Crab Rangoon fills dumplings with taste

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When it comes to crab Rangoon, speed is key. This was obvious after four batches of these cream cheese- and crab-filled dumplings burst -- first in a pan of hot oil, then in the oven and again under the broiler -- sending molten cream cheese and crab bits spewing everywhere.

The goal was an easy home version of this Chinese restaurant staple. Of course, restaurants deep fry their crab Rangoon, but that's just not practical for most home kitchens. Clearly, pan frying was called for at home.

The filling was the easy part -- canned crab meat mixed with cream cheese. While restaurant versions tend to favor a heavier cream cheese ratio, a better texture and taste was had by treating the dairy as more of a dressing on a crab-heavy filling.

The wrappers also were simple. Wonton wrappers are readily available in the Asian or produce sections of most grocers. They are easy to work with and fry up nice and crisp.

Rolled similarly to spring rolls (think thick cigars), the first few batches were dismal failures. Wrapped thus, the wontons created thick layers that took forever to fry.

The filling also was too thick -- by the time the center was heated, the ends had burst.

This obviously isn't a problem when deep frying -- which cooks faster and at much higher temperatures than the pan fry method. Baking and broiling seemed like good work-arounds, but they also took too long and caused blowouts.

The solution? A simple fold and crimp method. By folding a single sheet of wonton around the filling just once (rather than rolling and creating several layers), then crimping it with a fork, the dumplings were able to be pan fried in just seconds.

The filling is easily tinkered with to individual tastes. A bit of diced red onion, jalapeno peppers and hot sauce added a nice contrast to the shrimp and cheese.

Other finely diced vegetables could be added, as could other precooked seafood or meat.