This week we’ve been reveling in finally getting around to all the things that had fallen by the wayside in the last month or so. B2 led the charge on some direly needed spring cleaning, from finally unpacking our bags from LA right down to dusting everything in sight and wiping down the ceiling fan (which I would never have remembered to do?!), and thanks to him, I finally remember what the bedroom floor looks like. We’ve also been catching up with friends we haven’t seen since 2015, or else catching up on TV shows (just in time for them to go on hiatus — come back, The Flash) or good movies (still crying from Creed) or, very simply, just Sitting Around and Doing Nothing because we can.
And I finally got around to making these beef curry puffs! These little half-moon puffs were the kitchen portion of the things I left unfinished from last month, the puff pastry swaddled in plastic wrap and relegated to the depths of our freezer during our Juno water mishap. But, happily, they’ve finally been rescued too.
If you’re unfamiliar, as I was for a long time, these puffs are just like they sound — golden, crackly-flaky pastry hiding a smoky-earthy, savory and slightly sweet curried meat filling. The ones here are based on the Chinese bakery version, but they were partly inspired by a long-ago memory of South African samosas, which I had a lot of one summer while working in a legal aid clinic in Cape Town. Instead of the plump, potato-and-pea-filled pyramids I was more used to eating, South African samosas were smaller, compactly-folded paper-football-style triangles of something more like phyllo, with a sweet-and-savory ground meat filling inside. And amazingly, they aren’t all that different from these Cantonese-style beef curry puffs, although these are round little half-moons to their angular counterparts. Both are crisp and flaky on the outside, a little bit decadent, with that sharp, bright curry inside somehow a little bit sweeter and rounder from the buttery richness of the pastry around it. All this to say that I love when tasting a food brings back all kinds of different memories, and the hidden common threads between different places and cultures come out in unexpected ways.
This can be as much of a project or as easy-breezy of one as you like — I think they’d work really well with a storebought puff pastry or pie crust, and if making from scratch, both the dough and the filling can be frozen ahead of time, too. The puffs can be made with a beautiful rope-braided edge that you can see in this post from Jen at Use Real Butter, on which this recipe is based, but you can pleat or seal the puffs in whatever way is easiest for you (which is, as you can probably tell, what I did). Either way, they’ll be just as tasty, and perfect for a potluck or a crowd. I hope you enjoy them!
Curry puffs
filling adapted from Use Real Butter.
- Yield: about two dozen 3-inch puffs. 1x
Ingredients
- 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil, or enough to thinly coat pan
- 1 cup finely diced onion (about 1/2 medium onion)
- 2–3 tbsp curry powder (see Notes for brands)
- 1/2 lb ground beef (see Notes for variations)
- 1/2 tbsp sake or Shaoxing rice wine
- 1 tbsp soy sauce, or more to taste
- 1/2 tbsp sugar, or more to taste
- 1/4 tsp grated ginger (optional, to taste)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 lb homemade or storebought puff pastry or pie crust, well-chilled (I used one batch of Sam’s rough puff pastry, which is my personal favorite)
Instructions
- If you haven’t already, make your puff pastry and chill in the refrigerator. If using a frozen storebought pastry (or if you’ve made your puff pastry ahead of time and frozen it), remove from the freezer and let thaw while you make the filling. Take care not to let it get too soft — it should be pliable but still slightly cool when the filling is done.
- Meanwhile, make the filling. Heat the oil in a skillet until shimmering. Add the onion and 1/2 tbsp of the curry powder and sauté until the onions begin to sweat.
- Add the beef and cooking wine, and stir until beef begins to brown. Add the remaining curry powder (you may want to reserve a tablespoon and adjust to your liking later), soy sauce, sugar, grated ginger, and salt and pepper. Cook until the beef is browned all the way through. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking, then set aside and let cool.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper.
- Roll out the puff pastry to about a 1/8-inch thickness or less. Cut out 3- to 5-inch rounds, rolling scraps as needed until you’re out of dough. Place about 1 tablespoon of the filling (or a bit more or less, depending on the size of your dough circles) on each circle of dough, taking care not to overfill (I’m always tempted). Fold the dough in half over the filling to form a semi-circle. Pinch the edges together and pleat or fold as desired. You can refer to Jen’s post for a beautiful braided edge, or you can seal with the tines of a fork. (Or muddle through with something in between, like me!)
- Once folded, set the puffs on the parchment- or Silpat-lined baking sheet. They don’t need to be more than an inch or so apart. If you run out of room, place extras in the refrigerator to chill until ready to bake. Beat the egg yolk with a splash of water or milk, and brush it over each pastry. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden-brown. Let cool briefly, and enjoy!
