Crab Rangoon: Lay it on me

I have looked this up, but I wanted the forum's take on it as well. I lerve me some crab rangoon, it's like asian cheese-fries to me. But is there, or was there ever supposed to be, any crab in it? Mostly I think it's just egg roll wrappers folded around cream cheese. I think I did have a more "upscale" version that also had surimi (fake pressed whitefish "Krab") along with the cream cheese, but is there some ultimate original ethnic version out there that's like, actual crabmeat-and-mascarpone or something? I've found that most asian dishes don't include any dairy or cheese (WHY is that? I've been looking for an answer for this for years. Refrigeration or lack thereof? Lactose intolerance among the general Asian population?)

Or is this - as I suspect - just an American-inspired appetizer?

Wiki shows some it may have been created for 1904 Worlds fair or in the 1950's at Trader Vics. My favorite version has always been the Trader Vics. The Trader Vics in the basement of the Palmer House Chicago is worth stopping by if your in town.

I've always thought about them like chop suey- an American fabrication, which is not to say they don't hit the spot on occasion. But with the frying and cream cheese and all why would anyone want to use $25./lb crab?
Or perhaps the crab refers to the poor cook who has to make hundreds of them a day.

This recipe from Epicurious uses ( a good bit of ) real crab. I seriously doubt that it's authentic Asian as Cranberries are american natives, but it sounds yummy.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/ ... oon-236606

( I was however surprised to read the bottom line in the notes. )

Deb

This is a little off-topic, but some friends and I used to have "rangoon parties" where we would fry up a bunch of wontons with various fillings. We always had crab and cream cheese but eventually expanded to ham and swiss, black beans and queso, sausage and mozzarella...moral of the story, most things taste good when fried in a wonton wrapper.

Also, Elie Krieger's Crab Salad in Crisp Wonton Cups is a variotion on the theme that I have enjoyed: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/elli ... index.html

Double Dragon on Goss uses LOTS of crab in their rangoons. I absolutely LOVE Double Dragon on Goss, but the actual crab in their rangoons kind of threw me off. I wasn't expecting it! As a disclaimer, I have no idea if they are using actual crab, or a Krabby type product. They're just packed with something that is decidedly NOT pure cream cheese.