Masterchef Australia - The Malaysian Cooking Challenge

something interesting happened on Masterchef today.. interesting to malaysians that is.



firstly, to those unfamilliar to what Masterchef Australia is, let me shed some light on this. it is a reality tv cooking competetion to find the best amateur cook in australia. like idol.. but u cook. based on the UK's Masterchef on BBC, and is australia's first season this year. currently.. the series is in the final week, 4 contestant remains and elimination every day till the grand final on this sunday (july 19th)

so this contestant Poh got an advantage to set the theme for the elimination challenge today.. and she chose a Malaysian theme (u should've seen the smile on her face when she chose that). i'm not sure of her background but i remember earlier in the series she mentioned that her family (or someone) is from malaysia.

well.. asian theme would've been tricky enough, but malaysian theme is gonna be hard. i dont know if im right but i dont think malaysian cooking is famous here in australia. i might be wrong though

the judges did say that they must make a malay dish. i'm sorry i dont think that's accurate. malaysian cooking is actually more than that. many (not all) chinese or indian or malay (malaysian/singaporean/indonesian) cooking could pass as a malaysian cooking because malay, chinese and indian are three of the many races that is Malaysian. how i know all this..? i'm Malaysian and i am a Malay.

it was pretty fun watching some contestants trying to guess how malaysian cooking should taste and look like.. but i pity them as well. they worked so hard to get to the final week and Poh chose a very hard theme for them. i must say.. she played her cards really well

(images from masterchef.com.au)
in the end Poh won the challenge and got another advantage for tomorrow's elimination challenge. the dishes she made that won her the challenge were :
- Petai with Sambal and Fish Custard (nasik putih + sambal petai + custard ikan(?))
- Glutenous Rice Dumpling with Coconut Pandan Leaf Stuffing

if Poh wins Masterchef and became the first Australian Masterchef it would be pretty cool. remember Guy Sebastian? first Australian Idol. he was born in Klang. hmm.. people with malaysian roots do pretty well on aussie tv huh?

and owh.. if u like to cook u should check out Poh's recipes. some of the dishes are actually common malaysian dish like roti jala and murtabak. but she gave a fresh new definition and kinda gave it an aussie style to it.. and i think that's brilliant. dont know how it would taste tho.. i've only seen it on tv :P