I never thought words will really turn into action, well it’s a good thing isn’t it. Cooking has been one of the topic among friends of mine (in this case, his actually). And so, when cooking + Masterchef + birthday party came across our conversation, we were like ‘OK! Let’s do it!’. We planned 3 weeks ago, and finally, that day has come, and we enjoyed it much.
We grouped ourselves (5 of us) into 2 teams, where I partnered with him. Each team has to prepare a starter, main course and dessert for everyone. Of course, the birthday boy, Stan will be the judge to pick up his favorite dish for each category, without knowing who prepares them.
* Credits to Kaycee for the photos!
Starter
Shrimp Salad vs. Satay in a Bag
Shrimp salad is easy to make, just boil the prawn till nicely cooked, then toss them with fruit cubes and preferred dressings. [TIPS: Make sure you use fresh prawns, and fruits that don’t oxidized easily.]
Satay in a Bag is basically BBQ chicken fillet marinated with seasonings (soy sauce, black pepper, lemon and basil), served with honey lemon sauce, greens and chapatti bread. Feel free to eat it in your own way, whether wrap the fillings in the bread, or eat them separately. [TIPS: Starter should taste a little sour or spicy, to spike up one’s appetite.]
Verdict: Satay in a Bag!
Main Course
Pork with Apple Sauce vs. Baked Fish Wrapped in Bacon
Oh, those crunchy and juicy fat of pork! Arrange orange zest, lemon zest and Chinese 5 spice powder on a big and long chunk of pork. Then fold two sides up (in horizontal direction) and secure with bamboo stick. Place it on a baking tray and sprinkle chopped onion, garlic, fresh rosemary and thyme leaves, and salt. Bake in oven for 50 minutes and tada! No one can wait to eat it! [TIPS: Lean pork makes healthier meal than pork belly, but less tender. To improve the tenderness, use a meat tenderizer to break the fiber bond, I think.]
Baked fish is simpler to make, just marinate dory fish fillet in lemon juice, basil and black pepper. [TIPS: DO NOT add salt in the fish, the bacon is salty enough to season the fish.] Wrap each fillet with a piece of bacon and fry them for 1 minute or 2. Without flipping them over, place the fish fillet on baking tray, and bake in oven for 30 minutes. Serve with French bean (asparagus will be a much better choice) and butter creamy sauce.
Verdict: Baked Fish Wrapped in Bacon!
Dessert
Creamy Banana Pancake vs. Tong Yuen in Red
This is very subjective, not everyone likes banana cooked in syrup, and the Tong Yuen (little round dumplings made with glutinous rice flour) in Red sounds too simple for a competition. For the pancake, beat milk and egg till well corporate, pour them into sifted flour and salt, and whisk them. Spread one scoop of batter on a non-stick frying pan into thin layer, and fry it on low fire. [TIPS: The texture is soft and the color is in light yellow, so don’t waste your time to fry them till golden brown.] Meanwhile, cook banana in syrup made of butter, cream and sugar till soft. Lay out some banana on the pancake and fold into half or quarter.
For the Tong Yuen in Red, cook red bean in a pot of water for at least one hour, until the beans are soft and smashy. Add pandan leaves for the fragrance and sago to thicken the soup. Boil Tong Yuen in another pot, remove them from the boiling water when cooked and immerse them in a bowl of cold water. This is to ensure the springiness of the texture in Tong Yuen, and prevent the soup from getting powdery. [TIPS: How to know when the Tong Yuen is cooked? Throw them into boiling water and they will sink into the water. The moment they float up again, you know they’re done!] Add the Tong Yuen into sweet red bean soup and serve when hot. We added ice-cream into it for a twist on menu. Tastes superb!
Verdict: Creamy Banana Pancake!
And, the team that prepared the winning dishes are none other than my team! Hurray! But I enjoy my opponent’s dish too. I love the taste of the pork prepared by WayWen, and red bean soup with Tong Yuen is one of my favourite dessert! Too bad, the apple sauce was not like what it supposed to be, and the pork meat was a bit stiff. I would also prefer if the shrimp salad tastes a little sour, with some Paprika/Cajun powder sprinkle on top. The red bean soup is perfect for me, considering the sweetness and thickness of the soup, with the pandan aroma.
To be fair, I will comment on the food my team prepared too. I have to admit, PREPARING SAUCE IS NOT EASY. More difficult than cooking the dish actually. We failed to do Honey Mustard sauce for the chicken Satay, no matter what proportion we tried, it just tastes awful, like animal’s saliva or baby vomiting. We changed to lemon juice with honey last minute. And my banana syrup did not turn out to be like what they look in the recipe’s picture. The banana easily oxidized too, discounting the appearance. I’m satisfied and proud of my fish wrapped in bacon though, after one failed experience in the past (I added salt when I cooked it the previous time, the fish ended up too salty, almost inedible).
A memorable party with friends, and meaningful to me, as I am a bit bored of the food (especially western food) out there. Home-cooked food just tastes so much better.
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