Mary Ryan’s Chicken Pie

This one has been on the back burner for a while (yes the kitchen expression was deliberate. Haha!), but I finally had all the ingredients and equipment I needed on hand.  I totally underestimated how much time it would take to make these, so what was originally supposed to be last night’s dinner ended up being breakfast instead.  The results were extremely rewarding nonetheless.  Yum!

I recommend making the filling ahead and letting it cool down completely in the fridge.  Filling the pies itself is highly labor intensive and time consuming, so staggering the workload a little will make it easier on us when making this.

Based on the recipe by Chef Wan.

Updated on Jul 2, 2017 with new photos and notes.

Mary Ryan’s Chicken Pie

Ingredients

Makes about 30 4-inch pies

For the stock

• 1 (2-kilogram) whole chicken
• 1 carrot, peeled and quartered
• 1 celery rib, roughly chopped
• 1 onion, peeled and quartered
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sprig fresh celery leaves (daun sup), chopped

For the filling

• 100 grams unsalted butter
• 1 onion, peeled and diced
• 1 cup all purpose flour, sifted
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons prune juice
• 200 ml whipping cream
• 200 grams (about 12) white button mushrooms, quartered
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons Cukup Rasa all-in-one seasoning powder
• 2 teaspoons ground white pepper
• 2 (1-kilogram) packs frozen puff pastry, thawed (I recommend Pampas)
• 1 egg, beaten

Directions

In a large (at least 5 L) stock pot, make the stock.  Put the whole chicken in the pot and fill with enough water to cover the chicken.  Add the carrots, onion, celery, dried thyme, bay leaf, and celery leaves.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce heat and simmer, until the chicken is tender and falling off the bone, about 1 1/2 hours.

If using a pressure cooker, add the chicken into your pressure cooker pot with 6 cups water along with the rest of the ingredients. Cook using the Meat/Poultry setting, 30 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the pot, and pick out the meat using tongs, shredding the meat into small pieces.

Return the bones and skin to the stock pot, and return the liquid to a boil.  Simmer uncovered, until the stock has reduced to about 4 cups.  Remove from heat, strain, and set aside.

Optional step: sautee the mushrooms. In a medium skillet over medium heat, heat 1 tablespoon fat or oil.  Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until all the liquid has been released and evaporated and mushrooms become fragrant, about 10 minutes.

In a large pot over medium high heat, melt the butter.

When the butter is thoroughly heated, add the onions and flour and cook, stirring, until golden brown.

Add the carrots, peas, prune juice, and reserved chicken stock.

Simmer until the mixture is reduced to half, about 10 minutes.

Add the whipping cream…

…shredded chicken meat, salt, seasoning powder and ground white pepper.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened, evaporating the liquid as much as possible.

Add the mushrooms and stir to combine.  Transfer to a different container and let cool.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C (180 degrees fan).

Roll out the puff pastry to 1/8 inch thick, and cut into squares to fit into your pie dishes.

Press into the pie dishes and trim the edges.  You can re-use these trimmings as the base of your pies.  Spoon the filling into each pie.

Brush the edges with the egg wash.  Cut another round of pastry to cover each pie.  Seal the pies by pressing down the edges with the tines of a fork, or with your fingers.

Brush the tops of the pies with the egg wash.

Prick or make a slit on the tops of each pie to allow steam to vent out.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, until golden.  Serve warm.