bonus recipe: bánh patê sô for Jacquie Pham
crispy, buttery, and rich — these are just some words used to describe Jacq
Makes: 12
Prep time: 15 mins + 1 hr 30 mins
Cooking time: 25 mins
the recipe i was originally going to make to represent Jacquie’s book Those Opulent Days was quickly thrown out the window when i did a bit more research into 1920s saigon. i wanted something that represented french colonial vietnam, and the first things that came up were vietnamese pâté chaud, or — as they’re known in vietnamese — bánh patê sô.
i’m a little bit extra, so i used this opportunity to make one of my favourite pastries from scratch — puff — but you absolutely do not need to as store-bought will do just fine here. if you do make your own, the key to good puff pastry is keeping it cold and working fast.
i recommend going a bit heavier on the black pepper when seasoning as the rich, buttery flavour of the puff can be a bit overwhelming otherwise.
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT:
food blender
large bowl (for mixing)
small pot or pan
baking tray
baking paper
clingwrap
INGREDIENTS:
for the puff pastry (see note):
250g plain flour
½ tsp table salt
30g + 150g unsalted butter, cold (separated)
100–120ml ice water
for the meat mix:
1 tbsp neutral oil
120g shallot, finely chopped
1 tbsp garlic, finely minced
140g ground pork
20g pâté (see note)
½ tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp salt
1 ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten (for brushing)
METHOD:
for the puff pastry:
in the bowl of food processor, combine the flour, salt, and 30g unsalted butter. pulse until butter is combined.
add 100ml ice water and blitz until a dough forms (if it won’t come together and feels dry, add more water 1 tbsp at a time until it just comes together).
tip onto a clean work surface and gently knead together until smooth and homogenous, then pat into a rectangle about 2–3cm thick. wrap in clingwrap and rest for 15–20 mins in fridge.
while waiting for the dough to rest, place 150g unsalted butter between two sheets of parchment paper and, using a rolling pin, bash into a sheet about 2cm thick. it should be cold but pliable.
roll the rested, chilled dough out until about twice as long as it is wide, then place the butter sheet on the bottom half (it should be about half the size of the dough). fold the bottom edges up, pressing against the butter, then fold the top half of the dough over the butter and seal it in, ensuring the edges are pressed together well.
with the folded side facing away from you, ridge and roll the dough containing the butter until it’s three times as long as it is wide, keeping the sides straight and corners as square as possible.
fold the bottom third up, then the top third down (you should have three “layers” — the middle third, the bottom third, and then the top third). turn the pastry 90º so the fold is on your left-hand side.
repeat steps 6 and 7, making sure the pastry is cold to the touch and butter isn’t breaking through, then wrap with clingwrap and rest in fridge for 15–20 mins.
Repeat steps 6 and 7 again twice, chilling the pastry in the fridge for 15–20 mins after the two roll and folds.
after the final roll and fold (you will have done six), chill the dough one final time before rolling it out into a sheet about 2–3mm thick.
using a 8.5cm round cutter, cut out 24 rounds from the pastry (if you don’t manage to cut enough, you can stack the pieces of puff pastry on top of one another re-roll to cut the extras — just let it rest for about 10 mins before you re-roll or your pastry will shrink).
for the meat mix:
place a small pot or pan over a medium-high heat and add the neutral oil. add the shallot and fry until translucent, then add the minced garlic and continue to fry until fragrant. remove to a mixing bowl and allow to cool to room temp.
add the ground pork, pâté, sugar, salt, and freshly ground black pepper to the shallot mix and — using your hand — mix well.
to assemble:
place a heaped tablespoon of the pork mix in the centre of a puff pastry round, then run either a bit of water or beaten egg around the edge, before sealing with another round of puff pastry on top. use a fork to press the edges together firmly.
place the bánh patê sô on a tray lined with baking paper and freeze for 10–15 mins.
to bake:
preheat oven to 175ºC.
brush tops of semi-frozen bánh patê sô with beaten egg, place in the centre of the oven, and bake for 25 mins or until golden brown. serve hot.
NOTES:
feel free to use store-bought puff pastry for this — you’ll need about 500g for this recipe
use any pâté you like for this recipe — personally i used a chicken liver pâté but a rustic pork pâté would be good, too
this recipe was developed using this recipe from beyond sweet and savory.