Easy Empanada with a Twist

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The EmPOPnada with Our Very Own Asian Love Sauce

I love empanadas and I love making them at home but it is very time consuming just to watch them get devoured in seconds. My solution to this problem, is the EmPOPnada. It’s an easy empanada recipe with a twist. These flavorful pops are easier to make because you’re rolling them up versus rolling out the dough, cutting out circles, filling the circles and then sealing them with a creative braid or by using a fork. Believe me, emPOPnadas with my very own Asian Love Sauce, will definitely blow your mind.

Okay, we know that everyone loves an empanada. Especially when someone splurges for their pot luck contribution, at a family party. The problem though, is that empanadas are pretty much one per person. Unless one of the uncles pulls out the food grade (hopefully) scissors and starts cutting each one in half and serves them to all. No, not a far fetched scenario at a Filipino party.

Before coming to this creation, I tried making many variations of the Filipino empanada. Different crusts, fillings and cooking methods. One thing was for sure, making empanada was very time consuming. Lumpia making is time consuming as well but your freezer can be stocked. With Empanada, a get together or a family of six would inhale them within a sixteenth of the the time taken to make and cook them. Yes, keep in mind, parties and gatherings, with a clear conscience, are within reach. Coming up with an easy empanada recipe with a twist for cooking ease, was a “no brainer. For your first or next shindig, you can now consider bringing homemade empanada. Well, emPOPnada, that is.

Pockets to Pops

One thing that I will be the first to admit that when it comes to dough, whether with yeast or not, I have to work on my patience and craft. I know that I just have to get more accustomed to it to a point where I know more about the desired consistencies versus time of mixing or kneading. Going from pockets to pops with this recipe gave me the opportunity to feel a little more instant gratification.

Easy Empanada with a Twist: The Dough

To to this, I had to make a couple changes to the empanada recipe that I created. First off, because the pops were going to have a different filling to dough ratio than a traditional empanada, I wanted to change enhance the flavor of the flaky and buttery dough. Because using cold ingredients is key for the dough, the night before, I melted 6 ounces (a bar and a half) of butter with crushed garlic, and refrigerated it overnight. This creates a tasty, savory, garlic flavored dough.

Easy Empanada with a Twist: The Filling

The second change that I made was to the filling. For the empanadas, I was using my giniling recipe for the filling. As pops, I did not want the tomato sauce base to discolor the dough. So I made it without any tomato sauce or even tomatoes. Instead, I sautéed the onions, browned the ground beef and drained the fat well. I then added water with beef dashida (should be found at most Korean sections of Asian Markets), patis and smashed garlic. The broth was then reduced until it was all gone, allowing the ground beef time to absorb all of the flavors. I also found it best to add the frozen veggies just before the majority of the broth is gone. This will prevent your peas from getting pulverized. This process should also be done the day before, so that it is at a cold temperature when mixing it with the dough.

Easy Empanada with a Twist: The Amazing Dipping Sauce

Because the pops won’t have the that slight sauciness from the giniling, I wanted to create an Asian inspired dipping sauce to add to the experience. I asked my chef extraordinaire brother for some ideas and he got me thinking about chimichurri sauce. I liked the idea of something fresh, with some spice. So I took the same concept but used some traditional Asian herbs and spices. I used olive oil and spiced vinegar as the liquid base. I love the combination of cilantro, minari and perilla (sesame) leaves. Their combined aroma, along with the garlic will make you salivate. The flavor is then rounded off by the spiciness of Thai Chilies and red jalapeños. This sauce is very versatile. TEASER ALERT!!! I am going to use it as a spread on the upcoming sandwiches that I am making. I’m also trying to come up with a cool name for it. Stay tuned.

Be sure to make this the day before you make your pops. Allowing it to sit overnight ensures that all of the leafy flavors and spices emerge. Plus, if you loved the smell of it when you made it, wait until you smell it a day later.

Forming the E-Pops

With everything sitting, nice and chilled in the fridge, you can start off with mixing the dry ingredients. Cut up the garlic butter in squares or chunks and add them into the dry mix. This will make it easier to mix into the dry ingredients. With a dough blender and cutter tool, cut into the butter chunks until you get a moon dough consistency or similar to beach sand that is drying out. Keep working at it. It will take 10 to 15 minutes, depending on how relentless you are chopping away. Every now and then, be sure to clean off and mix the dry ingredients at the bottom and sides of the bowl, with a rubber spatula.

Once you have the moon dough consistency, form a well in the middle of the bowl and crack an egg in the center. Add a third of the ice cold water to the well and scramble with a whisk, in the center. You will create a ball of dough that will pretty much get stuck inside of your whisk.

At this point you can add your meat and vegetable filling. When I made it, I went with 2 coups of the filling but it definitely needs more. 2 1/2 cups would be better but I think that you can go with 3. To form the pops, you would need more dough than filling. Too much filling would prevent you from rolling up the pops.

Switch to a heavy duty serving spoon or a bamboo spatula and add the next third of ice water. Mix as well as you can. Before adding the last third of water, check the consistency of your dough. You should end up with a slightly sticky dough, not runny nor dry. Sticky, yet manageable if you flour your hands when forming the pops. If the measurements of your dry ingredients are correct, then you should be able to add the last third of water, without worry.

Time to Ball

First off, preheat your oven at 350 degrees. By far, this next part is easier than rolling out your dough, cutting out circles, filling and then forming empanada pockets. All you do is simply dust your hands with flour, grab enough mixture to form an 1 1/2 inch ball, between your palms. Place each piece on a silpat baking mat, on top of a sheet pan. They won’t expand when cooking so spacing is not important. Scramble one egg and give each pop a quick egg wash before baking. For a pop this size, 20-25 minute baking time is perfect.

Enjoy your Easy Empanada with a Twist. Remember, you only learn by trying. Do it and love the experience!

Kain na tayo!