Comforting Lamb Pie with Instant Puff Pastry 幸福羊肉派

It has been raining these few days. I woke up this morning craving for comfort food for this recent wet weather. I remember there's a packet of shabu shabu mutton lying in my freezer. I bought it to dehydrate for my dog. I usually feed her homemade treats. My dog consumes mutton more than I do. I probably consume twice a year. Without hesitating, I decided to take a portion of her share. 

If I can have my way, I usually have no qualms in taking shortcuts for food preparation so long as I do not have to compromise in quality. Since I never had confidence in handling DIY puff pastries myself, baking a Comforting Lamb Pie with Instant Puff Pastry 幸福羊肉派 seemed like a good plan. It would surely save me time and energy in comparison to kneading my own dough.

This Comforting Lamb Pie with Instant Puff Pastry 幸福羊肉派 is by no means a Shepherd's Pie as it lacks many crucial elements such as tomato paste, potatoes, cheese etc. I also chose not to seal the top with pastry crust as I wanted to crack an egg on top nearing the end of cook time. My version is still laden with energising goodness such as shredded lamb slices, lots of chopped carrots, garlic, onions and ginger. Simple to make, but heavy for the stomach.

Ingredients (enough for 2 pax) :

• 1 pc puff pastry (thawed but kept chilled)(I used store bought Borg's brand frozen puff pastry from supermarket, size : 23 cm x 23 cm)
• 100 gm shabu shabu mutton slices (chopped to shreds or small pieces)
• 1 carrot (peeled and chopped to small dices)
• 2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
• 1 small onion (finely chopped)
• 4 slices ginger (finely chopped)
• parsley or coriander (optional)(for garnishing)
• egg (optional)(for topping)

Seasonings (do your own taste test, add more or reduce as per your preference) :

• 1/4 tsp salt (to marinate mutton) 
• 1 tsp sugar (to marinate mutton)
• 1/4 tsp grounded pepper (to marinate mutton)
• 1 tbsp shaoxing wine or mirin (to marinate mutton)
• few drops sesame oil (to marinate mutton)
• 1 to 2 tbsp BBQ sauce (for cooking)(you may substitute with oyster sauce or other sauces that you prefer, add more sugar to balance if you use a salty sauce)
• 1/2 tsp potato or corn starch (to mix with 1 tbsp water)
• 1/2 cup water (for cooking)

(tsp = teaspoon; tbsp = tablespoon)    

Method : 

1. Mix marinating seasonings with mutton and chill it for 15 to 30 minutes. 
2. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees celsius or 392 degrees fahrenheit.
3. On a stove, use low-mid heat, add aromatic ingredients (ginger, garlic, onions into pot/pan). 
4. When the ingredients turn aromatic, fold in chopped carrots.
5. Stir fry till carrots start to soften. Do not use high heat as it would burn the aromatic ingredients. 
6. Fold in mutton and give it a quick stir fry.
7. Add 1/2 cup water .
8. Add potato or corn starch (mixed with 1 tbsp water) 
9. Add BBQ sauce (or any other sauce you prefer)
10. Give it a quick stir. Allow the ingredients to simmer for a short while.
11. Turn off heat when mutton is about 60% cooked.
12. Use a brush to oil the inside of a ceramic baking tray or baking tin (I used a pound cake tin)(You may use a different size tray, just cut the pastry to fit accordingly).
13. Lay instant puff pastry onto the ceramic baking tray or baking tin.
14. Scoop stir fried muttons and ingredients onto puff pastry.
15. The pastry would have excess beyond the ceramic baking tray or baking tin. Use your fingers to fold the rim till it has a thick edge.
16. Press the tines of a fork into the edge of the crust, with enough pressure to leave a noticeable imprint. You have to be quick in doing this. Do not let the butter in the puff pastry melt and soften. Otherwise, the pastry may not puff nicely.
17. Brush cooking oil onto the edges of the pastry crust.
18. Bake in middle rack of oven for 20 minutes (at 200 degrees celsius/392 degrees fahrenheit).
19. Remove tray from oven after 20 minutes. Dig a small pit on the surface and crack a room temperature egg onto it.
20. Bake in oven for another +/- 8 minutes (subject to how hard you like your egg yolk to be)(I like mine with runny yolk).
21. Remove tray from oven when time's up. 
22. The pie would be really hot and the Puff Crust would be golden brown (like croissants). 
23. Cool down slightly, garnish and serve.

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I did not pay much attention to knead a nice edge for the pie. Despite that, I was pleasantly surprised that the edges puffed very nicely. In fact, the entire pastry crust emitted a nice  margarine aroma and golden brown colour. It complemented the fillings aptly and nicely. My husband gave me thumbs up but commented that it would be even more comforting if I were to use lamb cubes instead of shabu shabu mutton slices, added potatoes and cheese. I have to agree with him but personally, I find that too heavy for my stomach. I thoroughly enjoyed my  Comforting Lamb Pie with Instant Puff Pastry 幸福羊肉派. I might not have done my pie the traditional way, but who cares so long as it is palatable for my taste bud! 

It's raining heavily out there again. How I count my blessings for having prepared this comfort dish.