Chicken Pastel

I have been wanting to make this dish for the longest time, but I always thought that it is so laborious and hard to make. Turns out, it is only half true (haha). My friend Nadine inspired me to finally make this dish, as she made me hungry describing this same dish that she recently made.

It is very similar to Chicken Pot Pie. I guess they just call it different names in different places. This recipe is also semi-home made as I used store-bought pastry dough. I didn't have time to make my own pastry dough wanted the rich taste of ready-made dough so I used it.

What you need:

• 1 pound chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
• 3 pieces hotdogs, sliced vertically
• 1 to 2 pieces Chinese chorizo, sliced vertically
• 4 pieces red potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 8 ounces portobello mushrooms, caps only (sliced in small pieces)
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1/4 cup sweet peas
• 1/2 small Vidalia onion
• 4 hard boiled eggs, quartered
• 1 1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, divided
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup evaporated milk
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• juice of half a lemon

What to do:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a bowl, combine the juice of the lemon and soy sauce. Add the chicken pieces and let marinate for at least 15 minutes.

In a wok or skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of butter or margarine over medium-high heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade and put them in the wok to brown (about 3 minutes). Set aside.

Wipe out the wok and re-heat. Add the other tablespoon of margarine. Saute the onions, bell pepper and mushrooms for about a minute or two. Add the broth and milk and let boil. Toss in the potatoes, carrots, sweet peas, sausages, hotdogs, and grated cheese. Simmer for around 15 to 20 minutes. Adjust taste by adding salt. Transfer to a baking dish and let cool for a bit.

Once it has cooled down, top it with the quartered hard boiled eggs. Cover it with the pastry dough, and if possible, pull the dough to the sides of the baking dish to ensure coverage of all the parts. Use a fork to press the edges to the dish, and punch holes on the top to allow steam to vent.

Put in the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes. Enjoy!


Tips, Tricks and Tweaks:

1. Since we are dealing with chicken, I must stress the importance of cleanliness. Always wash your hands after handling poultry. Use a separate cutting board for poultry and for the other meat ingredients, if possible.
2. Roll the lemon around on the table or counter before cutting it to extract more juice out of it.
3. Lemons with a thicker peel have less pulp and juice. So always go for those with thin peels.
4. Instead of quartered eggs, use hard boiled quail eggs. Their nutritional value is 3 to 4 times higher than that of chicken eggs.
5. If you want the dish to be juicier, use 2 cups of chicken broth.
6. Avoid marinating the chicken in the soy sauce-lemon mixture for longer than 30 minutes, as the chicken will become too tangy.
7. Try to make the ingredients about the same size as possible for even cooking.