Asian Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients:

3 large potatoes (peeled and quartered)

50g. unsalted butter

Dash of salt (to taste)

Dashes of ground black pepper (to taste)

3 tbsp. cooking oil

2 pieces chicken breast (skinless and diced)

4 cloves garlic (peeled and finely chopped)

1 tsp. ginger (peeled and minced)

1 small onion (peeled and diced)

1/2 carrot (peeled and diced)

3 dried shiitake mushrooms (soaked, remove stems and cubed)

3 tbsp. chopped Chinese Chives - I replace with 1 stalk celery (cubed)

3/4 cup water

Seasoning:

1 1/2 tbsp. light soy sauce

1/2 tbsp. dark soy sauce

2 tsp. Shaoxing wine

Dashes ground black pepper

Cornflour mixture (mix 1 1/2 tsp. cornflour with 2 tsp. water)

Methods:

1. In a pot, add potatoes and cover with water; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until tender.  Drain well.  Add butter and mash when the potatoes are still hot, until smooth.  Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
2. Heat 2 tbsp. cooking oil in a frying pan and fry chicken until lightly brown, remove and set aside.
3. In the same pan, heat remaining oil, saute garlic, ginger and onion until soft.  Add carrot, celery/chives and mushrooms.  Saute another 3 minutes, then return chicken pieces to frying pan and stir in seasoning except cornflour mixture.  Add water and simmer for 3 minutes, then stir in cornflour mixture to thicken the gravy.
4. Remove from heat and spoon chicken mixture into baking dish (I use 2 dishes), top with mashed potatoes.  Make swirling patterns on the surface of the pie using a fork.
5. Bake in a preheated oven of 200 degree Celsius for about 30 minutes.  
6. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

I adapted this recipe from an old recipe book 'Marshall Cavendish Cuisine' with slight adjustment to suit my cooking/baking preference.