I’ve loved scallion cream cheese for as long as I can remember. When I lived Brooklyn, I would stop by Bally Total Fitness for a quick workout, and then turn the corner after a couple blocks to pick up an onion bagel with scallion cream cheese at Bagel Boy. Working out beforehand made me feel less guilty about gaining the calories right back as I devoured the bagel. At the very least, I got to indulge in one of my favorite treats. Of all of the bagel options, the onion bagel with scallion cream cheese at Bagel Boy in Sheepshead Bay was my absolute favorite. It had all the textures and flavors I loved. The large pieces of oniony scallions balanced very well with the smooth cream cheese. The best part was the ½ inch thick layer of cream cheese sandwiched between a toasted onion bagel. I especially loved the contrast in textures and flavors of the onion bagel with scallion cream cheese. Over the years, I’ve paired this contrast in texture and flavors in the form of everything pretzels with scallion cream cheese. My newest adaptation is my scallion cream cheese wontons inspired by some crab rangoon Kevin and I had at a local Chinese restaurant. Over the weekend, Kevin and I stopped by a Chinese restaurant to get our fix of American Chinese and traditional Chinese dishes. We don’t typically order appetizers, but for some reason, I really wanted some crab rangoon (in addition to steamed fish and beef noodles). When the crab rangoon arrived, it was definitely an unexpected delight. It had pieces of crab meat, cream cheese, and scallions packed into a deep-fried wonton wrapper. The fried wontons were served with a sweet chili sauce. If you deconstructed the crab rangoon filling, it was basically scallion cream cheese with some crab meat. I’ve only had crab rangoon a few times growing up, but every time I do have it, it always seems to hit the crispy, crunchy, and creamy cravings spot. There is just something about cold cream cheese wrapped in a fried wonton I just can’t seem to get enough of. When I got home, I set out to make my own version. I pretty much had all of the ingredients for this simple appetizer in my fridge. I only had egg roll wrappers in my fridge, so I cut them into quarters to make wonton sized wrappers. I also used imitation crab meat since I didn’t have real crab meat. I always have imitation crab meat in my fridge for those impromptu California roll cravings. The only other ingredients (cream cheese, scallions, salt, and pepper) were all in my fridge and pantry. With all of these ingredients handy, I was ready to whip up some scallion cream cheese wontons. I ended up making two kinds – half a batch with just scallion cream cheese and another half a batch using imitation crab meat. All I needed to do was prepare the filling, assemble the wontons, and fry them. Once fried, I let the wontons rest over some paper towels for a few minutes to absorb some of the excess oil. The crispy exterior added a fantastic crunch, while the creamy filling and oniony flavor of the scallions brought the wontons over the top. Better yet, it was such a simple appetizer and instantly satisfied my cravings for fried food.
For the scallion cream cheese wontons:
· 1 cup vegetable oil
· 4 ounces cream cheese
· 6 stalks scallions, thinly sliced (reserve some green parts for garnishing)
· ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
· ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
· 3 sticks imitation crab meat leg style, roughly chopped (optional)
· 5 sheets of egg roll wrappers cut into quarters, or 20 sheets of wonton wrappers
For the spicy orange dip:
· 3 tablespoons orange marmalade
· 1 tablespoon Chiu Chow chili oil
Directions:
1) Heat a small Dutch oven pot on medium heat. Add the vegetable oil. Let the vegetable oil heat up before frying the wontons. The oil is ready when you see waves form in the oil.
2) In a bowl, mix the cream cheese, scallions, kosher salt, black pepper, and (optional) chopped imitation crab meat. Stir to combine all of the ingredients together. Use a small spoon to scoop about a teaspoon of filling onto one sheet of wonton wrapper (or quartered egg roll wrapper). Fold the wonton wrapper in half diagonally until a triangle forms. Press the edges to seal the wonton. Bring the two bottom corners of the triangle together and press to seal the two ends. Continue with the rest of the filling and wrappers.
3) Fry the wontons three or four pieces at a time for 10-30 seconds. Use a chopstick or tongs to gently remove the wontons from the oil. Continue with the rest of the wontons until all of the wontons are fried.
4) To make the spicy orange dip, combine the orange marmalade and Chiu Chow chili oil in a bowl. Serve the wontons with the spicy orange dip.
Takeaways: These wontons can be filled with any combination of cream cheese you like. You can swap out scallions for chives, or even use vegetable cream cheese. For a spicy kick, feel free to add a couple dashes of your favorite hot sauce directly into the wonton fillings.