A month ago I had no idea what Crab Rangoon was. I’d vaguely heard it spoken of as a yummy starter for Chinese food, but I had no idea what the dish looked like, what was in it, or how it was prepared.

Since then, I have quickly gotten to work on learning and cooking Crab Rangoon, which is essentially a delightful cross between a fried dumpling and wonton packed with a garlicky mixture of crab meat, cream cheese, and onion. I make my mix using tinned crab meat, but you can easily substitute it for fresh meat if you get the opportunity.

Crab Rangoon is delicious, especially when fired to a golden crisp in your air fryer! Below you’ll find a simple and easy recipe that you can put together to make a great family snack or starter for a large group get-together.

As you can clearly see, my dumplings could be prettier and more uniform. All it takes is practice! Check out this awesome expert clip from Pai on 5 different wonton wrapping techniques that will get you up to speed in no time. If you are planning on making a lot of them, it’s a great task to complete with your kids.

Jono’s note: When making crab Rangoon at home. I couldn’t get wonton wrappers. I chose to substitute with spring roll wrappers that I cut into squares myself. They work well and are more crispy after frying, but mess-wise, mistake-wise, and in execution isn’t as good as the stronger, more pliable wonton wrappers.