Notes
I think these would work with most any curry powder you can find, although I do love Season with Spice and I think any of their curry powders would work wonderfully. In a pinch, McCormick will do you just fine — in that case, I found a little bit of ginger helped liven the taste a bit. Otherwise, it can get a little heavy. S&B is a solid Asian brand, and if you’re a Golden Curry lover like we are, I suspect a cube or half-cube of Golden Curry with a little bit of water would be delicious!
As for substitutions, I think this would also work wonderfully with diced or ground chicken; you can also add a small potato to the filling, boiled to just tender and diced small.
Angela - Patisserie Makes Perfect
These look wonderful – like little Cornish pasties. I cannot believe how good they look. I love the choice of spices, mixing curry powder with rice wine and soy sauce is really intriguing.
Tori
It doesn’t get better than pastry stuffed with meat! These look awesome!
Ksenia @ At the Immigrant's Table
Glad you are finding some time to relax and settle back into your home! Though trips are amazing, they also always leave behind them a whirlwhind of work…. I say this as I am staring at my yet unpacked bags from my latest trip….
Audrey | Brunch at Audrey's
I’ve just eaten a curry puff for breakfast! I bought it from a bakery in Chinatown 😛 I’m gonna have to try this recipe! -Audrey | Brunch at Audrey’s
Michelle || Hummingbird High
dude. this looks BOSS. ps — i still haven’t unpacked my suitcase from when i was in NY last. ugh.
Valentina @Hortus
I totally remember these from Japanese + Chinese stores in NY and they are the BOMB. So glad you guys had some time to unwind! 🙂
Beautiful post as usual <3
Ellie | Hungry by Nature
These look absolutely incredible. I love both sweet and savory pastries and this is moving to the top of my list!
sundiegoeats
Ahhhhhh I’m pretty sure these are the little pastries my grandma used to buy frozen from this one Chinese lady in Sao Paulo!
They were my dad’s favourite. We used to call them ‘coo ti’ although that is the Americanized version of the Brazilian pronounciation of the probably Shanghainese name my grandmother called them so small chance they are actually called anything like that (I only was able to figure out this year that what we called ‘tsom tsoo’ is ‘zongzi’).
Amber | Loves Food, Loves to Eat
omg I want these right now! Also, I would definitely never unpack from trips or see my bedroom floor if it wasn’t for my husband… those guys!
Summer
These pastries are everything, Cynthia! They look so much more flaky than the ones you get from bakeries, you should open up shop yourself ;). Also speaking of tv & movies, have you seen Brooklyn? Highly recommend it for your next sitting around day. Not just cause we live in said borough, but also because it was awesome.
robinterry1
Yum! I love samosas and these look like a great twist on those. I also love curry so these will undoubtedly be making an appearance on our dinner table soon!
sweetteasweetie (@SweetTSweetie)
These look so delicious! I love the idea of the curry paired with the flaky crust.
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
joyosity
I love these so much! My mom used to make her crust from scratch using an “oil” dough and a “water” dough. I’ve found using the store-bought pie crust to be so much easier. And I bind my filling together with mashed potato flakes. I know it’s kind of cheating, but it’s an easy way to absorb the liquids and add in potato flavor! http://the-cooking-of-joy.blogspot.com/2008/12/okay-so-i-have-no-idea-what-to-call.html
Lyndsay // Coco Cake Land
that’s so cool you worked at a legal aid clinic in Cape Town! amazing. these look soooo damn delicious. i have puff pastry in my freezer right now, hehe – though I’d have to sub the beef for tofu (Rich is vegetarian! Aiyahh!) PS I’ve been wanting to see Creed for months!! XO
Erica
Hooray for small accomplishments! I always feel icky trying to finish errands/chores until the very end – then I feel like a super woman and life feels ten thousand times better so I know it was worth it in the end 🙂 Spring cleaning is definitely one of those things!!
I love these curry puffs, they are so pretty and I’m pretty much drooling over the flakiness of the pastry <3 <3 <3
Sabrina
Wow, these sound amazing and your photos are just stunning!
thefolia
You had me at puffs. I’d eat these over a sandwich anytime! Happy feasting.
Ellie@fitforthesoul
Ughhhh I feel ya about the cleaning and tidying up and omgness, does it feel good! I feel like I’ve accomplished something great, lol. 😉 And these look so darn yummy….it’s like having empanadas slash really healthy samosas, two of my faves. I had no idea Chinese cuisine included curry based pastries~it’s so interesting to see different cultures using certain unexpected ingredients.
gfron1
These sound fantastic! So often pastries like these have dry, tough dough, but using puff pastry is a good way around that. Thanks.
monica
My sisters and I would make these with our mom when we were kids using store bought puff pastry. too. Now my kids help me make these. It is one of their favorite foods. Thank you for making so many other Asian recipes accessible to my family.