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 until she wins or gets voted off by the judges. Unless otherwise noted, the first names of those mentioned in this blog are other contestants on the show.
With only eight contestants left, we find ourselves in cowboy country on a dude ranch. Having cooked the top-two fish dishes, Frank chose Becky, Josh and me for his red team and Monti had Stacey, David and Christine on blue. But our captains were asked to switch their aprons! Awkward! Frank and Monti had to lead the team they didn’t choose.
Monti decided on mashed sweet potatoes as our starch and spicy green beans as the other side. My job was to make a wicked dry rub and rub down over a hundred steaks. As soon as that was finished I got to work peeling the potatoes, cutting them up and boiling them. After getting taken off the grill, Becky made bourbon butter and worked on the beans. Josh was supposed cook the seared steaks up to temp as Becky and I served the cowboys and cowgirls.
After losing to Frank’s team, we faced a daunting pressure test. The judges tell us that one of us will get immunity but we must decide who amongst ourselves. Josh and Becky chose themselves and Monti wanted me to have it. I wouldn’t have taken immunity if I didn’t think I deserved it. Josh surprised me with how insistently he wanted to save himself. He was going to fight to the last breath to not cook in the pressure test. But if you’re the only person on your team who thinks you should be saved, it’s time to give it up and take it like a man.
The test was to cook perfect eggs four ways: soft-boiled, poached, sunny-side up and a fluffy three-egg omelet. Everyone was given six eggs, no spares. Becky struggled with the sunny-side up. Josh seemed confident. But soft-boiled egg was everyone’s wild card. Monti had perfect soft-boiled and poached. Becky had a perfect omelet and poached. Josh had a perfect sunny-side up, and with only one perfect egg, he went home. It was sad to see Josh leave because he’s a great guy with a wicked sense of humor.
Down to seven, behind the judges stood the biggest mystery box I’ve ever seen. Chef Gordon Ramsay had us guess what it held. I said, “Seven small Thai boys?” No class, but perhaps the closest guess. It was Paula freaking Deen! She selected our mystery box: a whole chicken, bacon, collard greens, green tomatoes, grits, cream cheese and jalapeno jelly. I did a buttermilk fried chicken with bacon cream cheese grits, green tomato salsa and a smoky buffalo sauce. Miss Paula came over and requested chicken feet from me.
Frank won the mystery box with his chicken roulade, with Becky and David in the top three. For the elimination challenge, the judges unveiled a beautiful plate of sushi, containing vegetable tempura, a California roll with tobiko on top, and eight pieces of nigiri: maguro, hamachi and ebi. Even though it looked extremely challenging, I was excited. Of course there’s a twist! We must work in teams of two selected by Frank, but the style is tag-team with four 10-minute shifts, followed by four five-minute shifts. What sadist thought this up?
Frank paired Monti with me because he thought we’d butt heads. Not true. We’ve shared many good laughs together and have had some heart-to-hearts. She didn’t know Japanese food, but that’s OK because I know a bit. I’ve made rolls and tempura before but never nigiri sushi. I work at a sushi restaurant so I watch it being made all the time. One hour isn’t enough for anyone to replicate this plate! I’d never sworn so much in any challenge! With five minutes left, I put the pedal to the metal and made the California roll and eight pieces of nigiri with four different toppings. It was insane! Monti and I did well, but I felt my work was sloppy as it was so rushed. I was relieved to be walking up the stairs but scared for my friends left behind. Stacey and Christine weren’t able to complete their roll and the vegetables weren’t battered, so they were on the bottom. It was sad to see Stacey leave as we were close, but Christine and I are tight, so I was happy she was saved.
Tune in next week. You’ll see that wasn’t our last goodbye to Stacey. She and some other eliminated cooks are coming back to challenge us in the kitchen.
