$242 vs $13 Fried Rice: Pro Chef & Home Cook Swap Ingredients | Epicurious

Summary

In this cooking challenge, professional chef Esther and home cook Gabi prepare fried rice with contrasting budgets. Esther uses luxurious ingredients like Chilean king crab and Japanese spot prawns for a $242 dish, while Gabi creates a $13 version with common pantry items. Both cooks demonstrate their techniques, from making shrimp stock to wok preparation, resulting in two distinct yet delicious fried rice dishes.

Takeaways

• 🍽️ Esther, a professional chef, uses high-end ingredients like Chilean king crab, spot prawns, and Japanese ikura for her $242 fried rice.
• 🏡 Gabi, a home cook, works with more common pantry items for her $13 fried rice, aiming to elevate simple flavors with technique.
• 🦀 Esther's recipe involves wok-frying with Koshihikari rice and using the crab's body as a serving vessel for a dramatic presentation.
• 🦐 Gabi's shrimp are used in full, including the heads for making shrimp oil and paste, maximizing the flavor potential.
• 🍚 The importance of using day-old rice for fried rice is highlighted, as it has the right texture for wok-frying and rehydrating with other ingredients.
• 🔥 Seasoning the wok is emphasized for preventing food from sticking and enhancing the cooking process.
• 🥚 A unique technique of using egg yolk as an emulsifier for 'golden fried rice' is showcased.
• 🥬 The use of various aromatics like garlic, ginger, and red chili is highlighted to add depth to the fried rice.
• 👨‍🍳 Esther's professional touch includes making garlic chips and using shrimp oil for an upscale twist.
• 👩‍🍳 Gabi's approach to home cooking is practical, using ingredients like scallions and peas to add flavor and color to the dish.
• 🍳 Both chefs emphasize the quick cooking nature of fried rice, requiring all ingredients to be prepped and ready for a fast-paced cooking process.

Q & A

What is the main difference between Esther's and Gabi's fried rice ingredients?

Esther's fried rice ingredients are professional-grade with expensive items like Chilean king crab, spot prawns, and Japanese red salmon roe (ikura), costing $242, while Gabi's ingredients are more common and affordable, costing $13.

What special type of rice does Esther use for her fried rice?

Esther uses Koshihikari rice, a short-grain Japanese rice, which is perfect for fried rice due to its texture when rehydrated with oils and vegetables.

How does Gabi's recipe maximize the use of shrimp in fried rice?

Gabi's recipe uses the entire shrimp, including the head, which is full of flavor and can be used to make shrimp oil and shrimp paste, thus maximizing the utilization of the shrimp.

What is the significance of using day-old rice for fried rice?

Day-old rice is ideal for fried rice because it has drier and separate grains that do not clump together when stir-fried, which helps in achieving the desired texture.

How does Esther prepare the crab meat for her fried rice?

Esther takes apart the king crab legs by cracking them and wiggling the meat out of the joints, ensuring to remove the cartilage. She also uses the crab's body meat and prepares the claw meat intact.

What is the purpose of making shrimp stock in Gabi's fried rice recipe?

The shrimp stock is used to cook the rice, which elevates the flavor by providing a nice base seasoning to the rice.

What is the role of seasoning the wok in the fried rice cooking process?

Seasoning the wok involves coating it with oil and creating layers that act as a sealant to prevent food from sticking, which is crucial for stir-frying fried rice.

How does Esther use the shrimp heads to enhance the flavor of her fried rice?

Esther uses the shrimp heads to make shrimp oil and shrimp paste, which are then used to add umami and depth of flavor to the fried rice.

What is the trick Esther shares for using a wok at home without a wok-specific stove?

Esther suggests turning the stove's burner grate upside down to create a cradle for the wok, allowing for better heat distribution and maximum heat exposure.

How does Gabi's fried rice differ in terms of technique from Esther's fried rice?

Gabi uses a cast iron skillet instead of a wok and incorporates分离的蛋黄 to act as an emulsifier for the rice, which is a different approach from Esther's high-heat wok frying technique.

What unique garnishes does Esther add to her finished fried rice dish?

