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Crab Rangoon Flautas

Print Recipe
Course Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings 8

Ingredients

Crab Rangoon Filling

  • 450 g fresh lump crab meat 1 pound, cooked and picked through
  • 225 g cream cheese room temperature (8 ounces)
  • 3 Laughing Cow cheese wedges about 60 g total
  • 30 g chopped garlic chives about 1/2 cup
  • or 15 g chopped chives plus 1 grated garlic clove
  • 10 g garlic powder 2 teaspoons
  • 30 g soy sauce 2 tablespoons
  • 15 g rice wine vinegar 1 tablespoon
  • (Optional) Fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Tortillas (If making fresh)

  • 200 g white corn masa harina about 1 1/2 cups
  • 200 g blue corn masa harina about 1 1/2 cups
  • 360 to 400 g warm water 1 1/2 to 1 2/3 cups
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Tortilla (If Store bought)

  • 16 small corn tortillas very soft and pliable

Sweet Chili Sauce

  • 60 g chili garlic sambal 1/4 cup
  • 85 g honey 1/4 cup
  • 7 g fish sauce 1/2 tablespoon
  • 5 g soy sauce 1 teaspoon

For Frying

  • Neutral oil for frying about 1.5 to 2 quarts
  • Kosher salt to finish
  • Citric acid to taste optional
  • or fresh lemon juice

Instructions

  • Combine white and blue masa harina with salt. Gradually add warm water and knead until soft and smooth, like Play Doh. Form balls, press half white and half blue together, and flatten into tortillas. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and gently press again to embed.
  • Cook on a dry skillet until just set but still soft. Cover to steam and keep pliable.
  • If using store-bought tortillas, warm in a damp towel until flexible to prevent cracking.
  • In a bowl, mix cream cheese, Laughing Cow, garlic chives, garlic powder, soy sauce, and rice vinegar until smooth and creamy. Gently fold in lump crab, keeping the texture chunky. Adjust salt to taste.
  • Spread 1–2 tablespoons (15–30 g) of filling across the center of each tortilla. Roll tightly and set aside seam side down.
  • Heat a thin layer of oil in a skillet. Place flautas seam side down and press lightly to seal. Flip and lightly toast the other side.
  • Heat oil to 350°F (175°C). Fry flautas in batches for 3–4 minutes until golden brown and blistered. Transfer to a rack and season immediately with kosher salt.
  • Make the Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce. Whisk together sambal, honey, fish sauce, and soy sauce. Adjust sweetness and salt as needed. Serve on the side or spoon over the crispy crab flautas.

Video

Notes

The crab rangoon filling can be made up to 1 day in advance and stored tightly covered in the refrigerator. You can also roll the flautas a few hours ahead and keep them seam side down on a tray until ready to fry. That said, fried flautas are at their absolute best fresh out of the oil while the shell is blistered and crisp.
Flautas and taquitos are essentially the same thing. In South Texas and northern Mexico, they’re called flautas. In many parts of the United States, they’re labeled taquitos. Same idea. Different name.
You can bake them, but you will not achieve the same shatter-crisp texture. Frying gives you that signature blistered shell that makes this dish special.
Imitation crab will work in a pinch, but real lump crab makes a noticeable difference in flavor and texture. If you can use the real thing, use it.