Memories of My Mom: Banh Pate Chaud

My mom was an amazing cook! She would make wonderful meals and invite friends and family over - there's no way anyone would say no. The connotative meaning of "Nỗi Lòng Của Mẹ" is "the rising a mother's heart" - rising the way bread dough rises and fills its enclosure - which is fitting because this is how she expressed the enormity of her love for us. Birthdays were always our favorite foods, weekend meals meant my mother getting up at 4:00AM so that we'd have a big, steaming pot of her homemade pho waiting when we finally woke up. I was a super finicky eater, so my mom would make things one way for everyone else, then a different way just for me. (She'll be happy to know that I'm serving my penance for that when I cook for Nora and Eddie.)

I loved helping my mom cook - all my kitchen habits come from years of watching her work her magic in the kitchen....well, except the habit I have of using every pot in the house. I'm posting all of her recipes essentially to keep them safe. It's a combination of googling and memories - google to find several versions of the basic recipe and adding memories of my mom in. Here is the first of her recipes.

Banh Pate Chaud - a vietnamese puffed pastry stuffed with seasoned, ground pork, shrimp and mushrooms (or any combination). It makes for a delicious and addicting appetizer or snack! Traditionally the recipe calls for adding 2 T of pate (liver), but none of the kids liked the flavor so my mom added shrimp...or just made plain pork.

2 boxes of frozen puff pastry (my mother, of course, made her own puff pastry...but later on, even she admitted the frozen stuff was just as tasty and a million times more convenient)
1 lb lean ground pork
1/2 lb ground shrimp (fresh crab meat is delicious too!)
1/2 c chopped wood ear mushrooms (or shitake)
2-3 T spns of fish sauce (all of these measurements are approximate)
1-2 T spn of soy sauce
2-3 shallots minced
2-3 T spns of sugar
1/2 t spn of salt
fresh ground pepper
1 egg
butter

- In a large bowl, add the ground pork, shrimp and mushrooms and season the meat with all of the ingredients above (except the puff pastry). Once all of the ingredients are added, with your hands you want to mush all of the ingredients together until all of the seasoning is evenly spread throughout. Hands are very important - it's very difficult to get everything evenly seasoned with a utensil.

- After it is well mixed, divide and shape roughly into 12 (or however many pastries you're making) semi-flat balls. (I will come back and post pictures when I make this Thursday morning for TDay). If the size of the meatballs are large, you should first steam them in a bamboo steamer for about 15 minutes to ensure thorough cooking.

- With a cookie/biscuit cutter or a cup, cut the puffed pastry in circles that will fit the meatballs. Place one of the meatballs in the circle and place another circle on top. My mom would put a round collar in between the 2 circles so that they would puff higher (I'm going to try that).

- Press the edges of the puffed pastry together with a fork to seal. Brush the bottoms with melted butter and the top with an egg wash.

- Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes until they are golden brown and puffed.

ENJOY!!! (will edit to add pictures)