This pie fills a single frypan with a beef-and-pork mince filling seasoned with soy, oyster sauce, ginger, chilli, and star anise, then gets topped with puff pastry and baked. It serves six, takes about 80 minutes start to finish, and the whole thing comes together in one pan before moving to the pie dish — which keeps washing up short.
Smart swaps
- Star anise: Not a common pantry item. If you don’t have it, half a teaspoon of five-spice powder stirred in with the sauces gives a similar background note — use it sparingly, it’s strong.
- Oyster sauce: Hoisin sauce works as a substitute in the same quantity. It’s slightly sweeter, but it holds up well here.
- Baby bok choy: Regular bok choy, chopped, or a couple of large handfuls of shredded wombok (napa cabbage) both work. Spinach wilts down too much and goes watery — avoid it.
- Mixed mushrooms: Any single variety is fine. Button mushrooms are the cheapest option and do the job. Shiitake add more umami if you want to lean into the Asian flavours.
- Puff pastry: One standard frozen sheet, thawed, is what the recipe calls for. Shortcrust works too but won’t give you the same flaky top.
The short version of why this works
Two things matter most here. First, browning the mince properly before adding liquid — high heat, no crowding, breaking up lumps for the full five minutes — gives you flavour that simmering alone can’t produce. If you rush this step, the filling tastes flat. Second, the 20-minute covered simmer after adding the stock and sauces does real work: it reduces the liquid so the filling isn’t soupy, which is the main reason pies end up with a soggy bottom. Let the filling cool for at least five minutes before it goes into the pie dish, and make sure it’s not swimming in liquid — if it looks wet, give it another few minutes uncovered on low heat before you spoon it in. Skip the garnish — not worth the extra dish.
If something goes sideways
- Pastry shrinks away from the edges during baking: The pastry was probably stretched when you laid it over the dish. Lay it loosely, let it drape naturally, and press it to the rim without pulling it tight.
- Filling is too salty: Oyster sauce and soy sauce are both high in sodium. If your stock is salted too, the combined effect can be sharp. Use low-sodium stock, or reduce the soy sauce to one tablespoon and taste before adding more.
- Pastry is golden but filling is cold in the centre: This happens when the filling goes into the dish straight from the pan without cooling. A warm-but-not-hot filling heats through evenly during baking. If you’re reheating a pre-assembled pie from the fridge, add 10 minutes to the bake time and check the centre.
- Greens turn slimy: Bok choy releases water as it wilts. Stir it in off the heat, as the recipe says, and don’t let it sit in the hot pan for more than a few minutes before you move the filling to the pie dish.
- Mince is grey and steamed rather than browned: The pan wasn’t hot enough, or too much mince went in at once. Make sure the oil is shimmering before the meat goes in, and if your pan is small, brown the beef and pork in two batches before combining.
Appetizing Beef, Pork and Mushroom Pie With an Asian Twist
Ingredients
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
250 grams ground beef (minced beef)- 250 grams pork mince
3 cloves garlic - finely chopped
2 long red chili (red chilli in British English) - de-seeded, chopped
5 centimetres ginger - finely chopped
400 grams mushrooms - mixed
150 ml beef stock (beef broth or beef bouillon) - heated- 2 small star anise
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 bunches baby bok choy - quartered
1 ½ cups cilantro (coriander) - roughly chopped- 1 large puff pastry
¼ cup milk - to brush
Instructions
- Heat your oil in a frypan over high heat, then add the mince, ginger, chilli and garlic. Using a wooden ladle, break up the lumps of mince for 5 minutes until brown.
- Add the mushrooms, stock, star anise, oyster and soy sauce, stirring to combine. Cover and simmer for 20minutes.
- While this is simmering, get your greens ready. Roughly chop 1-1/2 cups of coriander and quarter a bunch of baby bok choy. I would use 2 bunches next time as I didn’t think there was enough in the pie. It also wilts down.
- Stir the greens through, season with pepper, take off the heat and let cool for 5 minutes or so.
- Spoon the filling into a pie dish. Brush edges of the dish with milk. Use puff pastry to top the pie, crimping the edges around the dish and cutting off any excess. Brush the pastry with milk to give it an excellent gloss. Bake in a preheated 200-degree Celsius oven for 2 to 30 minutes. Put a couple of holes in the pastry to let the steam out.
Nutrition
Common questions
Can I use all beef or all pork instead of a mix?
Yes, either works on its own. All beef gives a firmer, denser filling; all pork is softer and a little fattier. The 50/50 split just balances the two — it’s not essential to the recipe.
How do I know when the mince filling is cooked through safely?
Ground beef and pork need to reach 160°F (71°C) internally. By the time you’ve browned the mince for five minutes on high heat and then simmered it covered for 20 minutes, it will be well past that temperature. If you want to check, a meat thermometer in the centre of the filling should read at least 160°F before it goes into the pie dish.
Can I make the filling ahead of time?
Yes — the filling keeps in the fridge for up to two days. Store it in the frypan or a sealed container, then spoon it cold into the pie dish, top with pastry, and bake. You may need to add five minutes to the bake time to heat the filling through.
My puff pastry sheet isn’t big enough to cover my pie dish. What do I do?
Patch it. Cut strips from the offcuts and press them onto the gaps — they’ll puff and seal during baking and you won’t notice the joins once it’s golden. Alternatively, use a smaller or oval pie dish that the sheet covers comfortably.
Can I freeze this pie?
Freeze it before baking, not after. Assemble the pie with cooled filling and uncooked pastry, wrap it well, and freeze for up to two months. Bake from frozen at 200°C (400°F) and add roughly 20 minutes to the bake time, checking that the pastry is deep golden and the filling is bubbling at the steam holes.
The recipe says 2 to 30 minutes baking time — which is it?
That’s a typo in the original — it should read 20 to 30 minutes. Bake at 200°C (400°F) and start checking at 20 minutes. You’re looking for deep golden, well-puffed pastry. Pale pastry needs more time regardless of the clock.