Esther garnishes her fried rice with fried egg, scallion greens, garlic chips, and ikura (Japanese red salmon roe) for added saltiness and a gourmet presentation.

Outlines

00:00

🍽️ Introduction to the Fried Rice Challenge

Esther, a professional chef, and Gabi, a home cook, are introduced as they prepare to make fried rice with vastly different budgets: $242 and $13 respectively. Esther's ingredients include luxurious items like Chilean king crab, spot prawns, and Japanese red salmon roe (ikura), while Gabi's ingredients are more common and affordable. Both express excitement and anticipation for the cooking challenge ahead. The importance of preparation and having all ingredients ready for a quick stir-fry cooking process is emphasized.

05:01

🦀 Preparing the Seafood Components

Esther and Gabi begin by preparing the seafood for their fried rice. Esther demonstrates how to handle and break down king crab, extracting meat from the legs and body, and saving the cartilage for future stock. She also discusses the use of shrimp heads for making shrimp oil and paste, which involves deep frying the heads until crispy and then grinding them into a paste with a mortar and pestle. Gabi, on the other hand, focuses on using the entire shrimp, including the heads, for flavor. She also prepares a shrimp stock by boiling shrimp shells and vegetable scraps to enhance the flavor of the fried rice.

10:01

🥬 Prepping the Vegetables and Aromatics

Both Esther and Gabi move on to preparing the vegetables and aromatics. Esther creates garlic chips and combines them with shrimp oil for added flavor, while Gabi prepares an aromatic oil with garlic and ginger. They both discuss the importance of using day-old rice for fried rice, as it provides the best texture. Gabi receives pre-cooked Koshihikari rice from Esther, which is ideal for fried rice, while Esther prepares her rice using shrimp broth to infuse more flavor.

15:02

🍳 Cooking the Fried Rice

The chefs begin cooking their fried rice. Esther uses a wok and follows a traditional method, while Gabi uses a cast iron skillet due to the lack of a wok. They both season their wok/skillet and cook their eggs first, setting them aside. Esther adds her aromatics to the wok and stir-fries them before adding partially cooked shrimp and vegetables. Gabi follows a similar process, layering flavors and adding rice to the pan last to ensure it doesn't become mushy. Both emphasize the importance of not overcrowding the pan and cooking quickly to achieve the desired texture.

20:04

🦐 Final Touches and Presentation

In the final stages, Esther and Gabi add their cooked seafood and aromatics back into the rice, adjust seasonings, and finish with garnishes. Esther plates her fried rice in the crab's body, creating an impressive presentation, while Gabi garnishes with fried egg and garlic chips. They both express satisfaction with their creations and anticipation for each other's reactions. The segment concludes with them presenting their dishes to one another, eliciting praise and compliments.

Keywords

💡Fried Rice

Fried rice is a popular dish made from cooked rice that has been stir-fried in a wok or a frying pan and is usually mixed with ingredients such as eggs, vegetables, and sometimes meat or seafood. In the video, fried rice serves as the central theme, with two versions being prepared: a high-end version by a professional chef using expensive ingredients like king crab and a more modest version by a home cook with common pantry items.

💡King Crab

King crab is a type of large crustacean known for its tender and flavorful meat. It is often considered a luxury ingredient due to its cost and taste. In the script, the chef uses Chilean king crab to make a luxurious version of fried rice, highlighting the crab's high quality and its role in enhancing the dish's flavor.

💡Spot Prawn

Spot prawns are a type of large, flavorful shrimp known for their distinctive spots on the shell. They are often used in gourmet cooking because of their sweet taste. In the video, spot prawns are used as a key ingredient in the chef's fried rice, adding a level of sophistication and depth of flavor to the dish.

💡Ikura

Ikura refers to the roe (eggs) of salmon, particularly red salmon, and is prized for its rich, salty flavor and bright orange color. It's often used as a garnish in Japanese cuisine. In the script, ikura is mentioned as an ingredient in the chef's fried rice, adding a pop of color and a burst of umami flavor to the dish.

