Chinese Pie Recipe – How to Make Pâté Chinois

This Chinese Pie Recipe is a quick and simple, one pan dish. It’s a delicious comfort food that the whole family is sure to love.

What is Chinese Pie

This comforting recipe entails of a bottom layer of seasoned ground beef, layered on top of that is a mixture of whole and creamed corn, topped with a mashed potato layer. I can see why this three-layered dish became a favorite dish in so many New England family homes and especially in Canada.   

One Origin Theory

This dish originated from Quebec, Canada called Pâté Chinois which translates to “Chinese Pie”. At some point it got misinterpreted as a Chinese dish when there is nothing Chinese about it. There are some theories as to how this recipe came about. Over a century ago in the late 19th century, Irish and Chinese Immigrants working for the National Railroad in Canada used what was abundant in the area, like corn and potatoes. So the cooks for the Irish and Chinese workers came up with this recipe. Which then became this dish called Chinese Pie. The French Canadians apparently loved it so much that it then became the national dish of Quebec. In New England this has been known as a delicious French Canadian dish. 

Similar Dishes to this Chinese Pie Recipe

Shepherd’s Pie is a pretty similar dish that I think a lot of people confuse for Chinese Pie. Shepherd’s Pie is more of an Irish dish that is made with ground lamb as opposed to ground beef. Also, a lot of recipes for Shepherd’s Pie have other vegetables included like carrots and peas. 

English Cottage Pie, also referred to as Shepherds pie occasionally, is another similar dish traditionally made with minced meat, typically ground beef. That is then cooked with onions, corn and carrots and simmered with beef broth and tomato paste to thicken it up a bit and add more flavor. Then is topped with mashed potatoes and sprinkled on top with shredded cheese. 

Hachis Parmentier is a French recipe that typically calls for shredded pot roast or occasionally ground beef or lamb cooked with garlic and onions and simmered with some beef broth and an added egg then sprinkled with parmesan cheese. This is then topped with a creamy mashed potato layer.

Pastel De Choclo (Chilean Beef & Corn Casserole) a South American dish that has a corn crust then layered with a seasoned ground beef. Then an added layer of whole black olives, raisins and hard boiled eggs. This is then topped with the remaining corn crust mixture. 

Ingredients for this Chinese Pie Recipe Pate Chinois

Ground beef Layer

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 2 medium yellow onions
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika 
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt

Corn Layer

• 4 cups whole corn
• 1/2 cup cream

Mashed Potato Layer

• 2 – 2 1/2 pounds white or yellow potatoes
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup cream

How to Make this Chinese Pie Recipe Pate Chinois

Preheat a large skillet or 10 inch cast iron skillet on medium heat.

Wash your potatoes (peel them if you choose) and add them to a large pot, just cover with water and boil.

While the potatoes are cooking, add your ground beef layer ingredients and cook until browned.

Once your ground beef is finished cooking, spread evenly in your 9×13″ casserole pan.

Spread evenly 2 cups of whole corn on top of the ground beef.

To a blender, add remaining 2 cups of corn and 1/2 cup cream and blend until very slightly chunky. Spread the creamed corn mixture on top of the whole corn. 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Once your potatoes are fork tender, drain the hot water and to the cooked potatoes, add 6 tablespoons butter and 1 cup of cream to the potatoes still in the pot they boiled in or a large bowl. 

Mash until well mixed together.

Spoon large dollops of potato evenly on top of the corn layer until all of the mashed potato is used. Then gently spread and smooth out the mashed potatoes to fill any gaps all the way to the edges of the pan.

Put the pan into the preheated oven and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the potatoes have a nice golden brown top.

What to serve with this Chinese Pie Recipe

Sweet pickled beets or sweet pickles make a great side dish. These two were always a delicious option with this dish when I was a kid.

Notes:

• If you choose, you can cook your diced onion in the large skillet with some butter or olive oil first until they become translucent then add the ground beef to the onions. I find that this cooking method is not necessary and you can save yourself some cooking time to add it all in at the same time and it cooks just as well. 
• If you do not have all the spices/herbs on hand that I mentioned for the ground beef layer, you can always add 2 packets of onion soup mix to the ground beef when cooking that part. I don’t like to add these because of the other added “ingredients”.
• I prefer to make this simple version of creamed corn. Usually homemade creamed corn includes cheese and/or sugar and then cooking but I find it’s even more simple to do it this way and it still comes out amazing. You can make your own homemade creamed corn as other recipes instruct, I would do this before I purchased store bought canned corn. Though if your crunched on time and your local store carries it you can grab some from there. Either option still work well.
• Other add ins that some people like to include with this recipe is diced bell pepper, sliced mushrooms, carrots or even green peas.

How to Store this Chinese Pie Recipe

• Once cooled, store in the fridge for 5-7 days. Keep in an airtight container or tightly covered with plastic wrap. 
• If you want to freeze this, store tightly covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container. For best quality, it can last 4-6 months but it can last much longer if stored at a consistent proper below freezing temperature. 
• Another great way to store this is to portion it out into 1 or 2 cup portions when freezing this dish. I like to use Souper Cubes. They have silicone containers that work great for portioning out food when freezing. Then you just pop them out of the containers and store them in labeled freezer bags.

SHOP THIS POST

• Lodge Cast Iron Pan
• Ninja Blender or Immersion Blender
• Souper Cubes

Other Recipes You May Like

• Homemade Corn Chowder Recipe
• Pork Hock and Meatball Stew
• Slow Cooker Ham and Pea Soup with Bacon Recipe

PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD

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