Vietnamese Savory Pastry

For the longest time, ever since I was a teeny tiny kiddo, I loved, loved LOVED Banh Pate So! It's a savory Vietnamese pastry that has light, flaky, crunchy layers on the outside with a small mound of delicious pork seasoned to perfection on the inside. I figured the meat would be easy to prepare. But it was finding where to get that flaky crust on the outside that eluded me. *sigh*

But now, I've finally figured out how to make it. And it's super easy.


(Photo credit to: http://explodingdog.com/ )


......Well, it was easy after I experimented quite a BIT. I picked up some tips and tricks along the way so you won't make the same mistakes I did. (Lucky you!)

Banh Pate So

Filling Ingredients:

- 2lbs ground pork
- 4 stalks of green onion thinly sliced OR 1/4 a white onion finely chopped (This is based on personal preference for you, I've tried both.)
- Pepper, Garlic Powder to taste
- Salt (just one sprinkle)
- 3-4 tbs. Fish Sauce (I use the one with Three Crabs on the label)
- 3 tbs olive oil

Flaky Crust:

- 3 Boxes Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets (keep in the freezer)
- 3 egg yolks
- 3 tsp water
- Handful of All-purpose flour

 

Baking/Cooking materials:

- Silicone basting brush
- Parchment paper
- Baking tray
- Frying pan
- Wooden board

Yield: 36 pastries

Mix the onion of choice, pepper, garlic powder, salt, fish sauce, and olive oil evenly with the ground pork together in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour to allow time for the meat to soak in all the flavors. Take out and roll in small round ovals about 1.5 inches long. You should be able to make 36 small pieces total.

Here's some of mine:

(they are quite lumpy >_<)

 

Heat a frying pan with about 1 tsp of olive oil on medium heat. When the olive oil easily slides around on the pan, take a spoon and scoop 4 pieces onto the pan, quickly flip over to the other side, then scoop them out onto a plate.

 

They should only spend several seconds in the pan, you don't want to overcook them, it will be too dry when they finish baking. The sides should all STILL be pink. Only the two sides that touched the pan would be that grayish cooked color, and even then just the top layer, not all the way through to the middle. Pork needs to be cooked thoroughly and this is just my way of ensuring it, otherwise it will spend a long time in the oven and your crust can get burned in the process. I suggested 4 pieces at a time but if you're a fast flipper, feel free to add more, just remember not to keep them in the pan for too long.

 

Here's what they should kind of look like:

 

 

 

When you're down to about 15 pieces of meat left to flip, take out ONE box of the Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry. Then continue to lightly sear the rest of the pieces.

 

While the meat cools, open the box of puff pastry you have out. Lightly flour the wooden board surface with all-purpose flour. This is to keep the sheets from sticking to the board when they thaw.

 

 

Take out the sheets and open them up to lay flat on the board. If it's still frozen and won't open, that's fine, just wait for a little bit and try again. The best time to work with this is while it's still slightly frozen, especially if it's your first time doing this because by the time you're done, the sheets will thaw and be waaaaaaaaaay too soft to manipulate perfectly. Be careful not to break them, though. If it breaks at where the sheet folds, then that's fine. Take a knife and cut each sheet at the fold, and then horizontally three times, ending up with 12 rectangles.

 

Like this:

 Repeat with the second sheet, so you have 24 rectangles. Pre-heat the oven for 400 degrees.

Scoop the meat piece onto the middle of  a rectangle , leaving space around the border. Pick up a second rectangle, gently stretch the pastry around all four sides, then place on top of the meat. Gently press the four sides of the top piece onto the bottom. Get a fork and press down on the pastry and pull in an outward motion to make scoring marks. Do this for all four sides. This will seal the pastry.

Continue until you have made 12 pastries. (If you're a fast worker, you can take out the other 2 puff pastry boxes, cut, fill with meat, and seal. If not, then right before you baste each batch, take out a box to thaw and when you put that batch in the oven, start making the next batch.)

Take the 3 egg yolks and add 3 tsp. of water. Mix with the basting brush thoroughly. This is going to be your egg wash. It will make your savory pastries look shiny and golden-brown and even more irresistible.

(I almost forgot to take a picture, this is after I finished the second batch of pastries, hehe!)

Cut a piece of parchment paper that covers the baking tray and place on top. I love parchment paper instead of foil because your pastries WILL NOT STICK to the paper! They come off easily after they bake.

Put the pastries on the tray, evenly spaced. Take your silicone basting brush and brush your egg wash all over the top of the pastry. Try not to make puddles of egg wash on your pastry, you want a nice even layer.

 

Place in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown, each oven can vary in baking.

 

 Remove from the oven when you see that all sides of the pastry have browned, and enjoy your piping hot pastry!!!!

 

Straight from the oven! Mmmm

 

One more picture, the one I Instagram'ed this time:

 

 

 

I know a lot of people share my love for this delectable treat, so I hope this helps you experiment on your own to make some as well. This is just my version, feel free to mix it up to your preferences and tastes (some people put in black mushroom strips). Try it and let me know how they turned out!

 

Thanks for reading! ^_^V

-Theresa
 

*******UPDATE: I did add more photos that will hopefully be helpful since I made another batch after posting this entry. ***********