Masterchef UK Professionals
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Grilled Pork Chop with Coconut Basil Puree
Grilled Pork Chop with White Asparagus and Coconut Basil Puree
Guatemalan-born private chef Sel had never cooked Thai food before and drew on the masterclass to guide his approach. Sel: "I have never really cooked Thai food before, so this is for me a first. I'm trying to refer to what I learned from today." He cut pork into chops and grilled them on the barbecue without marinating or basting the meat beforehand. Accompaniments included white asparagus, a coconut basil puree, grilled broccoli, and black rice finished with cashews and enoki mushrooms. Sel: "On the side, we've got black rice, which I finish with a little bit of cashews, and then I put some enoki mushroom on top." His sauce was coconut-based with chilies, lime, and galangal ginger. {Judge}: "He's taken the pork and he's going to cut those into chops and just finish those on the grill. I'm really surprised that he's not going to add any Thai flavors onto those pork chops at all, which I find quite incredible because pork could carry those flavors beautifully. The white asparagus can be quite stringy, a little bit on the bitter side. I just see a lot of different things here, and I hope he's thought about how he's going to put this all together." {Judge}: "There's a lot going on. A bit rough around the edges. I just keep looking at the broccoli and think, why is it there?"
{Judge}: "The pork, I think, is actually cooked quite well. I do feel like it could have had more char on the barbecue to get that kind of caramelization. But all of the garnishes just don't really make any sense to me. We've got a bit of broccoli that just tastes like a bit of broccoli and this white asparagus and basil puree - with the coconut, it's neither sweet nor bitter. The coconut sauce has no real depth. It's got a very kind of muted flavor to it, almost like Thai flavors for beginners. There is not much about this plate of food that I am enjoying. It's bit rough, bit rustic. Just not quite hitting the mark."
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