💡Wok

A wok is a versatile, round-bottomed cooking vessel used extensively in Asian cuisine for stir-frying. It allows for quick, high-heat cooking which is ideal for dishes like fried rice. The video script describes the use of a wok for cooking the fried rice, emphasizing the importance of having a well-seasoned wok to prevent food from sticking.

💡Seasoning

In cooking, seasoning refers to the process of adding various flavors to a dish, either through spices, herbs, or other flavorings. In the context of the video, seasoning a wok involves coating it with oil and sometimes shocking it with cold water to create a non-stick surface, which is crucial for stir-frying.

💡Aromatics

Aromatics are ingredients that add a rich and evocative scent to a dish, often through heating which releases their volatile compounds. Common aromatics include garlic, ginger, and onions. In the script, the home cook and the chef both prepare aromatics such as garlic and ginger to flavor their fried rice, enhancing the overall aroma and taste.

💡Mise-en-Place

Mise-en-place is a French culinary term for 'putting in place' and refers to the preparation of all the ingredients needed for cooking before starting. This organization allows for efficient and quick cooking, especially important in fast-paced stir-frying. The script mentions mise-en-place as a crucial step in preparing to cook fried rice.

💡Umami

Umami is one of the five basic tastes, often described as savory. It is found in foods like tomatoes, cheese, and soy sauce, and is used to enhance the depth of flavor in a dish. The video script refers to umami in the context of using ingredients like shrimp paste and hondashi (a type of MSG) to add a savory element to the fried rice.

💡Scallions

Scallions, also known as green onions, are long, slender allium vegetables with a mild onion flavor. They are used for both their white and green parts and can be used raw or cooked. In the video, scallions are used in multiple ways, including as an aromatic for oil and as a garnish, demonstrating their versatility in cooking.

💡Cast Iron Skillet

A cast iron skillet is a type of cooking vessel known for its heat retention and durability. It's often used for frying and searing due to its ability to withstand high heat. In the script, the home cook uses a cast iron skillet as an alternative to a wok for making fried rice, highlighting its suitability for the task.

Highlights

Introduction of professional chef Esther with $242 fried rice ingredients.

Introduction of home cook Gabi with $13 fried rice ingredients.

Esther's plan to make King crab and spot prawn fried rice.

Esther's use of high-quality ingredients like Chilean king crab and Japanese red salmon roe.

Gabi's expectation to create a delicious dish with simple pantry ingredients.

Esther's emphasis on the importance of having all ingredients ready for quick cooking.

Gabi's strategy to maximize flavor with the ingredients she has.

Esther's technique for preparing king crab meat.

Gabi's excitement for using head-on, shell-on shrimp.

Esther's method for making shrimp stock to cook rice in.

Gabi's approach to deveining shrimp and using the heads for flavor.

Esther's creation of shrimp oil and shrimp paste for added flavor.

Gabi's use of simple aromatics like garlic and ginger for her fried rice.

Esther's tip for using day-old Koshihikari rice for the perfect fried rice texture.

Gabi's method for cooking rice in shrimp broth for added flavor.

Esther's technique for seasoning a wok for optimal cooking.

Gabi's adaptation of using a cast iron skillet as a substitute for a wok.

Esther's approach to cooking fried rice with high heat and quick movements.

Gabi's use of分离的蛋黄和蛋白来增加炒饭的丰富度.

Esther's final plating of fried rice in a crab shell for a dramatic presentation.

Gabi's simple yet flavorful presentation of her fried rice with garnishes.

Both Esther and Gabi's positive feedback on each other's fried rice dishes.

Transcripts

- All right, let's see.

[oil sizzling]

Let's not have a grease fire today.

- Hi, I'm Esther, I'm a professional chef

and these are my $242 fried rice ingredients.

- Hi, I'm Gabi, I'm a home cook

and these are my $13 fried rice ingredients.

- Not again.

- See you later shrimp.

- We got this.

- [chuckles] Oh my God.

Where do you find this?

- So the fried rice I was planning to make

was very special.

- King crab and spot prawn fried rice.

It is quite pointy.

- [Esther] I had some excellent ingredients to work with.

