In the sixties and seventies, there was a popular restaurant in Singapore called Troika. The restaurant served continental European food with a focus on Russian dishes.  The food was also shaped by local Chinese influences through the restaurant’s Hainanese chefs.   Among the many dishes served in the Troika cafe in Clifford Centre, my personal favourite is the humble and most delicious chicken pie.  The creamy texture is unforgettable.  Here I am trying to replicate the flavour that I still remember from the good old days.

Today, I baked creamy chicken & mushroom pie again and have improved on a previous recipe. This time, I made a pie with a puff pastry lid instead of mini pies.  I prefer this version as it has a lot more creamy sauce and tastier through the use of chicken stock and addition of carrot. I have also improved on the process so that only 1 saucepan is used - less to wash up, yay!

INGREDIENTS (makes 1 pie - 17 cm x 17 cm - serves 2)

• Creamy sauce:

  • 20 gm butter

  • 1 tablespoon flour

  • 4 tablespoons evaporated milk

  • 1 1/2 cups chicken stock

  • 1 tablespoon Canola oil

  • 1 clove garlic (minced)

  • 4 fresh mushroom (diced)

  • 2 chicken thighs (diced)

  • 1 carrot (diced)

  • ¼  teaspoon salt

  • Dash of black pepper

  • 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry

  • Beaten egg for glazing

METHOD

1. Pre-heat oven to 180C (fan forced).

2. Heat butter in a small saucepan and add flour. Stir to combine, ensuring flour is cooked. Remove to a small bowl.

3. Add chicken stock (a couple of tablespoons at a time) to the cooked flour, stirring constantly, to form a smooth (fairly liquid) paste. Add evaporated milk and stir to achieve a sauce.

4. Add oil to the saucepan, heat up, add garlic and fry till fragrant. Add mushroom and fry for a couple of minutes.

5. Add chicken, carrot, salt and black pepper. Continue to fry till chicken is cooked.

6. Add the creamy sauce to the chicken mix and bring to the boil. Add salt and pepper to taste, if required. Simmer for a few minutes until sauce is creamy.

7. Pour chicken mixture and sauce into a small pyrex dish (17 cm x 17 cm). Leave to cool.

8. Place the sheet of puff pastry over the pyrex dish pressing the edges onto the sides of the dish to seal. Trim off excess pastry and flute the edges (see picture below).

9. Brush the top with beaten egg and bake the creamy chicken & mushroom pie in the oven for 20 minutes until golden brown.

10. Use a serving spoon to cut the pie into 4 portions and serve. Enjoy!