Curry Chicken Colored Puff Pastry

Prepare all the ingredients for the curry chicken filling: debone and skin chicken thighs and cut them into cubes (chicken breast can also be used, but thigh meat is more tender), peel and dice the potatoes and soak them in water, dice the onion, tie the green onions into knots, slice the ginger, and measure out the salt, sugar, cooking wine, and dry starch.

Prepare all the ingredients for the flaky pastry dough: weigh the sesame oil, the medium-gluten flour and starch needed for the water-oil dough, pumpkin powder, purple sweet potato powder, and the medium-gluten flour needed for the oil dough. Also, boil a pot of water. You can optionally add salt and sugar to the pastry dough, but it's also fine not to add them.

Add salt, sugar, and cooking wine to the diced chicken, mix well, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate to marinate for 30 minutes.

Add a little water to the dry starch to make a starch slurry and set it aside. The starch will settle, so stir it well before using.

Heat oil in a pan and sauté the scallions and ginger until fragrant. The oil is not included in the recipe; use about the same amount as you normally would for stir-frying.

Next, sauté the diced onions until soft, then set aside.

Stir-fry the diced chicken until it changes color, then remove and set aside.

Add enough water to the diced potatoes and cook until the potatoes start to release starch and a chopstick can easily pierce them.

After bringing the chicken and onions to a boil, I added a block of Vermont Original Curry. I first added one block, and after tasting it, I felt it was too mild, so I added another half block.

After the curry has cooked down and the liquid has mostly thickened, reduce to low heat, pour in the water-starch mixture in a circular motion, stir-fry quickly until the filling becomes thick, then remove and let it cool for later use.

Water-oil dough: Mix each portion of flour (60 grams) with a vegetable-colored powder evenly, add 20 grams of sesame oil, salt and sugar (optional), and 28 grams of boiling water, stir into a coarse mass, pour it onto the work surface, knead it like rubbing clothes back and forth, repeat this action until it becomes a smooth dough, then wrap it in plastic wrap to keep it moist. Oil pastry: For each portion of flour (40 grams) add 20 grams of sesame oil, roughly mix evenly and pour onto the work surface, then rub thoroughly with the base of your palm, using a technique similar to that of the water-oil dough.

Making puff pastry, this is the method for large layered pastry: ① Roll the water-and-oil dough into a circle, about twice the size of the oil dough, wrap the oil dough with it, and pinch the edges tightly to seal. ② Flatten and roll into a rectangular dough about 5mm thick; if there are air bubbles, prick the dough with a toothpick to release the air. ③ Fold the dough in three, wrap it in plastic wrap, and let it rest for 15 minutes. ④ Roll it into a rectangular dough about 3mm thick, and roll it up along the long edge.

① Divide the dough roll evenly into 4 portions, wrap them in plastic wrap, and let them rest for 15 minutes. ② Take one portion of the dough roll, fold the two ends toward the center, and flatten it. ③ Roll it into a round dough sheet that is thicker in the middle and thinner at the edges, then scoop a spoonful of curry chicken filling into the center of the dough. ④ Use the thumb of your left hand to press the filling into the dough, and use the space between your thumb and index finger of your right hand to gather the edges of the dough.

While turning, pinch the edges closed, then place them downward on the cutting board to shape.

After the raw pastry is prepared, it should be covered with plastic wrap promptly to prevent the surface from drying out.

Preheat the oven with top and bottom heat at 180°C, and bake on the middle-upper rack for about 30 minutes.

The curry is rich in flavor, the chicken is springy and tender, and the pastry is so crispy it crumbles; one bite is never enough!