The History Of Crab Rangoons Is Not What You'd Think

Everyone has their favorite Chinese dish (Julia Child, especially). Whether it's Kung Pao Chicken, Chicken Fried Rice, or Beef and Broccoli, the options are endlessly tasty. While the main dishes are utterly fantastic, the appetizers are where it's at, starting with crab rangoon. From the crispy exterior to the ooey-gooey crab and cream cheese filling, what's not to love? While you may assume these delicious morsels are an authentic Chinese dish (like char siu), you're in for a big surprise.

Crab rangoon is a staple at most Chinese restaurants here in the U.S., but the dish doesn't actually originate from China. In the 1940s, Victor Bergeron, founder of American tiki-themed restaurant Trader Vic's, created crab rangoon as we know it today. The main vibe of the restaurants was, without a doubt, tropical-themed. But if you were to glance over the menu, you'd notice it lists various Chinese-inspired dishes, too. In the 1940s and 1950s, Chinese cuisine became increasingly popular in America due to the new and adventurous flavors people weren't used to. This craving for novelty on the dinner table led to Trader Vic's owner creating one of the most delicious Chinese-American-inspired appetizers in the world.

Vic Bergeron had a knack for mixing and matching ingredients in the kitchen, which is how he made the first crab rangoon. His curiosity led him to incorporate unique ingredients into his restaurant's menu, like cream cheese and crab in the middle of fried wonton wrappers. So the million-dollar question is, how did an appetizer created for an American tiki-themed restaurant become such a staple at Chinese-American restaurants? One likely reason might be that wonton wrappers are a well-known ingredient used in Chinese cooking, with origins dating back to the 1600s. Today, they're used not only for crab rangoon but also in dishes like dumplings and soup.

As people became more attuned to eating and enjoying this type of cuisine in the U.S., Chinese immigrants began opening their own restaurants. Likely picking up on the fact that Americans loved anything bite-sized and fried, they began incorporating a form of crab rangoon on their menus, which would help explain why people think the fried appetizer is a Chinese delicacy.