Chicken and Leek Pie

Epilogue:

Cooking has been somewhat fun and it undoubtedly does bring people together. However, due to various reasons, I might give up this blog of mine. I'm not going to give up entirely on cooking or baking yet because I do have a passion for food and sharing good food with loved ones brings a inexplicable amount of joy.

There is a possibility that I may continue this blog again someday but currently there are no intentions of doing so. I hereby thank everyone- my family, my friends, my loyal readers, regular commenters, food bloggers and you(!) who have shared marvelous ideas, provided me with great support and believed in me.

Thank you for reading Go on... Have a Bite.

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An old friend of mine has been aching for some pie time so we got up as early as 6am in the morning to satisfy this craving of hers and to provide some Baking 101 lessons. :P

Ingredients: (Makes a 9" pie)

• 2 1/2 cups + 1/3 cup plain flour
  
• 250g butter, cut into cubes
  
• 5 tbsp cold water
  
• 2 leeks, white part only, sliced into 1 cm intervals
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 1kg chicken, diced
• 500mL chicken stock
• Salt and pepper, to taste
  

Method:

1. First prepare the dough by mixing 2 1/2 cups plain flour with butter using only your fingertips. Rub until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add just enough cold water until it becomes a dough.
2. Roll the dough into a ball and wrap in cling wrap. Chill in refrigerator for 15 minutes.
3. Brown the chicken in a generously oiled pan and set aside. Add oil to a pot and add in the garlic and leek until the leek softens.
   
4. Add in the chicken and stock. Gradually add in the remaining 1/3 cup of plain to thicken the mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper. When it starts to thicken, switch of the fire and prepare the pastry.
5. Divide the dough into two portions. Roll out the pastry on a generously floured surface until it is sufficient to fit a 9 inch pie pan. Lift the pastry and gently press onto the pie pan. Prick the base with a fork.
   
6. Place the chicken filling onto the pastry and top the pie with the other portion of rolled pastry. Press the edges together using a fork so that the edges are sealed. Cut holes in the middle to allow steam to escape.
   
7. Bake in 200°C and bake for about 30 minutes or until brown. Serve warm.

Oozing pie filling.

While my friend commented that the crust was good, the filling lacked a bit of seasoning. The top and side crust was yummy but the bottom crust turned out soggy (as always). I've tried blind baking it first and various other methods but that doesn't work either so next time I might just omit the bottom crust.

Butter Chicken

Every time when my family patronized a particular restaurant, I would insist that we order the 'Butter Chicken'. It happened so often that it reached a point where they got so sick of it. Fine, looks like I had to satisfy my own taste buds by tackling the kitchen then I can have the whole plate to myself.

Ingredients: (Serves 4)

• 600g chicken breast, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
• 3 tbsp corn flour (extra for coating)
  
• 125g butter
• 6 sprigs curry leaves
• 5 bird's eye chillies
• 1 375mL can of evaporated milk
• 1 cup dessicated coconut

Method:

1. Marinade the chicken with garlic, soy sauce, pepper, dark soy sauce and corn flour for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
2. Coat the chicken with excess corn flour and fry until it turns golden brown. Set aside.
3. Melt the butter and add in the coconut, curry leaves and bird's eye chillies and fry until fragrant.
4. Add in the chicken and stir for 2-3 minutes. Dish up and serve.

You can also opt to put in salted egg yolk for better flavour.