HOT ’N’ SPICY CHICKEN PIES
Ready in 1¼ hours + cooling Makes 8
2 Tbsp neutral oil
2 onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
400g can chopped tomatoes
Zest of 1 lime or lemon, finely grated
2 Tbsp fish sauce
2 Tbsp sriracha sauce or sweet chilli sauce
1 Tbsp soft brown sugar
2 Tbsp cornflour mixed with 2 Tbsp lemon juice
Ground black pepper, to taste
Flesh of 1 whole cooked chicken or about 400g cooked chicken, shredded
½ cup chopped coriander or flat-leaf parsley leaves
4 sheets flaky puff pastry 1 egg, beaten
1 Tbsp black sesame seeds
Heat oil and fry onion, garlic and ginger until soft but not brown (8 minutes). Add tomatoes, lime or lemon zest, fish sauce, sriracha or sweet chilli sauce, and sugar, bring to a simmer and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in cornflour mixture to lightly thicken. Season with pepper. Remove from heat and allow to cool fully. The sauce can be prepared in advance to this stage and chilled for 2-3 days. When ready to cook, mix chicken and coriander or parsley into cooled sauce. Preheat oven to 180C fanbake. Cut baking paper to fit 2 oven trays. Preheat trays and place paper on bench. Halve each pastry sheet. Divide chicken mixture between the eight pieces (about ½ cup on each), placing towards one end with a clear rim around the edge. Brush around filling with egg then fold over long end of pastry to enclose filling, pressing out the air. Trim pastry to a 1cm border to create round pies, and press firmly around the edges to seal. Decorate with pastry trimmings and slash the top in a few places to allow steam to escape. Brush with egg and scatter over sesame seeds. Slide pies on the baking paper on to the preheated trays and bake until golden (25 minutes). Serve warm or at room temperature.
Annabel says: Chicken is much easier to strip off the carcass while it’s still warm. I sometimes roast an extra chicken and then shred it (removing bones, skin and any fat) and pop the flesh into containers for the freezer so that I can whip up pies and pasta sauces without having to start from scratch. Alternatively you can always buy a roast chicken.