Beef puff is a classic Chinese bakery dish, often served at dim sum houses, that makes use of puff pastry (which you can buy in packages or make from scratch) and a beef curry filling. It’s the sort of thing that might seem a bit old-fashioned but is really delicious and very easy to put together.
You’ll need to start with a good, store bought puff pastry or if you prefer, you can also make your own rough puff pastry which is much easier than you might think and tastes just as good as any of the stuff you buy in the Chinese bakery case. To make the pastry, simply combine water, butter, salt and flour in a large bowl. Then beat an egg and brush it over the surface of the dough. Set the dough in the refrigerator to cool completely.
Then prepare the ground beef filling. Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until translucent and slightly caramelized. Then add the ground beef and stir with a spatula, breaking up any large chunks of meat as you do so. Then add the curry powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder, sugar, black pepper, and salt. Stir to mix and cook for a few minutes, until the liquid thickens and no longer pools.
While the ground beef mixture is cooling, prepare the pastry. Dust your work surface and rolling pin with flour. Then lay the puff pastry on top of it and lightly roll to create a rectangle about 12 x 16 inches. Then, with the long edge of the pastry in front of you, place the ground beef mixture down the center and fold the corners over it to form a sort of envelope. بف لحم