But hey, I am about to give you , damn, the best chicken pie recipe in the world. Why the heck do i sound so American ?? I thought that was the job of those Singaporeans wayyyyyy down south...
Now if you have small kids AND big kids at home who have huge issues with eating veges, here's a suggestion, CHEAT! Don't waste your breath mincing word, just mince your veges. Works all the time!
1) I used here 2 cups of chopped celery and 1 cup chopped carrots.
(I would hv preferred to add another cup of minced cauliflower and mushroom as well but i was out of both as this pie was a last min venture). Besides loading up on your daily vitamin and mineral needs, it also adds a nice bite and volume to your chicken filling. So what veges you want to add is your preference, just make sure it combines well with the creamy chicken filling like cauliflower, corn, mushroom, potatoes, pumpkin or even squash.
2) You also need one chopped big onion and 4 cloves garlic.Load veges, onions and garlic into your mincer and give them a quick few seconds whizz. Don't over mince or you'll have watery mush.
3) So since i didnt hv the cauliflower and mushroom, i chopped up a cup of potatoes and tossed them into the mix with half a slab of butter and fired up the stove.
4) As the veges started to bubble, i sprinkled a tsp of nutmeg powder, 2 tsp of -very pricey that i wont buy it anymore because i got a cheaper alternative recently- mccormik garam masala mix and dash of -also very pricey i wont buy it anymore because i got a cheaper alternative recently-mccormik parsley. Not forgetting a few restrained dashes of white pepper powder, to accommodate delicate children palates.
5) After about 10 mins and potatoes are 3/4 cooked, add 3 cups cubed chicken breast, deboned and skinned. Unlid a can of Campbell mushroom soup and pour that in as well with a cup of water.
Ok, at this juncture, you probably noticed i have -conveniently-skipped the messy roux process (toasting the flour in butter and adding liquid as thickening agent) and compensated for the lack of fresh mushrooms at the same time.
Let simmer about 15 mins or till chicken is cooked. Check your seasoning and the texture should be thick and creamy. If too watery, turn up heat for 2-3 mins to dry up the extra liquid. Keep stirring so that it won't burn. Take off stove and let cool.
6) Kids love boiled eggs, in my case so does the big kid. So im going to indulge them with 6 boiled eggs in this pie. So before i go to the pastry, get this one over and done with. Boil 6 medium eggs for 10 mins and let cool. You can opt out on this though.
I dont like puff pastry, period. I like the old trim version I learnt during my home science days 25 years ago in school. It's crunchier and has more bite to it.
7) For pastry, you need 3 cups of wheat flour, 1 cup margerine ( i grew up on margerine hence the prejudice, always felt butter was somewhat a paler version in taste and texture plus margerine is plant based). Combine to form breadcrumbs. Ok, as usual i tweeked this part because ......nothing is lamer than plain pastry.
8) Into my breadcrumbs went, a teaspoon cinnamon powder, a dash white pepper powder, 2 tsp sesame seeds, a sprinkle of dried parsley and 1 tsp fine sugar. (If i had my way, i would have added some chilly flakes, cumins and curry leaves as well). Haha!
Mix well before pouring about 3/4 cup of ice water. Form a light and soft dough quickly. Don't knead. Cover and toss into the fridge for 10 mins.
9) I made two pies, 8 inch tins. So divide the cooled dough into 2 portion. Take one portion and divide to 3 parts. The base, the sides and the top trimmings. You can bake one big pie to make life easier on you.
I just wanted to give one pie away.
Take note , i didnt cover my pie fully mainly i coz i like less pastry on my pie and more of the good stuff.
10) Once you hv done that, wipe on a tsp margerine on pie skin surface, poke with fork generously to let the air out and bake on top shelf with top heat (200 degrees Celsius) for 10 mins. This is just to seal the pastry in so it wont get all soggy with the fillings.
11) When skin is partially cooked, take out of the oven, arrange 3 peeled and sliced boiled egg at the bottom and top with half the chicken filling.
12) Cover with trimmings, ok, i did a rushed, shoddy job on that one coz my 18th month old had finished his 90 mins nap and my playtime was up. If you want to brush on some egg on is up to you. I didn't because i don't like to waste a whole egg just for a few brushes.
I always wondered what people did with the rest of the egg, how many pour it down the sink? So i have an alternative solution for shine which is for later.
13) Bake on top and bottom heat at 180 degrees celsius for 30-40 mins. Take note my pastry is super thin and cooks real fast.
14) Once lightly browned, take out of oven and quickly brush margerine onto the pastry. That will give it enough shine and melt in the mouth texture.
And this is how i eat my chicken pie.. with plenty of crunchy sliced green chillies.. because i am a blardy Indian and my ancestors walked on fire.. yeah! ;)
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2 comments:
well mona, that is a good one.
wa lau eh, why take shots on ur southern cousin la, kesians. Pie looks DAMN GOOD woman!
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