'Be Our Chef': Merrills' Mulan-inspired egg foo young encased in sausage meat raises the heat in Disney kitchen
Disney's action-adventure film 'Mulan' follows the journey of Hua Mulan, the eldest daughter of an ailing honored warrior, who disguises herself as a man and steps in to fight the enemies. Inspired by the protagonist's story arc, 'Be Our Chef' host Angela Kinsey tasked the Perez and Merrill families to create dishes that would have one secret ingredient in it.
In an effort to keep up with the theme, both families used food items as a sort of casing, which, upon liftin/opening, would reveal the main dish. While Perez's went for chicken fried rice that would sit in a scooped out-roasted bell pepper, Merrill's put their egg foo young in sausage meat.
Both teams were made aware that they would be not only be rated based on creativity and taste but plating as well. The Merrills took a leaf out of the film, put together a perfect dish that appeared similar to the one that featured in 'Mulan'.
Chef Gregg Hannon, director, Culinary Concepts, Walt Disney World, was invited over to sample the food created by each of the families. He was impressed with Perez folks from the start, said their dish — firecracker fried rice — was "visually stunning". He was impressed with the dollops of sauce and charring on the outside of the bell pepper. "So, excellent job. I cannot wait to taste it," he said excitedly.
As he finished a bite of the colorful rice with the sauce on the side, Gregg commented that it was indeed flavorful and added, "And the presentation, the attention to detail, is really nice. So, I think you really worked hard on that." He, however, did think the sauce was a bit salty for him even though the family managed to hit on all the points.
Hidden Warrior, by the Merrills, was, on the other hand, a rather interesting looking dish. The family positioned their ingredient in a way that looked like a cute face in a bowl. "The patty is really nice. Think this is some good inspiration for me, for when I go back," Gregg joked as he went on to add that the breakfast bowl had too much of rice in it. "The patty and the meat to the rice ratio just might be a little off. But I think overall flavor and creativity, you did very well," he further elaborated and announced the Merrills as the winners of the challenge.
Perez family tried their best and not taking any of the hard work away from them, but it was an easy guess.
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