Flaky Chicken Pot Pies

A new era has began....seriously? I'm not too sure. :P With all that excitement that went on during the Singapore Election in the past weekend, now is truly the cooling off time. Now that 6 oppositions candidates(only!?) have successful made their way into the parliament...out of the 87 seats, which is actually the highest number ever since independence. Whether their presence will cause any impact or political changes are yet to be known. Seriously, no hurry in there, since it's another 5 more years, ain't nothing we can do now (same old Singaporean attitude isn't it). Regardless, I just hope this election is good enough to make a wake up call to the government, a sign of the peoples' displeasure....will it? *sigh*

Enough rambling, back to today's post. Yesterday was Mother's Day, so it's very natural me (the good daughter, ha!) baked something nice for my mum. But instead of baking the usual cream cake for my mum. I decided to bake some Mini Chicken Pot Pies for her & my Dad to enjoy. One of the main reason is also my mum is not too much of a sweet tooth person, so making something savory seems like a better choice. But I did still bake her a fresh Strawberry Chiffon (less sweet) for desert as well. :) Anyway, here is the flaky chicken pot pie I'm talking about:

I have actually made chicken pies many times before when I was still in States. Somehow I just didn't get to make it again once I returned to Asia. Weird huh...for something so delicious. :P But again, there are so many different delicious food there that we can make! :)) But for now, here is chicken pie recipe:

Ingredients for Mini Chicken Pot Pies (makes about 6 of 7oz pies):

Pastry Pie Crust:

180g plain flour
120g unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
1 tbsp powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp cold water (optional, not needed if already moist)

Method:
In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour and salt in. Now add in the cold butter cubes and knead into the flour using just your finger tips until it resembles bread crumbs. Then adding one tablespoon of ice water to the flour mixture at a time till it just comes together. Wrap the dough into plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Chicken pie filling:
1 chicken breast, cut into small bite size
1 white onion, chopped
1 large russet potato, skinned and cubed
1 small carrot, cubed
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tsp corn flour
salt & pepper to taste

Method:

1. In cooking saucepan, set the heat at medium low and add 1 tsp of vegetable oil. Add onions and potatoes and carrots in, stir fry for 5 minutes, then add a couple teaspoon of water and cover to slow cook for 5 to 8 minutes till cooked.
2. Then add chicken and cook till opaque, add seasoning and chicken stock to cook for another 5 minutes.
3. Stir in cornflour and 1 tbsp mix into the chicken mixture to thicken it. Scoop up the mixture to let cool till needed.

Assembly:

1. Weigh out about 35g of dough for each pie pastry. While the remaining dough is also equally divided into 6 portions to be used as the pie cover later. (Or you can make a large pie). It should be enough to make at least 6 of 7oz pie pastry. Press the dough into the tart pan (or you can use disposable ones like me) and shape it nicely. Prick the base of the dough and repeat till all 6 of the pastry has been pressed in.
2. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes to pre-bake it. After done, remove from oven and cool the pie shells until needed.
3. Scoop about 3 to 4 tbsp of chicken pie filling in to the cooled pie shells. Then roll out the saved 6 portions of pie pastry dough into disc just enough to cover the pie cavity. Seal the edges with either your finger tips or a fork. Brush with egg wash and prick some holes on the top pie pastry for ventilation.
   
4. 
5. Bake in the preheated oven of 180C for 10 to 12 minutes till the pie crust is golden brown. Remove from oven to cool before serving.

This is such a nice comfort food to enjoy at home with your family over the weekend. Highly recommended if you like pastry pies and savory dishes. :) I know my parents, especially my mum had a wonderful lunch eating this yummy chicken pies from me. ;)

A picture of the flaky pie crust with the yummy chicken filling. Hope you folks will give this a try...definitely will become a family's favorite comfort food. :) 

Have a great week ahead all! Cheers!