Dry roast the pea eggplants over medium heat until the exterior is wrinkled and slightly blackened. I like to add a couple of lightly crushed birds-eye chillis to the pan and keep the pan moving.

In a small saucepan over low-medium heat, add half of the coconut cream and the pea eggplants.

Add the kroeung and mix through thoroughly, then add the pork mince.

Cook the mince through then add the prahok, palm sugar and tamarind water. Chop up the chillis and add to the mix.

Add a little more of the coconut cream, stir and taste. If it’s too sour you can now add more palm sugar, if the flavours are not coming through enough, add a pinch of salt.

Add half of the kaffir lime leaves and stir through.

After allowing to cool, place in a plastic container refrigerate for at least 2 hours to overnight for better results.

When you’re ready to make the pies, remove the shortcrust pastry from the freezer and allow to thaw a little.

Using a pastry cutter, cut 4, 14 cm rounds. Lightly grease the pie tins and place the shortcrust pastry into the tins, working away from the centre. You should have around 1 cm of pastry hanging over the edges. Refrigerate the pie tins for at least two hours to firm up the pastry.

After two hours, remove the puff pastry from the freezer and allow to thaw a little.

Take the container of prahok ktis out of the fridge. We need to now separate the excess oil from the meat. The oil should be visible in your container. Discard the oil as excess oil may cause the pie casings to go soggy.

Remove the pie tins from the fridge and fill each pie tin with the prahok ktis. Baste the overhanging pastry with the beaten egg.

Cut the puff pastry sheets into 12.5 cm rounds and place each on top of each pie tin. Fold the shortcrust pastry over the puff pastry and seal all around. You can use the back of a fork and go around the top to ensure the seal is good.

Make a small incision in the centre of each pie to form an air vent. Brush the top of the pie with more beaten egg, being careful to not cover the air vent. Place the pies back in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200˚C with a baking tray on the centre rack.

When ready remove the pies from fridge and place on the baking tray. Cook for 10-12 minutes at which time the top should be lightly golden.

Reduce the heat to 180˚C and cook for another 10 minutes to ensure the centre of the pie is hot. If the tops of the pies start to look too golden brown, you can place a sheet of aluminium foil on top of the pies.

When done, allow to cool slightly before eating.