pork empanada

at last, i was able to cook empanada. i've been wanting to cook empanada for quite some time now, i just didn't have the guts. i was afraid of failing or it might not taste well or it might not turn out right or just spoil everything. but i found this empanada recipe in a multiply site, measuring life with love. i used her pastry dough recipe while i made my own filling.

last month i went to daiso and i saw this dumpling maker and pizza cutter. i bought it right away thinking that it would be useful for me. i thought of trying it in making empanada. my empanada turned out to be a smaller version, a dumpling size version. k can eat it at one time or as for me, i had it at 2 bites. hehehe...

ingredients:
for the pastry:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup refined sugar
1/4 cup water
2 eggs

for the filling:
2/3 cup ground pork, seasoned with salt and pepper
2/3 cup frozen shrimp, thawed and minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, minced
1 carrot, diced
4 pcs. prune, diced¹
1 cup green peas
3 tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 egg, hardboiled and sliced
cheese, sliced into strips

procedure:
for the pastry:
mix all ingredients together (using your hand, mixer, food processor or fork) and knead until smooth to touch and gathers together into a ball. wrap in cling plastic wrap. let rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

for the filling:
in a wok heat oil, cook the shrimp for 2 minutes, drain and set aside.

using the same wok cook the ground pork until brown. add the onion and garlic and continue cooking until aromatic.

add the carrot, prune and green peas. mix well.

add the soysauce and season with salt and pepper according to your taste.

put back the cooked shrimp and mix until well combined. cool down before using for the filling.

to assemble:
divide the pastry dough using a knife into 36 pcs. (24 if you intend to make 4" diameter empanada, mine depended on the size of my dumpling maker).

roll each piece 1/8" thick on a floured board. then put over the dumpling maker. make sure that the pastry dough is slightly larger than the dumpling maker.

put a teaspoonful of filling on the center. arranged an egg slice and cheese on top. slowly fold the dumpling maker and then press a bit firmly to seal the edges. open carefully halfway and take out your empanada. repeat until you finished all.

deep fry in a hot oil for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes or just until golden brown in color (i set a timer as i deep fried my empanada and it turned out to be just between 1-1/2 to minutes).

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¹ i used prunes since i didn't have raisins.