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Leftover turkey meat smothered in sweet and savory Chinese-style BBQ sauce (char siu) and wrapped in flaky pie crust. Now you wish you have more leftover turkey meat to make these delicious savory hand pies!
Inspired by the Char Siu So (Chinese BBQ pork puff pastry), this hand pie version uses flaky pie crust. It’s so easy to put together and everyone in the family loves this. You can also reinvent your Thanksgiving or holiday turkey leftovers with this recipe. With their flaky, golden crust and sweet-savory char siu filling, these hand pies elevate leftovers into a portable, delicious treat perfect for snacks, lunchboxes, or appetizers.
Why you’ll love these savory char siu turkey hand pies
1. Easy: If you use store-bought pie crust and using leftover turkey meat, half of the battle is already done.
2. Taste great: Buttery pie crust and sweet and savory meat filling goes so well together
3. They are portable and too easy to eat too many LOL! (I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not!)
What you’ll need
1. Leftover turkey meat: you can use a combination of breast and thigh meat. This also works great with leftover rotisserie chicken meat
2. Store-bought pie crust, homemade all-butter pie crust, or sourdough discard all-butter pie crust
2. Chinese BBQ sauce: which is very easy to make and that’s it! you are ready to wrap away
Easy Chinese BBQ Turkey Hand Pies
Ingredients
- 4 9-inch homemade all-butter pie crust or use store-bought pie crust
Filling:
- 350 g leftover turkey meat remove skin
- 1 Tbsp oil
- 1 large onion diced
- 120 ml water
Seasonings:
- ¼ tsp five-spice powder
- 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1 Tbsp Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground white pepper
- 2 tsp red yeast rice powder optional, for coloring
- 1 tsp sesame oil
To thicken the filling:
- 3 Tbsp cornstarch
- 4 Tbsp water
To brush on the hand pies:
- 1 egg beaten
Instructions
Prepare the filling: (can be done a few days before and keep in the fridge)
- You can use combination of breast and thighs. Dice into little cubes. You can shred the meat too if. Combine the seasonings and set aside. Preheat a large skillet or wok. Add 1 Tbsp of oil. Add the onion and saute for about 2-3 minutes until fragrant and soft
- Add water or chicken broth and bring to a simmer and cover and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Add the seasonings you mixed earlier. Let it cook for another 1-2 minutes. Check on the taste. Adjust by adding more sugar and/or salt if necessary
- Mix the water and cornstarch and set aside. When you are happy with the taste, drizzle in the cornstarch slurry while stirring with another hand. The sauce will gradually thicken.
- Add the turkey pieces and stir to combine everything. Make sure they are evenly coated.
- Stir in the sesame oil and give it one last stir. Remove from the heat.
- Let it cool down completely before using and storing. If preparing ahead, keep it covered and stored in the fridge until the day you plan to make the hand pies
Assembling:
- I use four store-bought pie crust. 1 box comes with two crusts, so you'll need two boxes if you want to make full recipe. I can get 12 round-shape hand pies and 2 half-moon shapes hand pies using four store-bought pie crust. You may have some leftover filling or you may not
- If you are making all half-moon shape hand pies, you can get 24 smaller hand pies
- If the crust is frozen, make sure to thaw it at room temperature until it's flexible enough for you to unroll without cracking
For round shape hand pies:
- Unroll the pie crust dough. Use a 4 or 5-inch round cutter to cut out 6 rounds. . You will need 12 rounds to make 6 round-shaped hand pies. Try to cut as close as possible. Gather the scraps and form into a dough and roll it out again and you can maybe cut out another one or two rounds
- Place filling on the center of the round. Try not to put too much, about 1 heap tablespoon of filling.
- Brush the edge with some egg wash. Get another round and place on top of the filling. As you press the edges together to seal, try to push out as much air as possible.
- Use a fork to crimp the edge to seal really well
For half-moon shape hand pies:
- Unroll the pie crust dough. Use a 5-inch round cutter to cut out 6 rounds. Try to cut as close as possible. Gather the scraps and form into a dough and roll it out again and cut
- Place filling on one half of the round, about 1 tablespoon. Brush the edge with some egg wash. Fold the half over and push the air out as you press the edge to seal. Use a fork to crimp the edge to seal well
- Repeat with the rest of the pie dough and filling. Place them on a large baking pan lined with parchment paper.
- Use a very sharp knife to cut about 2-3 slits on top of the hand pies for "vent"
- Brush the top of the hand pies with some egg wash. Put the baking pan with the hand pies in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill.
- While the hand pies are chilling, preheat the oven to 400 F (200 C). Position one oven rack 3rd from the top and another one 3rd from the bottom. You can bake two trays at one go this way
If not baking on the same day:
- Freeze the unbaked hand pies on a parchment-lined baking sheet until firm, about 1 hour. Transfer to a freezer-safe bag or airtight container. Bake directly from frozen, adding 5-10 minutes to the original baking time.
Baking:
- Place the pans in the positioned rack in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes and then rotate the pans top to bottom, front to back. Continue baking for another 10-15 minutes or until the pies are golden brown
To serve:
- Let the hand pies cool down for 10-15 minutes before serving. They are best served warm or at room temperature on the same day
*Nutrition facts are just estimates and calculated using online tools*
