bcla
On our rugged Eastern foothills.....
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2012
- Messages
- 25,649
I've seen crab Rangoon mentioned a few times. On the authenticity scale, crab Rangoon pretty much rates a zero. It's even bizarre how it ever became a staple of generic Chinese-American restaurants, since it came from the tiki craze of the 1950s and was supposed to be vaguely Polynesian. There are even some almost angry treatises about crab Rangoon and its bizarre relationship with Chinese cuisine.
https://jeffchu.substack.com/p/i-do-not-like-crab-rangoon
https://krui.fm/2015/11/23/global-perspective-chinese-foods-arent-china/
But regardless of all that then I'm not sure it's that great a takeout item since the crispiness of fried wonton skins goes away quickly when the center soaks through. I have seen similar appetizers at a buffet where they're kept kind of crispy under a heat lamp.
But here's the original, which Trader Vic's still has. This is from the Emeryville location, which I'd say is as close as possible to a flagship location. $19. Looks pretty good, especially straight out of the fryer.
However, authenticity is overrated. If you like it, who cares if it's authentic or not. There's often too much of a hangup about authenticity.
https://jeffchu.substack.com/p/i-do-not-like-crab-rangoon
https://krui.fm/2015/11/23/global-perspective-chinese-foods-arent-china/
But regardless of all that then I'm not sure it's that great a takeout item since the crispiness of fried wonton skins goes away quickly when the center soaks through. I have seen similar appetizers at a buffet where they're kept kind of crispy under a heat lamp.
But here's the original, which Trader Vic's still has. This is from the Emeryville location, which I'd say is as close as possible to a flagship location. $19. Looks pretty good, especially straight out of the fryer.
However, authenticity is overrated. If you like it, who cares if it's authentic or not. There's often too much of a hangup about authenticity.
