What on earth is crab rangoon? If you’ve never had Crab Rangoons before, they’re crispy wonton morsels filled with a creamy crab mixture, paired with sweet chilli sauce – commonly found at Chinese takeaway shops in the US. Before anyone come for me and say how bougie it is to use crab in garlic bread – chill, it’s imitation crab that you can find in most Asian grocery stores (though no one will stop you if you want to go all the way with the real thing)!

They definitely had a moment on Tiktok a few years back and so i thought wouldn’t it be great on some crispy cheesy bread? This is definitely an interesting recipe and it’s super decadent. Let me show you how to make it!

The ingredients you’ll need for this recipe and some tips to help you along the way!

1. Crab: these delicious little morsels are a creative invention introduced by Chinese takeaway stores in the US where the food is deliciously cheap – there’s no way we’re using real crab here. They are traditionally made with imitation crab that you can find at Asian grocery stores! Imitation crab is a seafood paste made mostly out of flour, flavouring and minimal seafood, and is a cheaper alternative to real expensive crab. And yes, you could also substitute with real crab meat if you’re bougey.
2. Bread: i used pane di casa, but any Italian or crusty white bread will do for this recipe. I tend to stay away from sourdough loaves for garlic bread, simply because i don’t think the sourness compliments the recipe well and also the crust is more chewy than i’d like.
3. Cheese: i used a combination of mozzarella cheese and parmesan – parmesan for th flavour and mozzarella for the stretch and pull. But honestly, use whatever stringy cheese you have on hand, we’re economical here.
4. Creamy base: what makes crab rangoon so creamy is from the cream cheese and kewpie mayo. This recipe is not for the faint-hearted so go big or go home 😀 I also don’t suggest you use normal mayo for this – kewpie adds such a nice flavour to this that you can’t get it from other mayo!
5. Sweet chilli sauce: sweet chilli sauce is the ultimate sauce pairing for crab rangoons! The sweetness of the sweet chilli sauce helps to cut through the richness of the cream cheese and kewpie mayo. Store-bought sweet chilli sauce is the way to go for this.
6. Other flavourings: to the crab rangoon mixture, we’ll also be adding sesame seeds, sesame oil, chilli flakes and salt. Sesame oil you can find in Asian grocery stores. Chilli flakes help to cut through the richness and creaminess of the cream cheese and kewpie mayo. Salt to season.
7. Coriander/Cilantro: for health lol
8. Prepare in Advance: if you would like to make this in advance, you can prepare the crab rangoon mixture ahead of time. Once you’re ready to eat, you can quickly assemble the bread and pop it straight into the oven.
9. Storage: i highly suggest you consume the bread within a few hours to best flavour and texture. If this is not possible, you can store it in an air-tight container and into the fridge for up to 2 days.

Ingredients

1 loaf of bread, slice in half lengthwise

Crab Rangoon Mixture:
250g imitation crab, shredded
1-2 heaping tbsp cream cheese
2 tbsp kewpie mayo
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp corriander/cilantro, minced
chilli flakes, to taste
salt, to taste

Cheese (i used mozarella & parmesan)
Sweet chilli sauce

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Place your bread into the oven to toast up for approx 5-10 mins or until golden brown.
2. Crab Rangoon: place all the ingredients for the Crab Rangoon mixture into a bowl and mix well until combined – you can adjust the amount of cream cheese to get your desired consistency.
3. Spread the crab rangoon mixture onto your toasted bread and top with the cheese. Place back into the oven on a broiler setting and broil the bread for approx 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden.
4. Top the bread with some sweet chilli sauce and serve.