dinner/meat/recipes/vietnamese food

Banh Pate Chaud Australian Meat Pie Recipe

Posted March 14, 2018 by Stephanie

A few years ago, Mike and I went to Australia where I was amazed to learn that meat pies are practically their national dish. I thought Australia was all about barbecue, Tim Tams, pavlova, and vegemite, but apparently not because the thing I saw EVERYWHERE was the meat pie. They were sold at convenience stores, coffee shops, and random street carts. There were even bakeries dedicated to selling only meat pies. Of course, I ate plenty. Always with ketchup because they have very cute and handy ketchup – they call it tomato sauce – packets there.

Banh Pate Chaud Australian Meat Pie Recipe | www.iamafoodblog.com

Australian meat pies are much like all the other meat pies I’ve ever tired: crispy, flaky pie crust filled with, well, meat. They’re delicious. I think I had one every single day we were there. Every day, along with our flat whites and long blacks, we had a meat pie or sausage roll break. We didn’t just have snacks though – the other thing we ate a lot of was Vietnamese food. There’s a huge Vietnamese population in Australia and they have a very vibrant food scene.

Banh Pate Chaud Australian Meat Pie Recipe | www.iamafoodblog.com

Banh Pate Chaud Australian Meat Pie Recipe | www.iamafoodblog.com

Banh Pate Chaud Australian Meat Pie Recipe | www.iamafoodblog.com

So, for Pi Day this year, Mike and I came up with a banh pate chaud Australian meat pie! Traditionally, banh pate chaud (or bánh pa tê sô) is a handheld puff pastry meat pie. The outside is flaky and crisp and the inside is juicy, savory pork with wood ear mushrooms. Pate chaud is one of my favorite Vietnamese things ever. It’s not really as well known as the noodle dishes, rolls, or sandwiches, but if you go to a Vietnamese bakery/sandwich shop, you’ll most likely see a delicious tower of golden pastries.

Banh Pate Chaud Australian Meat Pie Recipe | www.iamafoodblog.com

Banh Pate Chaud Australian Meat Pie Recipe | www.iamafoodblog.com

I love puff pastry as much as anyone, but instead of going the traditional puffy route, I used some store bought pie dough to make pate chaud into the ultimate Australian meat pie. They were the bomb: ultra flaky pie crust surrounding a juicy fish-sauce seasoned savory pork and mushroom filling. We had them with ketchup, of course ;)

Happy Pi Day friend!
meat pie and tomato sauce,
xoxo steph

Banh Pate Chaud Australian Meat Pie Recipe | www.iamafoodblog.com

Banh Pate Chaud Australian Meat Pie Recipe | www.iamafoodblog.com

Banh Pate Chaud Australian Meat Pie Recipe
makes 6 small pies


  • oil for the pan
  • 1 shallot, finely diced
  • 1/2 lb ground pork
  • 1/4 cup wood ear mushrooms soaked for 15-20 minutes in hot tap water, then drained and chopped
  • 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
  • 1 teaspoon fish sauce or to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
  • 1 batch homemade or store bought pie crust
  • 1 large egg lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon water

Heat the oven to 375°F.

Heat up a frying pan or skillet over medium hight heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring, until fragrant but not brown, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in the pork and brown, breaking up into small pieces. Add the wood ear mushrooms. stir in the oyster sauce, fish sauce, and white pepper. Let cool completely.

While the mix is cooling, roll out the pie crust to 1/8 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut out 6 circles that are at least 1-2 inches larger than the tins you are using. Re-roll if needed and cut out 6 slightly smaller circles. Chill until ready to use.

Lightly butter the mini pie pans (if needed) and line with the larger circle of pie crust, pressing down slightly and making sure there is a centimeter or two of overhang on the edges. Spoon in a heaping 1/4 cup of the filling and place the smaller circle on top. Crimp the edges. Brush with egg wash and poke or slash a couple of vents to let out steam.

Bake until lightly brown and crisp, about 20-30 minutes, rotating halfway through. Let cool slightly and enjoy warm or at room temperature.

2 Comments

  1. Eeks these lil party pies look so yummy! I recently discovered “australian meat pies” because there’s this delish little spot at Whistler that serves them. They come with mashed potatoes and peas on top and a whole bunch of gravy! I’m a ketchup/meat pie person too… hehe.

  2. Just can’t get enough of your posts! Already bookmarked this blog. The food looks delicious and the styling just perfect!

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