I had Chilean king crab, some spot prawns, and ikura,

which is a red salmon roe from Japan.

- Pretty pointy. It looks like an alien.

- It was all gonna be wok fried at a super high heat

with some Koshihikari rice,

which is a short grain Japanese rice.

I mean you saw that crab,

it was gonna be freaking delicious.

- I feel like I lucked out on this end of the deal,

but [chuckles] I'm sure that Esther can come up

with something really, really nice.

- With Gabi's recipe, I have ingredients

that you would most likely find in your pantry

or your local grocery store.

These ingredients may seem simple,

but with a little technique, we can really amp it up.

If I had to guess, these ingredients

probably costs around $24.

[cash register rings]

$13? Wow, okay.

- I think this would cost around $129.50.

242. Wow.

Cannot mess this one up, that's for sure.

So we have chef Esther's recipe book right here.

Only ingredients, no instructions.

We have our work cut out for us.

- What's really important about fried rice

is having everything ready so that when you're cooking it,

it's super, super fast and everything's ready to go.

- Unfortunately, king crab is not

in my weekly grocery budget,

so this is a new experience for me, so can I talk to Rose?

So good to see you. - Good to see you too.

What are you making today?

- King crab fried rice.

Judging by the color I believe he's already pre cooked.

The big thing I need to do is figure out how to, you know,

get out the good stuff.

- So the nice thing about king crab

is it has a lot of joints.

- I'm doubling up by the way.

- Basically, you're gonna just pull apart

or crack apart the legs.

- This is, oh, little goop.

- And the key to taking it apart is just

kind of wiggling the meat out of the joint.

So kind of crack against the way

that it normally would flow and then you want to just gently

take the meat out and you'll see some like spikes

of cartilage, that should come out, it's not edible.

But save it, you can use it in a stock later.

And you wanna make sure that you use the meat

as nice and whole as you possibly can.

- We have some beautiful claw meat, more or less intact.

The crab's body, like what's the best way

to make that into something spectacular.

- You're gonna just take the inside out

and clean it really well and save it for your display.

You're gonna put your fried rice right in there

because that's going to be a really beautiful serving vessel

for your fried rice.

- I'll send you pics.

Well, it was not the cleanest process,

but we have our crab meat and I didn't puncture my hand

with the spine, so I would call that a success.

Thanks, Rose.

- So Gabi sent me these head-on, shell-on shrimp,

which I'm very excited for.

We're gonna use the entire shrimp,

The shrimp head actually is one of the best parts.

There's so much flavor and so many things

that you can do with it.

Gabi was probably just gonna use the shrimp bodies

as the meat to quickly saute into her rice.

But you know, you're gonna be wasting

a lot of the other great parts of the shrimp.

Okay, we're just gonna have to devein the shrimp

because this is where the bodily wastes live.

And there we have it, our shrimp are prepped.

We have our heads, our shells, and our bodies.

Next up is our spotted prawns.

I can indeed confirm they have spots on them.

So we're gonna rip their heads off, sorry.

- We're gonna be making a shrimp stock

that I'm gonna be cooking my rice in.

It's just gonna elevate the rice,

it's gonna give a nice base seasoning.

So Gabi gave me scallions and garlic to use in the recipe

and I'm just gonna use the scraps for the stock.

Give a quick smash to the garlic and what this does

is releases some aroma from the garlic, and some water.

High heat, we're gonna let it come to a slight boil

and let it cook for about 30 minutes.

We're just extracting all the flavor from the shrimp shells

and your vegetable scraps.

- I'm gonna just basically remove the heads from the shrimp.

Ta-da, pretty easy.

My heads are off and now I'm just gonna go ahead

and peel these shrimp.

- So my shrimp stock has been going for about half an hour.

We're just gonna press on the shrimp shells

to extract as much flavor from it as possible.

- So now I'm gonna just devein it.

We all know what that is.

- So I have my shrimp heads, which I'm gonna be doing

two different things with it.

I'm gonna be making a shrimp oil and a shrimp paste.

We're gonna heat up some oil

and I'm just using regular vegetable oil.

