Pie Tee — Nyonya Top Hat Shells & Filling

The elegant Peranakan party appetizer — crispy fried pastry cups ("top hats") filled with a savoury braised turnip and prawn mixture. Making the shells requires a pie tee mould, but the result is showstopping. Nyonya Lim serves these at every family gathering.

🥘 Ingredients

• Shell batter: rice flour, egg, water, salt — the consistency must be exactly right for the shell to release from the mould cleanly. Filling: jicama (bangkuang / yam bean) and carrot braised in a savoury sauce with prawns, topped with lettuce, chilli, coriander, and a squeeze of lime.

👨‍🍳 Steps

1. Step 1: Whisk batter ingredients until very smooth. Rest 30 minutes. Step 2: Heat oil to 180°C. Dip pie tee mould into hot oil first (1 minute). Step 3: Submerge mould in batter only to the rim — do not go over. Immediately put mould back into hot oil. Shell releases in 90 seconds...

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