Singlish Shepard's Pie

One of our mutual favourite western dish is this Shepard's Pie from one of those mini cookbooks you find at supermarkets etc. Surprisingly though, this was bought on 12 February 2007 at Sentosa Cable Car Station Shop in Singapore. It was the first cookbook Johan has bought me and what I like about this was the surprising ingredient inside this pie - Chinese mushroom and oyster sauce, two very chinese items but since this book is titled 'Eurasian Favourites', I guess its nice how each culture has influenced each other to produce this nice pie which is a good dish to bring for potluck. You can vary the meat accordingly between lamb, beef chicken or mixed beef/pork, I have adjusted the recipe a little for our taste buds.

Serves 6

Equipment
Roasting Pan
Potato Masher
Fork
Egg wash brush

Ingredients for the topping

750g potatoes, peeled, boiled and mashed
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
3/4 lightly beaten egg
2 tablespoon butter
250ml milk (may vary according to texture of potato)
Dash of ground nutmeg (optional)

Ingredients for filling
3 tablespoons oil
2 teaspoon minced garlic
3-4 dried chinese mushroom, soaked and sliced thinly
500g minced meat
60g frozen peas (thawed)
2 tablespoon oyster sauce

Steps

1. Prepare the topping by mixing the mashed potatoes with the salt, pepper, egg and enough milk to obtain a creamy mixture.
2. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.
3. In a pan, heat up the oil till its moderately hot and add the garlic. When it is slightly brown, add the mushroom and stir fry for about a minute. Once you are greeted by the delicious aroma of mushroom with garlic, add the minced meat and continue to stir fry the filling till the meat changes colour. That should take about a few minutes.
4. Once you see the change in colour, lower the heat and add the peas, stirring continuously for about 3 minutes, then add the water, sugar, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar and pepper. Simmer till the water has been absorbed.
5. Use a roasting pan or oval dish and put the filling in, pressing it down gently.
   
   

6. Cover with a layer of the topping using the spatula. If you want to be fanciful, you can try pipping the topping on. Otherwise, a simple crisscross pattern can be made with a fork, but brush on the egg wash first, then create the pattern.
   
   

7. Place it in the oven and cook for about 30 minutes. If the topping has not turned golden brown, just let the oven continue on top heating only for about 5 minutes (depending on how brown you want it to be).
   
   

8. Serve it warm! If you are going for a potluck, and your friend has an oven, just bake it at their place for maximum enjoyment.