I have eaten many wontons in my life. But I have never made them myself. Well after I saw the recipe on Budget Bytes for Lobster & Cream Cheese Wontons I thought I should give it a try! How hard could it be! HA! It actually wasn’t that hard. The hard part was getting the hang of the wontons! First I put too much filling and it oozed out all over. What a mess. Then I put too little filling. And finally I think I got it right. Though my husband said it needed more filling. Next time I will improve. Promise! I found the wonton wrappers in the produce department near the organic stuff. They only had one size so that’s what I got. I also used light cream cheese, as usual. I have to say even though they were weird shapes, they did come out pretty tasty! I served them to my neighbors at the monthly “Girls Happy Hour” we have. They were a hit. The leftovers were gone that night when my husband got home. I served them with a teryiaki sauce for dipping. These little guys are so tasty and they are only lightly pan-fried to crisp and brown them a little bit. No deep-frying involved! And of course I added garlic to the recipe as well as some ginger.

INGREDIENTS:

8 ounces light cream cheese, softened

8 ounces Imitation crab or lobster meat (of use the real stuff if you can afford it!)

1 large egg

2-3 scallions, chopped

1 package wonton wrappers

½ teaspoon Sriracha Hot Sauce (In the asian food section)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon ginger

Cooking Spray

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl combine the cream cheese, green onion, egg, Sriracha sauce, garlic and ginger. When it’s mixed well add the crabmeat breaking up the chunks as you mix them in.

2. Working on a pastry board or cutting board work in groups of about 6 wontons at a time. Have a small bowl of water to help seal the edges of the wrappers. Place about 1 teaspoon of the filling in the center of each wonton square. Using your fingers, wet the wrapper all along the edges on all 4 sides. Fold the wrapper over diagonally to form a triangle and pinch the edges to seal. Using more water if needed. Try to get as much air out of the center as possible and fold over the corners to wrap. If this doesn’t work, just fold or crimp the edges to seal as best you can. The shape doesn’t matter.

3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Working in groups of 8-10 wontons, drop them into the boiling water and remove once they begin to float (about 3 minutes). Place the boiled wontons on a cooling rack or large platter to drain. The wontons will look nice and transparent. Don’t put them on paper towels. They will stick to them if you do!

4. When you have all the wontons boiled and drained, heat a large non-stick skillet that has been sprayed with cooking spray, over medium-high heat. When the skillet is nice and hot, place about 8-10 wontons (depends on how many you can fit without overcrowding)in at a time. Cook on each side until they are golden brown, crispy and blistering a little in some spots. If you need more spray in the pan use as you go along. I had to add several times. This will crisp up the wontons nicely.

5. Serve warm with your choice of dipping sauce. Teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, ponzu sauce all work nice. Even have some hot chinese mustard or extra Sriracha sauce if you want! I also had leftover filling so I added some chopped celery and we made a spread for crackers with it! Delicious!

Makes about 32 wontons.