Category: side dish

Crab Wontons

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These little pockets of deliciousness are something I have to have every time I go out to eat Chinese food. The warm cream cheese interior with the crisp fried shell make these what I would consider one of the most perfect bites of food. So I had to figure out how to make them for myself. It’s cheaper then buying them and you can eat however many you want in the comfort of your own home without the tiny lady who runs the restaurant silently judging you from behind the counter.

I don’t call these things rangoons even though they have all the same ingredients because I tried desperately to make that little parcel shape with the four folds, but after failing the first two and nearly crying I stopped and decided triangle shapes would be just fine.

Tips:

Absolutely wait until your cream cheese comes up to room temperature. Don’t make the mistake I made because you will fight the mixture the entire time you are trying to combine it.

Make sure you have a fine chop on your green onions.

You can make these without the crab meat for a vegetarian option.

Ingredients

  • wonton wrappers
  • 1 8 oz pack of cream cheese
  • 2 green onions finely chopped
  • 1/4 pound imitation crab meat
  • a splash of soy sauce
  • vegetable oil for frying
  • 1 egg beaten for egg wash

Directions

  1. Place three inches of oil in a pot and begin to heat it. You want the oil to be between 350 and 360 degrees Fahrenheit. (You want enough oil to cover the wontons once they’re in the oil.)
  2. Put all your ingredients into a large bowl and mix to combine. It’s alright if your mix is a little clumpy because once they’re fried it will be warm and creamy.
  3. Egg wash all four sides of your wonton wrapper and place a dollop of your filling in the middle.
  4. Seal it up into a triangle shape.
  5. Once your oil is up to temp fry them for two minutes. Flipping the wonton half way through to get an even cook on both sides.
  6. Serve with whatever dipping sauce you enjoy.

British Style Baked Beans

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British style beans you say? What does that mean? Well from what I can tell American baked beans tend to be a lot sweeter and the sauce tends to start with some sort of meat product. Predominantly pork product as I can tell.

British style beans tend to be a thinner tomato based sauce. They can have carrots, onion or celery in them. They are definitely less sweet then the American version but still have a little molasses or brown sugar in them. The recipe I based mine off of had both.

Ingredients

  • 1 can black eyed peas
  • 1 can Navy beans
  • 1 small can tomato sauce
  • 1 cup vegetable stock
  • 1 shallot, diced
  • 1 jalapeno, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, diced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3 tbsp tomato paste
  • 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 3 tbsp Worcester sauce.
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • Salt/pepper

Directions

  1. In a medium size pot place oil and cook on medium heat till it moves in the pan like water. Place shallot and jalapeno and cook till the shallot gets translucent.
  2. Add the garlic and cook another 3 minutes. Add vegetable stock and tomato sauce. Add the cornstarch and stir to combine. Add tomato paste and stir to combine. It will thicken your sauce.
  3. Add your beans and the rest of your ingredients one at a time.
  4. Cook for roughly 15 minutes until the sauce thickens.
  5. Serve with barbeque or just on toast.