How To: Bánh Patê Sô (Vietnamese Pastry Pie)

Hey Nibblers!

           Christmas is coming! Stress levels may be raging this time of year but, it's my favourite time of year. I love it for the food, the lights, the buzz and being able to sit down and relax with family. To celebrate, I wanted to post as many finger-licking recipes as possible for the #CountdownToChristmas!!
          This first recipe is one of my all time favourite things to make for a party or as a road trip snack. They're easy to make, so many different variations to choose from and always a crowd pleaser. 'Patê Sô' or also known as 'Pate Chaud' are French inspired and traditionally consisted of a pork filling with a flaky pastry exterior. They can be found in many Vietnamese bakeries and chicken and beef fillings are now also widely used. My aunty makes banging Patê Sô but, I've since adopted my own version and twisted it Nibble Nation style.

How To: Bánh Patê Sô

Yields approx. 90-108 Patê Sô pieces for every kilo of mince meat

Recipe below will yield approx. 54 Patê Sô pieces as I'm only using 500g of mince. Just double content if you want a larger yield. 

What you will need: 

Pastry sheet cut into 9 squares

- 6 sheets of ready to use puff pastry (You'll need at least 10-12 sheets if you're using a kilo of mince.)
- 500g of chicken mince (any other mince (pork, beef etc.) will work well)
- 2 Tbs. soy sauce
- 1 1/2 Tbs. garlic salt
- Approx. 420g of corn kernels and peas (canned or frozen. If canned, drain excess juices)
- 1 1/2 large onions, diced (The more onions, the more moist the mince comes out)
- 2 tsp. pepper
- 3 egg yolks (One egg yolk can wash about 20 Patê Sô pieces so all depends on how many you want to bake in one go)

How To:

Marinated mince

1. Mix chicken mince, soy sauce, garlic salt, pepper, diced onions, corn kernels and peas together until well combined and then set aside to marinate for at least and hour
2. Leave puff pastry sheets to defrost for about an hour before use to make it more pliable
3. Pre-heat oven to 150 degrees Celcius or 300 degrees Farenheit fan-forced about 30 minutes before baking
4. Cut puff pastry sheet into 9 relatively equal square pieces
5. Add one heaped tsp. of marinated mince into the middle of the puff pastry square
6. Fold diagonal corners together to form a triangle and press firmly to ensure pastry is sealed on all sides
7. Using a fork, decorate edges to create grooves for visual purposes (optional)
8. Repeat steps 4-7 until pastry/ marinated mince is used up
             Note: you can make Patê Sô pieces in advanced and freeze them until you need them. No need to defrost, just give them a quick egg-wash, pop them into the oven and they're as good as a fresh batch.
9. Break adequate amount of egg yolks to wash over pastry to achieve the amazing golden brown colour (Use those egg whites for some healthy scrambled eggs or a mousse.)
10. Pop into the pre-heated oven for about 25 minutes or until golden brown and enjoy!

One heaped tsp. into the centre of each square

Seal those corners by pressing firmly

Decorate the triangle Patê Sô

Egg washed and ready for baking!

Eat me!

         These taste amazing and I can't help but gobble a few when they're piping hot. I also love that I can make these in advanced and bake them whenever I need them. So, when I know I have guests coming over or a party coming up and know I'll be stuck at work, I just make a bunch in bulk a week ahead and bake them for when I need it. People will definitely woo over them and think you got down and dirty to make these.
         Hope you enjoyed the first recipe of my #CountdownToChristmas series! Be sure to leave a comment below if you have any questions or if you have tried this recipe out for yourself.

Nibble Away,
          Jo