Dad ~ Baker & Chef: My Dream as Malaysia's first ever Blogger MasterChef

Monday 26 September 2011

My Dream as Malaysia's first ever Blogger MasterChef

Have you heard that MasterChef is coming to Malaysia??

Astro is launching MasterChef Malaysia REAL SOON! I was really excited when I heard about this but the problem is, you need to take time off from work and be away from the family as well for quite some time. So that put paid to taking part in MasterChef.

However... Nuffnang is organising the first ever Blogger MasterChef competition and I thought I would enter that! As part of the contest, I'm supposed to write about why I think I should be crowned as “Malaysia’s First Ever Blogger MasterChef”. I'm also supposed to blog about my signature dish.

Firstly, I'm passionate about cooking and baking. Unlike a lot of Malaysian Food Blogs, my blog details out food that I make myself rather than featuring restaurant food. I share my recipes as well as I believe that good food should be shared.

I have a wide repertoire of dishes that cover include a variety of cuisines including Italian, Western, Indian, Chinese. You could say that I'm a jack of all cuisines! I also love to replicate dishes that we taste at restaurants and so far my 'succes rate' has been pretty good as judged by The Lovely Wife and our two children.

If I can't attempt to be Malaysia's First MasterChef, at least I should be crowned as Malaysia First Blogger MasterChef!!

Now comes the hard part - blogging about my Signature Dish. You see, my favourite stuff to make is desserts - all kinds of desserts especially chocolate based desserts. I also love to make Savoury stuff. So the quandary is what do I pick as my Signature Dish?

Since this is all about fun and also sharing, I decided I'd pick my Signature Savoury dish and ALSO my Signature Dessert. Both of these have been posted before on my blog and you can go to the links to get the recipes if you like.

My Signature Savoury dish is Beef Kheema or Minced Meat Curry. This has been a favourite of mine from childhood and its based on a recipe that Mom used to make. I modified it of course while I was a student in Uni back in Melbourne. I used to love this dish so much that almost every time it was my turn to cook, I would cook this. As a result, my flatmates used to call me the "Minced Meat Man" although they used to enjoy this dish as much as I did!

It's fairly simple to make but the results are truly delicious. The full recipe is on the link above but this is a brief synopsis of how its done.

Slice onion into thin slices. Dice Capsicum and thaw frozen vegetables. Lightly fry onions with cloves until onions are soft.
Add in Curry powder and Chilli powder and fry till fragrant. Be careful not to burn the mix.
Add in tomatoes and mix well. Add in a little water if needed.

Continue cooking till a nice paste is formed.
Add in Mince and cook well.

Add in Capsicum and frozen vegetables
Continue cooking, stirring frequently. Add a cup of water and cover pan. Simmer for a further 10-15 minutes then remove cover, mix well and cook till most of the water is evaporated.

It goes really well with yellow rice or what I call Fools Saffron Rice - the recipe of which is also on the same link.

As far as my Signature Dessert goes, it would HAVE to be Chocolate Mousse. I have always been a sucker for Chocolate Mousse and would always order it at restaurants that served it.

When I was about 8 or 9, my parents took us to the Equatorial Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, which used to serve these great High Teas. The dessert spread was huge and they had Chocolate Mousse served in martini glasses. That was my idea of heaven at that age! I ate so much that the buckle on my pants broke! True Story.

They say the apple doesnt fall far from the tree and in that respect, Chocolate Mousse is also my sons favourite Dessert!

For those of you who haven't heard about MasterChef, read on...

MasterChef is a worldwide phenomenon. A cooking reality show that, although not allow viewers to vote, has still broken viewership records in US and Australia. MasterChef is a success because not only is food something we are all very passionate about but the show only allows amateur cooks to compete. Malaysians who love cooking but never had a chance to really showcase their skills and be appreciated, now get the opportunity! Get ready for the MasterChef phenomenon to take over Malaysia on 22nd October 2011!

Details of MasterChef Malaysia is as follows:

Program title – MasterChef Malaysia

MasterChef Program Information - MasterChef TX will be starting from 22nd October 2011, every Saturday – Wednesday, 9.00pm. Master Class will be on every Friday, 9.00pm.