Monday, March 22, 2010

Curry and Sardine Puffs

Sardine Puffs before they are fried to a golden brown

A favourite snack among Singaporeans is the curry puff, a short crust pastry traditionally filled with potato and chicken curry. These had their humble beginnings when Malay housewives started selling them in their neighbourhood to supplement their household income. Then in the 70's, restaurants around Rex theatre such as Old Chung Kee and Selera started selling them with a quarter of a hard boiled egg added and it became an even bigger hit ! Old Chung Kee took it a step furthur and started mass producing them in their factories. The ubiquitous curry puff is now popular all over Singapore and over the years, the range of fillings have increased, from sardines and onions to even black pepper chicken and chilli crab.

Making them at home is fun and the whole family chips in. We actually started out using supermarket puff pastry which makes it crispy and flaky but recently, we attempted using my aunt's short crust pastry receipe. Two cans of sardines is sufficient to make over 60 little sardine puffs. Best of all, they can be stored in the freezer and fried when the hunger pangs strike.

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