THAI GREEN CURRY PIE

Thai green curry is one of the most nostalgic dishes for me. When I was young, my grandma always used to make this dish for me. It brings me comfort whenever I taste the familiar flavors of this dish. The dish means a lot to me. Every time I make this dish, it’s not just the taste that reminds me of home in Bangkok, but every single step in the cooking process as well as the aroma of the Thai herbs and spice that envelope the room as the dish is being prepared takes me back to those times I cooked together with grandma. This dish is not simply just a dish for me, but it’s more than that. This dish is what ties my family together—a family recipe that has been passed on from generation to generation.

Every holiday, I would normally fly back home to visit my family. Unfortunately, with the COVID-19 pandemic, I have been unable to visit home throughout the whole 2020, and most likely 2021 as well. Stuck here in Melbourne alone with lots of free time in my hands, I long for my family and wanted to create something that will take me on a journey back to Thailand. I then decided I wanted to do something with this green curry recipe.

I tweaked the recipe to incorporate the culture of Melbourne, another city I love, into the dish. I’ve always loved Australia long before I moved here for my studies three years ago. And since Australia is known for its meat pie, I thought, why not turn this green curry into one? This green curry meat pie is a combination of the cultures and cuisines of the two places I hold dearly in my heart. I’d love to share this recipe with all of you, and hope that you’ll love it as much as I do!

Simple and easy to follow recipe that ties together the flavors of authentic Thai cuisine with Western flakey pastry crust.

This recipe accounts for two different types of pie. You can choose to make whichever one you like, or both! One is the turnover, which requires only the puff pastry, whilst the other type is a round meat-pie-resembling pie, which requires both a puff pastry and shortcrust pastry for the base.

THAI GREEN CURRY PIE

Bringing the best of both worlds—authentic flavors of traditional Thai green curry with fragrant herbs and spices, filled inside flakey, buttery pie crust.

prep time 35 minutes | cook time 1 hour 15 minutes | total time 1 hour 50 minutes | serves 6

INSTRUCTIONS

Filling

Heat 1/4 cups of coconut milk in a pan over medium heat until boil and oil starts to separate.
Add curry paste and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
Add chicken and once it starts to cook, add the rest of the coconut milk. Add palm sugar and season with some fish sauce if desired.
Note: If mixture is too thick, add 2 tablespoons of water or chicken stock.
Cook until chicken is fully cooked and most of the liquid has evaporated before turning off the heat.
Add the chopped sweet basil.
Let the filling cool before assembling the pie. Can be left in the fridge overnight.

Round Pie

Preheat oven at 180C.
Cut out 6 rounds out of the shortcrust pastry sheets. Drape the pastry into pie tins. Don’t stretch the pastry.
Top each pie with parchment paper and fill with pie weights (can use rice grains, beans, sugar).
Bake for 20 minutes. Take the pies out and remove parchment paper along with the pie weights.
Bake for another 5 minutes, remove. Let cool.
Fill each pie with cooled filling.
Cut rounds out of the puff pastry sheets, size slightly larger than the edge of the baked pastry bases.
Brush the edges of the baked pastry bases with egg. Place puff pastry rounds on filling, pressing edges to seal the puff pastry with the shortcrust base.
Brush puff pastry lids with egg. Push down the edges of the lid with the end of a fork to create a decorative border. Make holes in the lids using a fork.
Bake at 180C for 25 minutes, then 160C for another 10-15 minutes until golden brown.
Serve hot and fresh right out of the oven.

Turnover

Cut each puff pastry sheet into 4 even squares.
Place the squares on parchment paper and spoon the cooled filling into the center of each.
Fold squares diagonally to make triangles.
Pinch edges together to create turnovers.
Note: Apply a little water if required to help bind.
Use a fork to press along the edges to create a decorative border.
Brush lightly with eggs
Bake at 180C for 25 minutes, then 160C for another 10-15 minutes until golden brown.
Serve hot and fresh right out of the oven.

INGREDIENTS

Filling