Judges on the popular UK television show 'Masterchef' have sparked an international incident after they criticized a Malaysian-born contestant's chicken rendang curry for not being "crispy."
The controversy has caused a social media storm in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, where people, including the Malaysian Prime Minister, have expressed shock and annoyance at the apparent ignorance of the UK judging panel.
Contestant Zaleha Kadir Olpin presented the judges with a nasi lemak, a coconut rice dish, accompanied by chicken rendang, prompting judge Gregg Wallace, a writer and former greengrocer, to complain that the chicken skin isn't crispy, and can't be eaten, and the sauce on the skin can't be eaten as well.
In a traditional rendang, the meat is slow cooked in a coconut-based curry sauce, and should be tender and moist, not crispy. The dish originated in Indonesia but is popular across Southeast Asia, and is most often made with beef. In 2011, it came top in a poll of 35,000 CNN readers as the world's best food.
Later in the BBC show, as he and fellow judge John Torode were deciding to eliminate Zaleha, he reiterated the point, saying "what disappointed me was that the chicken skin wasn't cooked, and the flavor of the rendang sauce was on the skin."
After the show aired, Southeast Asians took to social media to defend Zaleha's cooking technique and call out Wallace for not understanding their cuisine.
On Facebook, Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman accused Wallace of "whitesplaining" to Zaleha, and said he hoped to meet her one day.
