You Should Think Twice About Ordering Crab Rangoon At A Chinese Restaurant. Here's Why - Mashed (2024)

FAQs

Do Chinese restaurants use real crab in Rangoon? ›

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.

One of the biggest clues in the makeup of crab rangoon that this dish is American over Asian in origin is the cream cheese. Cream cheese was a staple in 1940s and 50s America but this is not an ingredient you'll have found in China or Burma or Polynesia.

Too much sodium, however, can lead to cardiovascular diseases and high blood pressure. Eating too much crab rangoon can also increase the amount of saturated fat in the diet, leading to an increase in cardiovascular issues.

But as to why crab rangoon seems to have taken its place, Sweat suggested it's because of nostalgia. “Nostalgia is also a big factor in whether a meme can make a comeback, and food has a massive nostalgic factor to it for lots of people,” he said.

I love Panda Express' Crab Rangoons and they're so easy to make! Oddly enough, they don't use crab or imitation crab in their original recipe. Feel free to add some though, it's delicious! My local Panda Express offers 3 for $2.35.

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.

Worst: General Tso's Chicken

Named after a Chinese war hero, this fat-laden dish won't help you win any weight loss battles. The breaded, fried chicken is smothered in a sugary sauce. One order clocks in at around 1,500 calories and 88 grams of fat, and it delivers more sodium than you should get in a day.

But if you're pregnant, you've probably heard that you should avoid some types of sushi and seafood. The good news is that most types of seafood, including crab and lobster, are safe to eat while you're pregnant. Not only is it safe, eating seafood has a lot of benefits for you and your baby.

In fact, the majority of the most famous Chinese food dishes in the west don't exist in China, including the famous Chinese takeout box, mainly because of the kind of ingredients available, for example, the cream cheese, an ingredient so uncommon in China that makes the crab rangoon almost impossible to find.

Is crab rangoon the same as cream cheese wontons? ›

Crab rangoon is a type of fried wonton, so they are really very similar. The difference is all in the filling. Traditional wontons are not ever filled with cream cheese (which is one of the main components in crab rangoon recipes).

Crab rangoon can be fried or baked and served hot or cold. You can serve them with any sweet or savory dipping sauces, as well.

You're probably not eating real crab at all. According to Chowhound, crab rangoon usually isn't made with real crab meat. Imitation crab, a.k.a. surimi or "krab," is commonly the main ingredient. Fooducate describes surimi as a highly processed product composed of lean white fish pulverized into a thick paste.

Crab: I love using real crab for these. We used Dungeness crab in the photos and video, but blue crabmeat is also excellent. Imitation crab works, too (surimi), but it tastes milder and sweeter than real crab. Cream cheese: This makes our crab rangoon filling creamy and rich while helping to bind everything together.

It's virtually impossible to export products like seafood without preserving it. That's why even fine-dining restaurants use canned seafood.

Just like the name implies, imitation crab contains no crabmeat. Fish is, however, one of the main ingredients. It is made using surimi, which is a paste made of fish and a few other ingredients. Surimi is often made with pollock, which is also used to make fish sticks and breaded fish products.