Empanada – Golden, Flaky, Savory Delights

Empanada is a popular savory pastry recipe is a mix of Spanish, Latin America and Filipino influences. Just imagine a mouthful of buttery flaky crust filled to the brim with a deliciously flavorful colorful meaty filling.

Take a bite of these handmade empanadas. These flaky golden-crescent shaped buttery nuggets filled with savory meat goodness are irresistible delicious! Whether baked or fried this Spanish-Filipino bites are prefect any time of the day.

Ingredients :

For the Dough

• Flour – the main component of the dough-crust. Provides the structure to help the dogh keep it’s shape.
• Butter – or margarine creates a lightly texture flaky crust.
• Baking powder – helps rise it up and turn flaky as well as slightly flaky.
• Sugar – it contributes to a softer and more tender textured crust.
• Cold water – adjust as needed.
• Salt – just a pinch to help with the dough’s flavor.

For the Fillings

• Ground Chicken or Pork – main meat, a protein-filled.
• Carrot, Potatoes, and Green Peas – Colorful, healthy fillers.
• Raisins – gives the dish some texture and slight sweetness.
• Onion and Garlic – Usual aromatics.
• Oyster sauce and soy sauce – gives the dish a complexly rich umami and somewhat sweet flavor.
• Chicken broth cube – this enhances the flavor and adds depth to the filling.

Empanada Recipe

Ingredients :

For the Dough

• 2 cups flour
• 1 stick or 1/2 cup butter or margarine (hard)
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup very cold water (adjust as needed)
• pinch of salt

For the Fillings

• 1/2 kilo ground chicken or pork
• 1 medium-size carrot (diced)
• 1 medium-size potato (diced)
• 2 tbsp. green peas
• 2 tbsp. raisins
• Onion
• Garlic
• 1 tbsp. oyster sauce
• soy sauce to taste
• 1 pc. chicken broth cube

Steps :

Making the Dough

1. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Mix well until combined. After mixing, cut the cubed butter into the flour mixture. Use pastry blender or fork to blend the butter to the flour until crumbly.

2. Then, add the water small amount at a time while mixing. It is better to use hand when doing this to make sure that the water is absorbed by the flour while mixing. Add more water (per tablespoon) as you mix until you get the right consistency.

3. Knead the dough until smooth. Once you get the right consistency for the dough, form it into a ball. Wrap in plastic or put in an airtight sealed container and chill for 1 hour.

For the Filling

1. In a pan, heat some oil. Then, sauté onion and garlic. Add the ground chicken and sauté until the meat changes color.

2. Then add black pepper, soy sauce, oyster sauce and chicken broth cube. Stir until the cube is completely dissolved. Cover and cook for a few minutes to cook the ground meat.

3. After a few minutes, add the potatoes and carrot. Stir to combine. Cover and cook for a minute until the veggies are tender. Once the veggies are tender, add the green peas and raisins. Simmer for a minute.

4. Once cooked, remove from heat, set aside and let it cool completely.

Wrapping the Empanada

1. After chilling the dough, time to roll it and make empanada circles. Dust your working surface with flour, then flatten the dough using a rolling pin until the desired thickness is achieved.

2. Once you achieve the right thickness for the empanada dough, cut into circles. You can use pastry cutter or use a bowl to trace a circle. In this recipe, I made 12 empanada circles/wrappers.

3. On each circle, add fillings. Put the filling in the center then fold the dough, enveloping the filling. Press the edges with your thumb to stick them together. Then press it with fork to seal.

Frying / Baking the Empanada

1. FOR FRYING: In a deep pan, heat some oil for deep-frying. Fry the empanadas until golden brown. Do not overcrowd the pan to maintain the temperature. Once golden brown, remove from heat and put it in a wire rack to drip excess oil.

2. FOR BAKING: Preheat your oven to 180C. Arrange the empanada in a baking tray lined with baking paper. Brush the top with whisked egg. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the top is light brown.

