Instructions

• Day 1
• In a small bowl, add sauce ingredients. Heat sauce in the microwave for 15-20 seconds and then mix until combined. (The heat dissolves the sugar and melts the paste slightly to make the sauce easier to mix.)
  
  Alternatively, if you want to save yourself dishes and make this a one-pot recipe, then you can just add the sauce ingredients to the large pot in which you will cook the chicken. Add sauce ingredients to a large pot and mix over low-medium heat until combined. Then add the chicken to the pot. This shortcut depends on how big is the bottom of your pot (i.e., it might be easier to mix in a small bowl than a large pot).
• In a large pot, add sauce ingredients, cubed chicken, and 1 cup of water. Mix well. It is okay that the water does not cover the chicken. Bring the pot to a boil over high heat. Then reduce heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally so that chicken is evenly cooked.
• Add diced onions, carrots, and potatoes. Cook for another 15 minutes, or until vegetables are cooked through, and stir occasionally. You should be able to poke through the vegetable easily.
  
  The exact cooking time will vary depending on the size of your diced vegetables. I like to dice my vegetables uniformly and all the smaller sizes so that they cook evenly and faster. Normally, to make daktoritang, I would cut my vegetables into 1” cubes; however, to make this pie filling, I like to cut my vegetables smaller in 1-2cm cubes.
• Taste test the filling mixture.
  
  If you desire more spice, then add 1 more tbsp of gochujang. The sauce should coat the chicken so that the chicken is covered with red sauce. If the sauce is too runny, make a cornstarch slurry (1 part COLD water : 1 part cornstarch) to thicken sauce.
• Set aside to cool. You can chill the filling overnight in the fridge to assemble the pie the next day.
  
  This is what I do because you also have to defrost frozen puff pastry overnight in the fridge. Or you can steamroll ahead. Just make sure the filling is somewhat cooled…or else, it will melt the butter/fat and ruin the lamination in the puff pastry before it hits the oven.
• Day 2
• Preheat the oven to 400F (or whatever temperature it says on the puff pastry packaging).
• Lay one pastry sheet over the top of the pan. Gently press the pastry into the pan. You should have at least 1cm of overhang for crimping the crust.
  
  Most likely, the pastry sheet is not big enough, and you will have to roll it out slightly, using a rolling pin. After rolling it out slightly, it should be able to cover the bottom and sides of the 9” pan and to overhang 1cm. Using a pair of scissors, trim off excess pastry, leaving a 1cm overhand. Set aside the excess trimming in the freezer.
  
  If the pastry sheet is ever sticky or hard to handle, simply stick it in the freezer for a few minutes and then try working with it.
• Spoon the filling into the pan. Add frozen peas to the top, just enough to cover the top.
• Lay the second pastry sheet over the top of the pie. Using a pair of scissors, trim excess pastry and leave a 1cm overhang.
• Fasten/seal together the top and bottom pastry layers. Make sure the edges are secure. If you need more pastry to seal or reinforce, use the excess trimming.
• Brush an egg wash over the top, and decorate the top of the pie with excess trimming.
  
  To decorate with cookie cutters (optional): You can combine together the excess pastry, freeze for a few minutes, and then re-roll it out. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes to decorate.
  
  To do some fancy crimping(optional): Braid together three long strands of excess pastry and add it to the rim. Or seal the edges using a fork. Or do your own fancy crimping method.
  
  To give it a classic pie look (optional): using a knife or pair of scissors, make a few incisions, starting an inch from the center and ending an inch from the outer edge, to the top pastry sheet.
  
  To garnish with sesame seeds (optional): Sprinkle sesame seeds on top of the egg wash.
• Bake for 40 minutes, rotating the pie 180 degrees at 20 minutes to evenly brown the crust. The crust should be golden brown when finished.
• Serve immediately while warm.