Curry puff

A curry puff (Malay: Karipap, Epok-epok; Chinese: 咖哩角,咖哩饺; pinyin: gālí jiǎo; Thai: กะหรี่ปั๊บ, RTGS: karipap, pronounced [kā.rìː.páp]) is a snack of Malayan origin. [1] It is a small pie consisting of curry with chicken and potatoes in a deep-fried or baked[3] pastry shell. The curry is quite thick to prevent it from oozing out of the snack.

Curry puff
Alternative namesKaripap, epok-epok
TypeSnack, appetiser
Region or stateMalay Peninsula [1][2]
Associated national cuisineSingapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Myanmar, and Thailand
Serving temperatureHot
Main ingredientsCurry, chicken, potatoes

Although the origins of this snack are uncertain, the snack is believed to have originated in Malaya due in part to the various influences of the British Cornish pasty, the Portuguese empanada [4] and the Indian samosa during the colonization era. The curry puff is one of several "puff" type pastries with different fillings, though now it is by far the most common.[5] Other common varieties include eggs, sardines, and onions or sweet fillings such as yam.

There are a few version of the curry puffs depending which ethnicity made them. Curry puffs are enjoyed throughout Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Myanmar and Thailand. It also shares many similarities with the empanada, a popular pastry in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries. It is also very similar to the Chinese crispy fried dumpling, a popular Fujian snack filled with Chinese garlic chives or crushed peanut at Guangdong eaten during Chinese New Year. The Chinese Malaysian applied the Chinese pastry method of the crispy dumpling replaced with the curry and created the spiral with multi-layer version.

Indonesia
Indonesian pastel with vegetables and beef inside

In Indonesia, a curry puff is known as a pastel, although it does not necessarily contain any curry powder. Pastels are derived from the Portuguese influence in Indonesia. It refers to a pie of crust made from thin pastry, filled with meat (usually chicken) mixed with vegetables (chopped carrot and beans), rice vermicelli, and sometimes egg, then deep fried in vegetable oil. It is consumed as a snack and is commonly sold in Indonesian traditional markets.[6]

The similar North Sulawesi version replaces the thin flour pie crust with bread, and is filled with spicy cakalang (skipjack tuna). This variation of the snack is called panada.[7] This snack is very popular during Ramadhan.[6]

The similar Riau Islands version of curry puff is called epok-epok.

Malaysia

In Malaysia, curry puffs are commonly known as karipap and sold freshly fried at many Malay, Chinese and Indian food stalls and even at trendy cafes.

Another Malay version of this snack is known as epok-epok[8] and teh-teh which is smaller than the curry puff. The curry puffs from Indian bakeries differ from epok-epok in the use of 'layered' pastry that creates a flaky crust. Other varieties of the epok-epokare filled with a half boiled egg instead of chicken. Another alternative is tinned sardines. There are also vegetarian curry puffs that are in fact not spicy and made from shredded radish, tofu, potatoes and grated carrots. They are often eaten with sweet chili sauce.

Manufacturers have developed a version of the curry puff that can be frozen and later reheated by the consumer. These are suitable for the export market and can be produced in volume for shipment to various regions, such as the Middle East, where there is demand. In addition, new fillings have been experimented with, including tuna and black pepper.

In Indian food stalls in Malaysia, it is quite common to find vegetarian curry puffs with potatoes, carrots and onions as fillings.

Myanmar (Burma)

The curry puff is a common snack sold in Chinatowns and tea shops throughout Myanmar, where is it known as be tha mont (ဘဲသားမုန့်; lit. 'duck meat pastry'). The traditional filling is duck meat and potato spiced with garam masala, onions, powdered chili peppers, garlic, and ginger.[9]

Singapore

Curry puffs are commonly seen in Singapore's Pasar Malams, bakeries and food stalls in shopping centres. Additionally, the aforementioned epok-epok is a popular variation in some of Singapore's hawker centres, usually amongst Malay stalls. Alternatively, the more common type of curry puff has a thick or flaky English-style crust, with a mixture of Chinese and Indian styles in the filling.

They may also be categorised into hand-made or mass-produced machine-made puffs in triangular shape or half wrapped circular shape. Both variations are popular in Singapore, although some might argue that the former is typically more delicious. Curry puff variations are usually denoted in coloured dye markings on the side of the puffs.[10]

Other puff snacks modelled on the curry puff concept have also been introduced. For example, 1A Crispy Puff also sells puffs with yam, durian, corn, red bean, nata de coco, grass jelly, bird's nest and even custard fillings.

Besides the more "exotic" fillings mentioned, there are also more conventional flavours which are quite popular with the locals. These puffs are readily available in Singapore, which include sardine, black-pepper chicken and tuna fillings. For example, Pie Connection sells these hand-made puffs.

In Singapore, Old Chang Kee has been selling curry puffs for over 60 years and now has outlets all over Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and UK. Other well-known brands include 1A Crispy Puff and Sim Sun Pastries. Polar Puffs and Cakes introduced a version of the curry puff that uses Western puff pastry, which has a different taste and shape.

Thailand
Thai karipap normally only contains chicken, potato, onion, and curry powder

In Thailand, a curry puff is known as a karipap (กะหรี่ปั๊บ). Assumed to have been adapted from Portuguese cuisine pastel, it arrived in Thailand since the Ayutthaya period in the reign of King Narai (1633–1688) by Portuguese-Japanese-Bengali lady Maria Guyomar de Pinha like many kinds of Thai desserts such as thong yip, thong yot, foi thong and luk chup. Notable areas where karipap is popular are Amphoe Muak Lek, and Saraburi province in central Thailand,[11][12] where durian filling is used.[13]

Ingredients

See also

References
  1. "Curry puff | Infopedia". eresources.nlb.gov.sg.
  2. Tan, Bonny. "Of currypuffs and belacan". BiblioAsia – via www.academia.edu.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Curry puffs: how Portuguese empadas took Southeast Asia by storm". South China Morning Post. 12 January 2021.
  5. "How Southeast Asia fell for Old Chang Kee's fried curry puffs". South China Morning Post. 12 March 2020.
  6. "Benhil Market, "Takjil" Heaven". Tempo.co. 13 July 2013.
  7. "Panada Recipe (Manado Tuna Stuffed Bread/Pastry)". Indonesia Eats. 4 September 2010.
  8. "Recipes of Epok-Epok——The Star".
  9. "ကြက်သား (သို့) ဘဲသားမုန့် (Chicken or Duck Puff) (Chicken or Duck Puff)". MyFood Myanmar (in Burmese). Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  10. "Old Chang Kee educates people about significance of dots on curry puffs". AsiaOne.
  11. บุนนาค, โรม (5 October 2015). "สูตรลับคอนแวนต์!! ที่มาของ ฝอยทอง ทองหยิบ...ทองหยอดมีหาง?". ASTV Manager (in Thai).
  12. พานเงิน, ยุพิน (21 December 2013). "เมือง เนื้อนุ่ม นมดี กะหรี่ดัง". saraburinaja.blogspot (in Thai).
  13. "ของฝากขึ้นชื่อ จ.สระบุรี กะหรี่ปั๊บไส้ทุเรียนหมอนทอง". Channel 3 (in Thai). 10 August 2017.
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