I love Asian fusion food – and I decided to get a little crazy and try to make some fusion of my own! Tiny warning – this is not the easiest thing I have ever put up on this blog… getting the wontons in the right shape was super painstaking and messy – but lots of fun to be honest.

• 1 Package wonton wrappers
• 1 Large egg
• EVOO
• Cornstarch
• 1/2 small jar of marinated and quartered artichokes
• Pepper
• 4oz goat cheese
• 10 large deveined/deshelled raw shrimp
• Balsamic vinegar
• Low sodium soy sauce

The Filling

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Rinse off and pat shrimp dry with paper towel.
3. Using a sharp knife, chop each shrimp into 5 or 6 tiny pieces and toss into a bowl.
4. Add 1tbs of cornstarch to shrimp bits and toss with your hand until coated.
5. Heat up some EVOO in a pan and when oil is hot, add shrimp. Because the pieces are so tiny they are going to cook very quickly. As soon as the shrimp begin turning pink, quickly add a splash of balsamic vinegar and an equal splash of low sodium soy sauce to the pan. The cornstarch is going to catch some of the flavors and also crisp up the shrimp a bit.
6. Remove shrimp and place in a bowl to the side.
7. Chop up artichoke hearts into tiny pieces and toss into the same pan you were just cooking the shrimp in for around 30 seconds, and slide into bowl with shrimp and mix.

Woning the Ton

1. Crack egg in bowl and beat lightly with fork. Set aside, but within reach.
2. Take one of the won ton wrapper squares in the palm of your hand and with your finger place a dab of goat cheese the size of a nickel in the center and smoosh it around a bit to flatten it out.
3. Place a bit of your shrimp mixture in the center and spread out in a bit of a rectangle so that you will be able to fold without ripping through the wrapper. You could also rip through if you use too much of the filling… so be careful with how much you use.
4. Dip your finger in egg mixture and coat the four sides of the wrapper.
5. Fold the wrapper once onto itself in the shape of a rectangle. Use your fingers to readjust the filling so that it is along the back of the wonton (away from the seam).
6. Coat the edges of your rectangle with egg once more and fold onto itself again to form a more narrow rectangle.
7. Hold the wonton so that the loose corners are facing upwards and fold entire wrapper into itself the long way, bringing together the two closest corners and smooshing together with the help of some more egg mixture (see the picture for the general shape it should take on). **If at any point during the folding process your wrapper rips or dries out, use a dab of egg mixture to mend or moisten. **
8. Set aside onto a baking sheet covered in tin foil and continue the above process until you have used up all of your wrappers.
9. Add a bit of EVOO to the egg mixture that you have left over and whisk with fork once more.
10. With a cooking brush, lightly coat both sides with the egg/EVOO mixture and set back onto tin foiled sheet.
11. Set into hot oven and check every two minutes. When they begin to brown a bit, take out of oven and carefully turn over each wonton.
12. Set back into oven and watch carefully for when they become golden.

Can these be fried instead to be crispy and bubbly and even more delicious? Of course – but I’m trying to keep it healthy here!

These fusion wontons are great for cocktail parties, etc. Just arrange them all on a pretty Asian inspired dish, or get creative like fellow fantastic food blogger Dana from Dana Treat does and put them on skewers and turn them into finger food! The last step is to figure out a creative dipping sauce to use! I tried two sauces that I thought tasted great with the flavors of the filling, but the sauce you choose to dip in really depends on your taste. I made one sauce with half low sodium soy sauce, half balsamic vinegar, and a sprinkling of crushed red pepper flakes. I also made a creamy sauce with some cream cheese, sour cream, a bit of left over goat cheese, basil paste, garlic and lime juice. I thought they were both super tasty – but if you come up with another sauce that works really well – leave a comment and let me know! .

xo.