Episode Report Card Daniel: B- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Dan the Caucasian Asian
By Daniel | Season 11 | Episode 6 | Aired on 04.16.2013
The competition gets underway, with the Blue team continuing to talk about Asia as if it is a country. "I thought you went to Asia!" says Ray at one point. Anyway, when the dust settles, the Red team is short one ingredient in five of their six dishes. Ja'Nel and Jackie blew it, seems to be the consensus, but doesn't it also have to do with how fast their teammates retrieved the fortune cookies?
Anyway, let the cooking commence! Much more confidence on the Blue side, except for Anthony, who has never made chow mein. He says it's "literally catastrophically terrible," whatever that's supposed to mean. On Red, Mary's working for Cindy, and regretting not doing a dish by herself, since she's fighting for her jacket and everything.
Anyway, time for the judging, which will be done by Martin Yan. Boooo! Stephen Yan forever!
Fried rice dish! This is Dan's dish, and he's still cocky because of that year in Asia when he lived in Asia for a year, living in Asia and eating Asian food. Jacqueline brings up Red's with firm tofu, chili pepper, scallions, rice wine vinegar and bean sprouts. Yan thinks it works. Dan's has coconut milk, loosely crushed peanuts and sweet and spicy glazed prawns. Yan, though, says the rice is a little undercooked. "DAMN, IS THAT HOW THEY SERVED THE RICE IN ASIA WHEN YOU LIVED THERE FOR A YEAR?!" yells Zach at us. I'm starting to really love Zach. Yan picks Red's dish. "Hey, Dan, go back to Asia for another year," Anthony tells us.
Up next, the stir-fry. Jon's noodles, sea scallops and sesame oil. Yan calls it amazing. Jessica's stir-fry isn't even a stir-fry and she complains about not having very many ingredients to work with, and Ramsay warns for her to stuff the excuses in front of the chef she's serving. Point to Blue.
Barret's zesty lime spring roll takes on Nedra's peanut Sriracha spring roll. Point for Blue. Ray's crab dumpling loses to Cindy's honey soy dumpling, and then Ja'Nel's lemongrass red miso soup fights Michael's sweet and sour halibut soup to a draw. So it's tied three-three, with Yan obviously getting the memo reminding him that it always needs to come down to the final dish, which is, naturally, chow mein. Susan brings up a rice noodle with pork and crushed cashews. Yan likes the flavor, but says he'd prefer a little more contrast, such as with green onion. Anthony's is a wheat and rice noodle chow mein, with daikon and candied ginger. So it turns out to be good, and not "literally catastrophically terrible," I guess. Yan picks Blue, which I think everyone saw coming from Anthony being cocky over Dan's rice failure.