A MasterChef contestant recently impressed judges, including celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, when she whipped up roti canai during a challenge.
Jaime Tan, who is representing Malaysia on Season 16 of MasterChef: Global Gauntlet, won the challenge with “roti canai with Malaysian coconut curry, coconut rice and cucumber-pineapple salad”.
In the episode that aired on June 3, the 27-year-old cooking content creator and her fellow contestants were tasked with making dishes that would be perfect for a Fifa World Cup watch party.
As Jaime had chosen a dish which often takes hours to prepare, judge Tiffany Derry asked her if it was a “good idea” when she only had an hour to do so.
“In my cheat meals I try to do it in an hour and sometimes it works out,” she said, adding that the curry — which she has a lot of experience making — cooks really fast.
The dish also has sentimental value as Jaime recounted how her father would cook it for her before he left for work.
Although she felt a lot of pressure to do a good job at the cook-off, she said: “I have to win this challenge for my dad.”
Her efforts paid off as her dish won high praise from Gordon — who is notoriously hard to please.
“It looks beautiful,” he said when she presented the roti canai to the judges.
“What I’m most impressed with is — traditionally, that takes hours to make. The fact that you had the confidence to attempt it tonight, I’m just happy for you,” he added.
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Upon tasting the dish, the celebrity chef described it as fragrant, warm and sour.
“It’s everything you want. It feels like you’ve been making it for the last six hours, well done,” he told her.
Jaime’s dish was named top in Asia-Pacific before beating winning dishes from other regions and emerging as the winner of the challenge.
As the winner of this cook-off, Jaime walked away with immunity from being eliminated in the next round of the competition, as well as a US$2,500 (S$3,200) Home Depot gift card.
“I’m really proud of myself for the first time in a while,” she said.
“I’m confident I made my mum and dad proud tonight.”
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bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com
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