Taiwanese beef mince pie! 牛肉白菜餡餅

I just made this delicious and juicy mince pie last weekend to take to my friend's house party! It is  a common traditional snack/afternoon dessert in Taiwan! You can buy it in local markets and they are normally freshly made that very morning! I would say it is like the Cornish pasty in Cornwall just in a different shape with different filling and a different way to cook it! Oops, seems like there are a lot of differences!    (我做了台灣的牛肉餡餅去參加一個晚餐派對！為國增光！）

Ingredients

Filling ingredient:

lean beef mince      250g

chinese leaf             1

ginger                     10-20g ( Depends on personal preference)
garlic                      2-3 cloves

spring onion            4-5
baby leak                1

egg                          1

corn flour                adjustable 

Filling flavouring sauce:

sesame oil                 1tsp (adjustable)

soy sauce                  3tsp

salt                            1tsp

chinese rice wine      2tsp (to eliminate the meaty smell)

chicken stock soup   50g

Black pepper            adjustable

Skin dough ingredient:

plain flour                150g

bread flour               150g  

Salt                          1/8tsp

hot water                 100g

cold water                90g
(因為國外很少賣所謂的中筋麵粉, 所以我們就把低筋跟高筋混在一起變成中筋拉！！）


Preparations

Filling

1. Chop the Chinese leaf, ginger, garlic, spring onion and baby leak.
2. Mix the Chinese leaf with 2-3 tsp of salt. Leave it for 15 minutes to let it release the water that it contains.
3. Drain the Chinese leaf. (Better to use your hand to squeeze it as well to make sure you extract as much as water you can. )
4. Mix the lean beef mince in large bowl with the Chinese leaf, ginger, garlic, 1/2 spring onion and baby leak.
5. Break an egg into the bowl.
6. Flavour with sesame oil, soy sauce, salt, rice wine, and black pepper.
7. Using your hand or a spoon, mix all the ingredients together properly. 
8. Add the chicken stock gradually and mix into the mince with your hand/spoon at the same time. 
9. Add some corn flour to adjust the wettness of  the filling to make it more workable.
10. Ready to use! 

Tips:

1. By adding the stock into the mince, it is a skill called "hitting water" （打水）in chinese. We use this skill to make the mince juicy and tasty  after we cook it! Without this process, your filling will still be yummy but it will be a more dry result. Good examples: Xiǎo lóng bāo, Dim Sum, Dumplings!!! 
2. Save 1/2 spring onion for adding on the top of mince later. Make sure that every time you wrap the filling with the skin, you have fresh, crunchy spring onion flavour when you eat it.  (剩下一半的青蔥邊包邊撒進肉餡裡 ,  這樣你的肉餡到時後吃起來才有還是清脆可口的蔥花喔！）

Skin Dough

1. Mix plain flour and bread flour, sift together and put into large bowl.

2. Add hot water and stir to mix with a spoon.

3. Add cold water and stir to cool the mixture down before handling.

4. Put the dough on a work surface and roll it back and forth by hand for 10 minutes. 

5. Cover the dough with a wet tea towel and leave it to rest for 1 hour before use!

Assembling 

(From left to right, up to down.)

1. Roll the dough into strips and cut into 3cm lengths (about 40g each). Remember, to spread the left over  1/2 chopped spring onion on the top of the mince before wrapping.
2. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough slightly bigger than palm size and place the mince in the middle.
3. Use one hand to fold and the other hand to seal it in the middle all the way round.
4. Keep wrapping the filling with skin with same technique.
5. Twist the seal a bit to make sure it won't open when you fry it.
6. Finish!   

Finish

                                        

After you have finished making these delicious mince pies just put a bit of oil in a pan and fry it! Fry until both sides turn golden brown. It is ready to eat now!

Hmmm, before I take it to someones party, I really should try it first for sure! Here is my dinner! So nice!

P.S. They can be put into the freezer, when you want to fry it just add a bit water to the pan so the water steams the mince pie at the same time! It will be just as delicious as they are freshly made o!! xx

See how proud I am to take the Taiwanese Beef Mince Pie to the party!!! Please try it, you won't regret it!

Fang xx