Rangoon Swoon – Tuna & Salmon Rangoons

I would crack the joke about being on a see food diet… (I see food, I eat it... Hardee Har Har) But I really DO love Sea Food… I even tried being Pescatarian at one point, although I started suffering from iodine overload and my Naturopath insisted I return to a more omnivorous way of eating. Be that as it may, I still have a fondness for all things from the waters of the planet -- Fish, Seafood & Shellfish. (OK, maybe not Sea Slug, but you get the idea). Dungeness and King Crab are at the top of the list along with Chinook Salmon, Olympia Oysters and Sea Scallops; all of which increase in price, exponentially, once you leave the vicinity of the Pacific NW Coast. Thus, in San Diego, I VERY rarely can afford GOOD Salmon or King Crab. Which is sad, because one of my favorite appetizers is a good Crab Rangoon…

Now, all that aside, have you ever had one of those V8 moments? You know, when you smack your forehead and say, “WOW! I could have had a V8” or “YOW! Maybe I shouldn’t have stuck a fork in the toaster”. Thus was the case the other day. No, I don’t mean the fork in the toaster thing. You see, I was reading my friend Bob’s blog… Do you know Bob? He cooks stuff. In fact, his blog is called “Cooking Stuff”, you should check it out. This dude is not only ingenious, but extremely industrious as well. He actually made Won Ton skins… I must, at this point, bow to his pastry prowess, for I would never even attempt such a thing. My forays into the world of Won Ton skin extends to a trip to the grocery store and a visit to the refrigerated section to obtain a package of prefab wrappers. What had me smacking my forehead though, was his inspired usage of said Won Ton. He made Rangoons, which are awesome to begin with, right? Well, it gets better... This is where the inspired part comes in... he used Tuna and Alouette. Absolute genius!! Thus it was, as I was picking my jaw up off the floor over the homemade Won Ton, that I smacked my forehead with the palm of my hand exclaiming, "WOW! I could have had a Tuna Rangoon". Especially with good crab at such a premium and let’s face it… Rangoons are really all about the deep fried cheese anyway… ;)

So thanks to Bob’s ability to think outside the box, or rather, the shell, I have been enjoying a delicious avant-garde version of the standard Crab Rangoon (I also tried Lemon Pepper Salmon – AWESOME!!)

Rangoons

Won Ton Skins
1 beaten Egg White
1 can of Tuna or Salmon, even those little Salad Shrimp or chopped Smoked Oysters
6 oz Cream Cheese, Alouette, Boursin or even 3 oz Mascarpone with 3 oz Silver Goat
Optional - Herbs of your choice (I added ginger to the Tuna)
Lots and Lots o' Peanut oil heated to 375 degrees

Drain the canned seafood product (I happened to have picked up a can of Yellowfin with Garlic – it was on sale)

Place it in a bowl with Cream cheese or Alouette and mix it together with your herbs.

Lay out your Won Ton Skins,

and place 1 level TB of the filling in the middle and brush the edges with Egg white.

Bring the cross corners together.

Then fold up 1 side, pressing as much air out as possible.

Then fold up the final side, again, trying to get as much air out as possible.

(I can’t actually remember what they are suppose to look like, this is only an approximation from what I remember the last time I ordered them in a restaurant)

Once you have completed your Rangoons (I got 15 from each batch)

Grab something you can lower the Rangoons into the hot oil with (This is actually an old egg whisk of my grandmothers)

Lower them into the hot oil a few at a time.

Remove when golden brown, only about 30-45 seconds, and drain on a paper towel.

Let cool slightly before tearing into them, cause hot cheese sticks and continues to burn (I know, cause I lost 3 layers off the roof of my mouth – DOH!!)

It is extremely important that you get as much air out of them as possible, or they will float too high in the oil and not brown evenly.

The one on the left is one where I didn’t get all the air out. Oops!

For more tasty Won Ton goodness, you should check out Bob’s Apple Pot stickers.

Mangia!!
~~