MasterChef Asia contestant pushes Punjabi cuisine
Three Malaysians are among the 15 contestants in the first ever MasterChef Asia reality show, which premieres on Sept 3. Homemakers Jasbir Kaur and Sophia Zulkifli, and bank executive Marcus Low will be competing alongside other home cooks from China, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
In an e-mail interview, they tell us about their television experience, what they think of the judges and some of their favourite foods to cook.
JASBIR KAUR
The biggest sacrifice Jasbir Kaur has made by being in the MasterChef Asia kitchen is being away from her family.
At 54, she has proven to herself that age is no barrier to chasing her dreams. Her love for cooking began when she moved to Sarawak after getting married. The mother of three hopes to impart the culinary skills of traditional Punjabi cuisine to the younger generations and to prove that home cooks can be just as skilled in the kitchen as professional chefs.
What is the most daunting thing about being on TV?
How I will be perceived by viewers. That was the primary daunting factor and the other was being watched and surrounded by the cameras, cameramen, producers, assistants and all the other staff who worked behind the scenes to makeMasterChef Asia S1 a success.
But as shooting progressed, I got used to the cameras being around and became comfortable with the surroundings and happenings.
What have you learned from being on TV?
To be more confident and to be more organised. Everything happens so fast that you have to be mentally prepared for anything. You learn to think fast and strategise on your feet. I have learned to focus even with all the distractions during shooting.
Being on TV taught me time management as well. Working within a time limit teaches you to work smart, fast and think outside the box.
Which of the judges on MasterChef Asia scares you? Why?
Susur Lee, because he looks like a stern kungfu master! He is serious about his profession and expects a lot from all of us. But when I actually got to know him, I found that he is very approachable and knowledgeable.
Ever willing to guide and share his years of experience in the culinary world with us. From giving us tips on how to get ourselves organised to just lending a friendly ear, he was always very giving.
What is the No.1 mistake that people make in the kitchen?
Not being organised. If you are organised, the cooking is easy and fast. If you are messy and flustered in the kitchen, not much gets done.
For example, if you are making a stir fry, you cannot chop and prepare your ingredients as you go along because the wok is really hot and will burn the food if you are too slow. So for a stir-fry, all preparation must be done before hand so that cooking will be a breeze. I find that food tastes much better when you are relaxed when cooking!
What is your favourite meal to cook?
My favourite meal to cook is dinner. I enjoy cooking dinner because that is a meal when the whole family is together.
A simple dinner with good company is ideal. Dinner is a time to sit together and reminisce the events of the day. Having dinner together is a great way to maximise on family time which is rare nowadays as everyone has their own activities.
What is the most important thing you use in the kitchen?
My wok is the most important thing that I use in the kitchen other than my knives. I make curries, stir fry, deep fry, sauté and steam using my one and only wok! My wok is over 50 years old and was handed down to me by my mother-in-law. I have cooked almost everything in this wok and it always tastes good!
Which do you do first: Decide on what to cook before you get your ingredients, or get your groceries before coming up with a dish?
Well, if I am going ‘marketing’ that day I will decide what to cook and then source for the ingredients. But if I am not going to the market that day, I usually stand in front of my refrigerator and see what I have and come up with a dish.
We tend to stock our refrigerators with so much food that we must turn our refrigerators into giant mystery boxes at least once or twice a week.
You obviously enjoy cooking. What else interests you?
Apart from cooking, I enjoy baking and looking up new recipes. I enjoy making jams with local fruits. I also enjoy recreating traditional dishes that I learned from my mother and mother-in-law.
My other great love is for patchwork, quilting and embroidery. This hobby is a great way to relax and catch up with good friends.
If you could cook dinner for anyone in the world, dead or alive, who would it be? Why?
I would cook dinner for my late father. He was the one who held my hand and taught me how to use whole spices and to make my own curry paste. I think he will be very proud of me today for I have achieved so much from his early guidance. He made it fun in the kitchen instead of torture. It was alright with him if my chapattis were not round but looked like a medley of countries on the world map.
If you opened a restaurant, what kind of food would you serve?
I would serve food that I love to cook and that would be a fusion of Punjabi, Dayak, Chinese and Malay food. I would serve food that I would be proud to feed my own family with. Cooking with spices is what I do and love so I will be using lots of spice in my food. Spice not only means hot chillies but making use of all the different spices available in Sarawak.
The style of cooking would be modern Punjabi which would cater to all who enjoy eating good food. An example would be my fish curry, instead of using assam java to give the dish a sour taste, I would use the Sarawak sour eggplant which not only adds the sourness but also doubles as the eggplant vegetable in fish curries!
TOMORROW: Interviews with Marcus Low and Sophia Zulkifli
STAR2
MasterChef Asia S1 airs every Thursday at 9pm on Lifetime (Astro Ch 709)
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