Sunday afternoons are reserved for brunch & my friend Lena came over for 'chai' and these lovely whimsical delights - Pineapple Rangoons. I was obviously in a mood for some fun in the kitchen as I was turning them into little pagodas shapes...smiles...
I have also been going on and on like a raving lunatic about my scones and finally there was nothing to be done except come over & try them for herself. I am not sure if she came over for the love of the food or just to shut me up. May be a little bit of both!
We were also planning to take in a chick flick. Mr Hubby gladly volunteered to stay home with the kids rather than spend yet another afternoon enduring an all girlie, eye candy movie session as he invariably does, thanks to moi.
We went to see Leap Year actually - you know the one with Amy Adams & it was very cute + we got to see the most stunning countryside of Ireland. So just for that we got our 7 bucks worth.
Anyway, Lena would have been just as happy to have copious amount of chai & scones but I decided that we needed a little something to balance all that sweetness.
A quick take on the contents of my refrigerator & pantry revealed wonton wrappers, pineapple rings (canned), green onions & cream cheese.
We've all had some version or the other of crab rangoons in the past and I must say, they're not really my favorite. I think its that one dimensional cream cheese flavor that kills it for me. A while ago, our neighborhood sushi place had put out this version of wontons with pineapples & so I meshed the two together & we get pineapple rangoons. Clever hunh?
I am using the Asian version of wonton wrappers (not the egg roll version) - they are very thin flour pastry sheets, nearly transparent & so I think it offers a more delicate rendition.
Also, I am not big on cluttering up my refrigerator with every version of an item so I tend to purchase the wonton wrappers that can also be used to make the most marvelous, flavorful clear soups - like the mushroom wonton soup I posted the other day. If you have no idea what I'm going on about, you can find that post here.
Moving on - the main ingredients for the filling are canned pineapple rings, ginger, cream cheese, salt, sugar & spring onions. I am adding green onions & grated ginger to cut the uni-dimensional flavor of the cream cheese.
Cream Cheese - In microwave safe bowl, remove the cream cheese and microwave for 30 seconds.
Pineapple - Place the rings in a mini-chopper and finely chop. Sieve & drain off excess pineapple juice. Press into the sieve to get rid of all excess liquid from the pineapple.
Cook's Note - If you are shopping for this from scratch then purchase crushed pineapple to save yourself a step.
Green Onions - Finely chop the green onions.
Fresh ginger root - Peel & grate fresh ginger into a bowl.
Egg wash - Beat an egg with 1 tbs water using a fork till well blended.
Add all the chopped & grated ingredients to the cream cheese (not the eggs, people!) and stir to combine. Add salt & sugar. Taste and adjust seasonings in the filling.
Lay out the wonton wrappers in single sheets on a clean work surface or parchment paper.
Dip your finger in the egg wash & trace the outline on all 4 sides of the square wonton wrapper. I find it easy to work with about 4 at a time.
Spoon 1 tsp of filling to the middle of the wrapper.
Fold over all the corners so they all meet in the center - think of a pagoda or pyramid shape to give you an idea.
The four corners of the square meet at the apex. Press the seams shut on the sides as well as at the apex.
Cook's Note - Awful pic this one - didn't realize till after I had already finished but I hope you were able to follow the explanation on how to wrap these.
Keep filling & wrapping the wontons till you have used up all the filling.
Please on a baking tray lined with parchment paper till ready to use.
Cook's Note - Do not prepare these too far in advance because I have found that the wonton bottoms get a bit sticky at the base.
Heat oil in a deep frying pan on medium-high heat till very hot, about 2-3 minutes . Make sure you have enough oil to cover the top of the rangoons.
Cooks' Note - To test oil, add a spare bit of wonton wrapper and it should immediately sizzle & float to the surface. If it sinks to the bottom & just sits there or takes a pause before sizzling, you probably need about 30 seconds more to heat the oil. Remove old wonton wrapper & re-test.
If the oil is not hot enough it will adsorb oil & won't be crisp at all. Quite yucky, that!
Fry for about 30 seconds, flipping over to make sure both sides are light brown. Do not over brown as the rangoons darken once you take them off the heat.
Place on a plate lines with kitchen paper towels to trap excess oil. Continue frying till you have utilized all the rangoons.
Please on a serving platter & serve with store-bought plum sauce or a hot chilly sauce.
These were such a hit and they flew off the plate. The filling is flavorful and not too sweet and certainly has a touch of zing & fragrance with the green onions & ginger.
Its just a fun & quick appetizer especially if you have vegetarians in the mix or just want something different for a change.
Recipe for
PINEAPPLE RANGOONS
Preparation time - 25 minutes
Cooking Time - 5 minutes
Serves 4
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1 packet, 8 oz cream cheese
5 sprigs green onions
7 pineapple rings or 3/4 cup crushed pineapple
2-4 cups Vegetable oil for deep frying
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
Asian wonton wrappers (thin flour pastry sheets)
Plum sauce or sweet chilly sauce for dipping
Cream Cheese - In microwave safe bowl, remove the cream cheese and microwave for 30 seconds.
Pineapple - Place the rings in a mini-chopper and finely chop. Sieve & drain off excess pineapple juice. If using crushed pineapple simply drain and set aside.
Green Onions - Finely chop the green onions.Fresh ginger root - Peel & grate fresh ginger into a bowl.
Egg wash - Crack & beat an egg in a bowl with 1 tbs water, using a fork till well blended.
Add
all the chopped & grated ingredients to the cream cheese and stir
to combine. Add salt & sugar. Taste and adjust seasonings in the
filling.
Lay out the wonton wrappers in single sheets on a clean work surface or parchment paper.
Dip your finger in the egg wash & trace the outline on all 4 sides of the square wonton wrapper. I find it easy to work with about 4 at a time.
Spoon 1 tsp of filling to the middle of the wrapper.
Fold over all the corners so they all meet in the center - think of a pagoda or pyramid shape to give you an idea.
The four corners of the square meet at the apex. Press the seams shut on the sides as well as at the apex.
Keep filling & wrapping the wontons till you have used up all the filling.
Please on a baking tray lined with parchment paper till ready to use.
Heat oil in a deep frying pan on medium-high heat till very hot, about 2-3 minutes . Make sure you have enough oil to cover the top of the rangoons.Fry for about 30 seconds, flipping over to make sure both sides are light brown. Do not over brown as the rangoons darken once you take them off the heat.
Place on a plate lines with kitchen paper towels to trap excess oil. Continue frying till you have utilized all the rangoons.Enjoy with plum or sweet chilly dipping sauce !
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