Cheese Rangoons, Spicy Thai Peanut Noodles & Eggrolls

Day 22


We still had half a batch of the Thai peanut sauce and half a box of spaghetti left so we knew we were making last night's noodle dish again, but wanted something different to have with it. Cheese rangoons sounded like the perfect option.

Cheese Rangoons, Spicy Thai Peanut Noodles & Eggrolls

Cheese Rangoons

These are a vegetarian adaptation of the crab rangoons we used to make all the time. We don't miss the crab, and even our meat-eating friends say they're just as good without it.

Filling
1 package cream cheese
3 green onions, chopped fine
1 tsp soy sauce

Mix together until well combined.

Cheese rangoon filling

Wraps
You can get wonton wrappers, but we buy egg roll wrappers and cut in quarters for just the right size rangoons. The wonton wrappers would make larger rangoons. We usually make these for parties, so we have found that a quarter of an eggroll wrap is a better size for that.

Process

1. Half fill a small bowl with warm water.
2. Lay 10 or 15 of the wraps on a clean work area
3. Wet 2 adjacent edges of each with the warm water. 
4. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of filling onto the center of each one.
5. Fold opposite corners together, ensuring the wet edges are paired with the dry edges.
6. Press both sides along the edges until well-sealed. Try to make sure there is no air inside.

Rangoon wrapping in progress

Oil
We use sunflower or peanut oil because it makes us feel better since sunflowers and peanuts are less likely to be genetically modified than corn or canola. Also, you don't need a lot of oil, since they float on the surface anyway. I generally fry in about 3/4" oil.

Heat the oil on medium high heat. On our stove, that's about a 6 1/2 and the dial goes as high as 9. If the oil is not hot enough, the cheese will seep from the edges, sputter, and turn into vile, black crumbs ruining your oil. If it's too hot, your rangoons will turn dark brown very quickly-like within 10 seconds.

Test the Oil
When you think the oil is ready, drop a piece of eggroll wrap into it. It should not turn dark brown within a few seconds; instead, it should take 10 - 15 seconds to turn a golden brown.

Frying the Rangoons
These fry up fast, so there is no time for multitasking once the frying process has been started. I generally cook only between 3 to 5 at a time, so I can watch them closely, since it requires quick action if one of them opens or leaks while frying (remove the pot from the burner and remove all the rangoons as quickly as possible. Use fine metal mesh to collect the mess.)

The rangoons should take about 30 seconds to cook each, turning after about 15 - 20 seconds. They should be golden brown on each side. I use tongs to turn them and to remove them from the oil, dropping them into a paper towel lined bowl.

Cheese rangoons frying

Two dozen cheese rangoons

Spicy Thai Peanut Noodles

Same as last night, only better, because the prep work had been done, so I only had to cook some pasta and mix in the sauce.Woot!

Spaghetti on the burner

Leftover spicy Thai sauce

Sauces

We always serve the rangoons with Compliments Sweet Chili Sauce, and it even happened to be on sale! We had the eggrolls with the homemade plum sauce, but I found the rangoons were even better dipped in that instead of the sweet chili stuff. Laura didn't agree with me on that one. Both are good though.

Cheese rangoons, spicy Thai peanut noodles,
eggrolls & dipping sauces

Reviews/Comments

Rangoons are not only our favorite, they're all our friends' favorite too. Laura's rating, "Ten, baby! Cheese rangoons always get a 10." I concur.