Post #620309 by TikiTomD on Mon, Jan 9, 2012 12:02 PM

The following article from the Google News archives includes the Trader Vic recipe for Crab Rangoon, a legendary pupu (appetizer) of mid-century Polynesian restaurant menus originated by the Trader. Some adjustments in ingredient proportions and cooking technique were introduced by the author for the homemaker (note that A1 Steak Sauce is typically specified as the steak sauce for this recipe)...

Star-News May 30, 2003 (page 16)

A second article below this one provided some Tiki party resources and references, notably including the Book of Tiki, Tiki Central and Tiki News. Conspicuously missing were the Beachbum Berry books, not surprising based on an inspection of the drink recipes in the article.

Here’s another recipe that is, to my recollection, truer to the Trader’s original...

The Seattle Times February 22, 2006

The Trader’s story is that Crab Rangoon was based on an old Burmese recipe, another imaginative evocation. A more recent online article notes that this was a purely American invention that, in its success, became a standard fare of Chinese restaurants.

This Crab Rangoon recipe variation from Epicurus.com replaces deep frying with oven baking...

Other variations include substitution of Smoked Salmon for Crab meat in the recipe, using the same ingredient proportions.

I’ll leave it to those two intrepid gastronomes of exotic cuisine, MadDogMike and Professor G, to prepare and report on an extreme variation, Spam Rangoon, truly a venture into epicurean terra incognita...

-Tom