How Empanadas were introduced to the Philippines

Empanadas were introduced during the Spanish colonization. Embraced and adopted by the Philippines to suit local taste, using the ingredients easily available within the land. The more well known local adaptation might probably Ilocos‘ Fried Empanada which is treated more like street food, these have very crisp, bright orange thin skin made of rice flour or ‘galapong’ colored by atsuete, filled with shredded papaya, egg, and Ilocos longganisa, someties with shredded cabbage or mung beans ( monggo ) or other vegetable-meat fillings. Doused with or served on the side ( an extra plastic bag to dip into ) with spiced vinegar

Try our other Yummy Filipino – Spanish Recipes :

Recipe Video :

How to Cook Empanada ( Tagalog ) :

Mga Sangkap :

Para sa Masa

• 2 tasa ng harina
• 1 stick o 1/2 tasa ng mantikilya o margarine (matigas)
• 1/2 kutsarita ng baking powder
• 2 kutsarita ng asukal
• 1/4 o 1/3 tasa ng malamig na tubig (iadjust kung kinakailangan )
• konting asin

Para sa Palaman

• 1/2 kilo ng giniling na baboy o manok
• 1 karot ( hiniwa ng maliliit )
• 1 patatas ( hiniwa ng maliliit )
• 2 kutsara ng gisantes
• 2 kutsara ng pasas
• Sibuyas
• Bawang
• 1 kutsara ng oyster sauce
• soy sauce panlasa
• 1 piraso chicken broth cube

Paano Lutuin :

Para sa Masa ng Empanada

1. Una, pagsamahin ang harina, baking powder, asukal at asin. Haluing Mabuti. Kapag nahalo na, ilagay na ang butter. Pagsamahin ito gamit ang tinidor or pastry blender. Ang magiging texture niya ay parang sa buhangin.
2. Kapag nakuha na ang mala-buhangin na itsura, maglagay na ng malamig na tubig. Pakonti konti lang ang lagay  ng tubig habang hinahalo. Mas Mabuti na kamayin para matiyak na nagbeblend ang tubig sa harina. Ituloy lamang ang paglalagay ng tubig hanggang sa makuha na ang tamang texture.
3. Kapag ayos na at makinis na ang dough, iporma ito pabilog. Balutin sa plastic o ilagay sa container na may takip. Palamigin sa ref ng isang oras.

Para sa Palaman

1. Sa isang kawali, magpainit ng mantika. Igisa ang sibuyas at bawang. Saka ilagay ang giniling na manok. Igisa ito hanggang sa mag-iba na ito ng kulay.
2. Pagkatapos magisa, ilagay na ang paminta, toyo, chicken broth cube at oyster sauce. Haluin Mabuti. Saka takpan para maluto ang giniling. Lutuin ng ilang minute.
3. Pagkaraan ng ilang minute, ilagay na ang patatas at carrot. Igisa ulit at takpan ng ilang minuto hanggang sa maluto ang mga ito. Pag luto malambot na ang carrot at patatas, ilagay na ang green peas at raisins. Lutuin pa ng ilang minuto saka hanguin.
4. Itabi at palamigin ang palaman bago gamitin.

Pagawa ng Empanada

1. Pagkatapos palamigin ang dough, ipoporma na ito sa pabilog para maging wrapper. Magbudbod ng kaunting harina sa inyong working surface or lamesa. Palaparin ang dough hanggang sa makuha ang tamang nipis nito.
2. Mag-cut ng pabilog gamit ang cutter or i-trace ang dough gamit ang isang malapad na bowl. Nakagawa ako ng 12 bilog sa recipe na ito.
3. Sa bawat empanada wrapper, maglagay ng palaman sa gitna. Itupi ito para mabalot ang palaman sa loob. Pagdikitin ang bawat gilid. Gamit ang tinidor, i-seal ito para hindi bumuka.

Para sa Pagluto ng Empanada

May dalawang paraan para maluto ang empanada. Depende sa kung anong available, eto ang mga paraan:

1. PAGPIPRITO: Mag-init ng mantika sa malalim na kawali. Iprito ang empanada hanggang sa maging golden brown. Wag magprito ng marami sa isang salang para hindi mag-iba ang init ng mantika.
2. BAKING: Kung may oven at gusto i-bake ang empanada, i-set ang oven sa 180C. I-pwesto ang mga empanada sa isang tray na may nakalagay na baking paper. Pahiran ng binating itlog ang ibabaw. I-bake ng 30 hanggang 35 minuto hanggang sa magbrown ang ibabaw.