CookSmart (6th Issue) Page4

Food Tasting Highlight

The Adjudicators’ Challenge

Eight celebrities were invited to be the adjudicators for this cooking competition. They were Legislative Councillors Ms Audrey EU and Ms Cyd HO; Professor Joseph SUNG, Head of Shaw College of The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Mr Dick LEE, former Commissioner of Police; Mr Michael LAM, renowned gourmet; Ms Shadow KWAN, food columnist; Mr Walter KEI, famous food connoisseur; and actress Ms Fiona YUEN. They paired up and tasted the 16 finalists’ EatSmart Dishes in July.

Audrey and Michael were the adjudicators of the Seafood Category. Although Michael is familiar with cuisines of various countries, his greatest challenge of the day was how to cut up the whole pumpkin in "Baked Brown Rice with Pumpkin and Seafood". Audrey, on the other hand, had a problem in handling "Steamed Egg White with Crab Claws", which was so flimsy. Although their favourite was baked brown rice which was high in dietary-fibre, they found that "Lobster with Asparagus" was equally outstanding, which was served chilled and hot. "Crab Meat in Scrambled Egg White and Bean Curd", however, used simple ingredients to make a tasty dish. Audrey and Michael discussed in details before making their final decision.

Ms Fiona YUEN and Professor SUNG tried out EatSmart dishes in the Fruit and Vegetables Category. Professor SUNG was very fond of "Spinach with Chinese Wolfberries and Dried Longans in Chicken Broth" and "Assorted Sweet Potatoes with Sushi Vinegar". The former was sweet and fresh with no Chinese herbal flavour, while the latter was so delicious and colourful, and the skills of the chef has been well demonstrated. "Baked Lasagne with Pumpkin and Bell Pepper" was also a fabulous low-fat cheese dish. Fiona ate a couple pieces of "Mexican Roll and Mango with Lemon and Apricot Sauce", which was served in small pieces. Our panelists were so excited with the dishes that they put aside their knives and forks and used their hands to eat.

The panelists for the Poultry Category were Ms Cyd HO and Mr Walter KEI. Both of them were impressed by the appearance of the dishes. When "Chicken Cubes with Fresh Asparagus, Pine Seed and Homemade Bread" was ready, Cyd could not wait to get her hands on the dish, while Walter in turn filled up homemade bread for Cyd. Cheers! Next came "Steamed Chicken with Assorted Mushrooms and Asparagus". This tasty dish was made with chicken instead of pork as usually were, which was mixed with asparagus and lotus root. Their choice for this group was "Chicken Roll with Assorted Wild Rice". The innovative dish stuffed Vietnamese spring roll sheets with wild rice and was appetising. The last finalist for this group was the "Roasted Stuffed Chicken with Red Bell Pepper Sauce", which was juicy and delicious.

Mr Dick LEE and Ms Shadow KWAN took charge of the Meat Category. Being well versed in cooking, Dick listened attentively to the introduction by the chefs and discussed with Shadow about the cooking methods of different dishes. While Dick was tasting his food seriously, he at times made a few humorous comments which made Shadow and the crowd burst into laughter. They were highly appreciative of the appearance of the champion dish, namely "Steamed Meatballs with Lilies and Soybean Sheets". Other dishes in this category were "Lamb Leg and Broccoli in Red Wine", "Lamb Racks with Italian White Sauce" and "Braised Beef Cubes with Pumpkin, Mango and Green Bell Pepper". The chefs chose to braise or stew meat and added plenty of vegetables, which made their dishes juicy and still full of flavour.