Curried Chicken & Shrimp Turnovers

There's a Vietnamese savory pastry called "banh pate so", which is pronounced a lot like "banh pate chaud." There is a lot of French influence on words in the Vietnamese language as well as its cuisine -- Vietnamese sandwiches are made on baguettes and include pate, cream puffs can be found in many Vietnamese bakeries, and puff pastry is used to make these little savory treats. This recipe is a variation of the typical banh pate so, which are usually made with ground pork, mushrooms, and maybe a soy type of base. Feel free to experiment with green onions instead of the white onion I use here, with a mix of diced vegetables in place of the meat -- there are endless variations of things that can be turned into delicious triangles of savory goodness!


Curried Chicken & Shrimp Turnovers
(makes 36 turnovers)

1/2 white or yellow onion, diced
1/2 tspn. curry powder
1 tspn. vegetable oil
1 lb. ground chicken
1/2 lb. ground raw shrimp*
1 1/2 tbspns. fish sauce
1/2 carrot, shredded
2 packages Pepperidge Farm puff pastry sheets, slightly thawed


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Sautee the diced onion in the vegetable oil and curry powder until translucent. Set aside to cool.

Unroll the puff pastry sheets -- there are two sheets per package. The sheet unrolled will be in 3 columns -- cut the sheets into 9 squares each as shown.

When the onions have cooled, mix them together with the chicken, shrimp, fish sauce, and carrots. Spoon the mixture onto each square, being careful not to overfill it, otherwise you might end up with a raw center when you bake these. Fold the square into a triangle as pictured. Take a fork to seal the edges. Repeat.

Place the triangles onto a baking sheet -- you can use a Silpat or place them directly onto a metal baking sheet. You don't have to spray the sheet with anything -- the grease from the puff pastry pretty much ensures that it won't stick! Place the tray into the oven and bake until golden brown -- about 25 - 30 minutes.

I usually dip these into nuoc cham, but they can be eaten on their own. Enjoy!