Chicken Potpie

Chicken Potpie 
or Pastel na Manok for Filipinos

Recipe Yield: Servings for four

Ingredients:
6 to 7 pieces white or shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 (4 oz.) boneless, skinless chicken breast half, diced
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. or more ground black pepper
1 tbsp. Olive Oil
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 green onions, sliced diagonally
1/2 lb. chorizo de Bilbao (I used 3 pieces chicken hotdogs), sliced
1/4 cup frozen green peas, thawed 
1 med. sized carrots, peeled and diced
1 tbsp. corn starch diluted in 1/8 cup water (I used milk since I have no available cheese) 
1/4 cup shredded cheese (Cheddar or Mozzarella)
1 lb. store-bought puff pastry, thawed and divided to two (I used homemade bread dough) 
1 large egg, beaten 

Procedure:
1. Prepare the pie dough
if you are using a home made dough. It is best to prepare it before starting to prepare the rest of the ingredients so the dough will have enough time to rise. 
Roll out half of the dough to flatten to make it thin and enough to cover the casserole/pie dish. Lay the the dough over the casserole. You can fold the overhanging dough to make a decorative edge.
2. Marinate the diced chicken breast into the mixture of soy sauce and ground black pepper or 30 minutes or while cutting up vegetables.
3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat a skillet and pour Olive oil. Place the marinated chicken and stir-fry for about 3 minutes. Add in the sliced hotdog. Stir. Add in and sauté the garlic and onion. Add in the carrots and green peas. Stir, cover and simmer for two minutes. Pour the milk or water with diluted cornstarch and stir until the sauce thickens. 
Transfer the pot pie filling over the casserole/pie dish covered with dough. Sprinkle it over with shredded cheese.
4. Flatten the other half of the dough to make it a thinner sheet. You can either just place the thin sheet of dough on top of the pie and make some holes to allow the steam to escape or cover the pie with the strips of dough just like what I did. Brush the top of the dough with the beaten egg. Bake it for about 25 to 35 minutes until the dough puffs and the color turned slightly brown. 
5. Let the pie cool for few minutes. Cut, serve and enjoy! 


This is recipe is inspired from Jennifer Aranas' Chicken Pot Pie from The Filipino-American kitchen cookbook. Feel free to share and use it for your home cooking.