Editor’s note: Hilo’s Felix Fang is a contestant on the Fox TV show “MasterChef,” which airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on Oceanic Time Warner Cable channels 3 and 83. Her weekly blog about her experiences on the program
Editor’s note: Hilo’s Felix Fang is a contestant on the Fox TV show “MasterChef,” which airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on Oceanic Time Warner Cable channels 3 and 83. Her weekly blog about her experiences on the program will run each Friday in the Tribune-Herald.
The judges are slapping down hard in the second week of MasterChef, proving quite literally “if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!”
Thirty-six freshly claimed aprons are quickly ushered into another unit of the warehouse. Rolls upon rolls of gleaming kitchenettes lie before us, so it’s not going to be a cutting skill challenge like last year. Two panels of carcasses were brought in, like abstract meat curtains above our heads. The challenge will be ground beef. The best way to describe the big mean grinding machine, and the feeling of standing in line to get two pounds of ground beef grotesquely dispensed into your mixing bowl is, quoting Scott, “ … Pink Floyd’s The Wall.”
It’s a 50-50 chance now. Only 18 out of the 36 home cooks will keep their aprons and move on to the MasterChef kitchen. I knew I had to dig my Chinese roots and make something that would allow the ground chuck to be the star but not overwhelm in taste or sight. Dim sum three ways seemed the perfect choice. The first small bite is Mom’s recipe “pearl balls,” using sesame oil, scallions, carrots, salt and white pepper, rolled in sticky rice and steamed. Second was a soy yaki pot sticker, similar to Michael’s audition dumplings with hand-rolled wrappers, but pan fried instead of boiled. The last one was chili, lime, ginger and fish sauce, rolled in sliced almonds, brushed with honey water and baked.
It felt like the toughest hour of my life. We were all extremely fatigued by the long hours of filming. I sliced into my thumb while looking up at the clock. While a medic was wrapping it up I was trying to work with the other hand and ended up mixing an ingredient into the wrong bowl! And I was trying to make three different sauces, ha! Chili oil will have to suffice. I was sick to my stomach when I ran out of time to even taste any of my dim sums before plating them. Making it to the Top 18 was Buddha-sent.
Walking into the MasterChef kitchen can only be described as a surreal fantasy come true. Cold steel surfaces, huge Boos cutting boards, dangerously sharp Global knives and every kitchen appliance within reach, it’s the wet dream of any cooking enthusiast. Now, what is under the notorious mystery box? I run my hands all over it and squint my eyes to test if any super power like laser vision has kicked in. Not yet, but it is finally time to uncover the mystery.
Duck breast, Chinese five-spice, kale, eggplant, sweet potato, peanuts and red jalapenos are the mystery box ingredients. We’re also given a box of pantry staples consisting of eggs, butter, milk, flour, lemon and baking powder. I had never cooked duck breast in my life. However, I must be some lucky duck to have accidentally watched a YouTube clip on cooking a duck breast about a month earlier as I was researching how to roast a whole duck. What was completely useless to me then became the saving grace of my apron!
Here’s a crash course on pan frying a duck breast: Score the thin outer skin with knife in a diagonal or criss-cross pattern; cut to expose the white fatty layer but do not cut through the fat; place breast skin side down in a cold pan and start to render the fat at a low medium; when there is a generous amount of duck grease in your pan, turn to medium high to crisp the skin; turn and cook to a medium temp or your preference; and use the delicious pan drippings to make a sauce or to fry your side dishes.
When Gordon called my name to announce my dish was the best, I was dumbfounded. I was proud of my finished product, but I was up against a stellar lot. It was such an honor I actually became shy, flushed and speechless in front of the judges. But in the MasterChef kitchen, a glorious day for one cook will be the last day of another. Or, in this case, two others! I still can’t believe that the judges eliminated a contestant on the mystery box challenge! That’s never happened before, so they want us on our tippytoes. And between you and me, my first choice of dishes to hand the other cooks to prepare as my reward for winning was Chef Ramsay’s notorious beef Wellington, but his questioning of that decision resulted in my choosing the safer risotto.
