Foods for You

Banh Ba Ti So is a Vietnamese puff pastry. It resembles American puff pastry in that it is made with layers and as you take each bite, the flakes of the pastry fall off. What differs from American puff pastry is that Banh Ba Ti So is both a savory and sweet pastry. The pastry itself is buttery enough, but as you take a bite of the pastry, you'll have yourself biting into minced meat. Banh Ba Ti So is made with meat fillings. Therefore, most of the time this pastry is often eaten as a snack or mini-appetizers. This pastry itself is a blend of the savory meat fillings and the flaky pastry that ultimately makes this a delightful munch!!

Ingredients:

1/2 lbs. ground pork
1/4 cup chopped onions
1 tablespoon pepper
1/2 tablespoon salt
2 boxes of  Pre-made puff pastry
3 egg yolk
3 egg whites

Steps:

1. Marinate the minced pork by adding the chopped onion, salt, and pepper. Mix well so that the minced pork is well season. You can refrigerate this a few hours in advance, so the seasoning is soaked in the minced pork.

2. Open the puff pastry box and cut out the sheets into thirds vertically. Then from each of those vertical sheet, cut into thirds. This means that each sheet will make three squares. You should have a total of 18 squares for each box you open.

3. Preheat oven 350 F.

4. Take one of the square and place a small spoonful of meat filling on the bottom square. With a brush, brush around the edges of the square with egg whites. Take another square and layer it on top of the meat. The egg white acts as a glue to stick the bottom and top layer together. With the brush, brush the egg yolks on the top layer. This will give the pastry a nice golden color. Repeat this process for all of your other squares until finish. This picture below is the finished process of assembling the two layers together.


5. Bake in the oven at 350 F for about 40-45 minutes. The last 5 minutes, you should change from bake to broil. The pastry is done when it is nice golden yellow.

Tips and Notes:

* It is best to use the pre-made puff pastry dough when it is still hard. It is extremely hard to cut and separate the sheets when the dough is too soft.

* You do not have to cut the squares into thirds. Any size you desire, but of course this will affect your temperature and baking durations.

*It is VERY IMPORTANT to constantly keep an eye on your pastry while it is baking. It can easily get burn in a matter of minutes. Always check on the oven.