crab rangoon

English

Alternative forms

• crab Rangoon

Etymology

Named after, but apparently not otherwise connected to, the Burmese city of Rangoon. Apparently first served by the "Polynesian-style" restaurant Trader Vic's in San Francisco in c. 1956. Now associated with American Chinese cuisine.

Noun

crab rangoon (plural crab rangoons)

1. A deep-fried dumpling in American Asian cuisine, stuffed with cream cheese, crab meat, and scallions and/or garlic.
   • 2020, Dan Nosowitz, “What the Heck is Crab Rangoon Anyway?”, in J. Kenji López-Alt, editor, The Best American Food Writing 2020, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, →ISBN, page 227:

     The history of crab rangoon leads back to tiki culture. The dish was probably invented by Victor Bergeron, best known as the namesake founder of the Trader Vic's chains of tiki bars.

Derived terms

• rangoon