fry for 5 to 7 minutes or until they are golden brown. Remove with a slotted metal spoon and drain on paper towels.