You have to be super careful

when adding anything wet into hot oil.

All right, we're good.

It's just all the moisture evaporating.

I'm looking for a beautiful pink hue.

So you can tell the bubbles have subsided a bit.

My shrimp looks super like crispy. Look at that oil color.

Look how beautifully orange that Hugh is.

You hear that? [shrimp crunching]

Okay, so my shrimp oil is ready and these shrimp heads

that are super crispy, we're gonna be making

a beautiful shrimp paste.

I don't throw anything out. Maximize, maximize, maximize.

- So, last prawn is done and my prawns are cleaned.

- And Gabi, here's something really fun.

You take the head of the spot prawns,

deep fry it and serve that on the side

and that will give a nice crunchy element to the fried rice.

And that's like my favorite element of spot prawns.

- We have our fried prawn heads done.

- Now it's time to make our shrimp paste.

Most importantly, the mortar and pestle.

I feel like it's very underutilized in the kitchen.

It releases so much flavor and it's so fun to use.

We're gonna add our shrimp heads

and just grind it up to a fine paste.

What's cool about this shrimp paste,

you can kind of leave it in a jar in your fridge

and utilize it whenever you're cooking.

If you want to add a little bit of umami into, you know,

your noodles or your fried rice, this is what you add.

I'm gonna add two cloves of garlic for more flavor.

All right. Getting a workout today.

I don't need to hit the gym.

A little bit of soy sauce in here.

That's shrimp oil we made earlier,

I'm gonna add a little bit of that.

A little bit more soy sauce, add a little bit more oil,

mix it together, it's becoming more like a loose paste.

I do want to push it through a sieve so that it's more fine.

I mean I can't help myself right now,

I have to taste it.

Oh, that's wild.

And there we have it.

Look what we did with just simple shrimp,

so much better than just sautéing it and calling it a day.

This is what you call maximizing flavor.

- Now it's time to prep my aromatics.

This is a finger chili, which, you know,

I don't know whose finger is quite though, like.

- So Gabi's gonna be making an aromatic oil

for her fried rice using garlic,

ginger. - I love fresh ginger.

- [Esther] Red chili for a little heat.

- Done. I'm gonna wash my hands 'cause that's spicy.

And I don't want to touch my eye later and think,

oh my God, what happened?

- So Gabi sent me garlic.

I feel like instead of just using garlic in the fried rice

or in stock or the oil, maybe making a garnish with it.

So I'm gonna be making garlic chips.

I'm just gonna slice it thin on the mandolin.

Confidence is key when it comes to mandolins.

If you go too slow, then you're gonna cut yourself.

If you go too fast, you're gonna cut yourself.

Then we're going to turn on our pan, add oil.

It doesn't have to be completely hot.

We can kind of bring it up together.

So I'm just gonna add our garlic at this point.

Key here is definitely watch your garlic,

babysit it because once you turn around,

you're gonna burn your garlic.

It's ready, so at this point, we're gonna take it out

because the color will darken as it sits on the paper towel.

And garlic chips.

How can I not? Hm, perfect.

I have my shrimp oil here

'cause I'm gonna add the garlic oil to the shrimp oil.

Now we have shrimp and garlic oil.

- Okay, so time for the rice, the most important part.

- Hence, it's fried rice.

- Chef Esther was kind enough to prepare the rice for me.

- So Koshihikari rice can be a little bit tricky to cook,

so I gifted Gabi cooked Koshihikari rice that's a day old,

which is perfect for fried rice

because the textural element when you have day old rice

works so perfectly, the oils and the vegetables

and the aromatics kind of rehydrate it

and actually makes for the perfect texture.

You're welcome Gabi.

- Day old rice is best for fried rice anyway.

- Gabi sent me probably your most common rice

that you'll find in your local supermarket

and in this case we're gonna do two cups.

Normally I would wash my rice multiple times,

but I think I'm just gonna give this one a rinse

'cause it's not too starchy.

Two cups of our shrimp broth that we made.

So as soon as it comes to a boil,

you're gonna lower it to your lowest setting,

put your lid on and then let it steam.

So package says 15 minutes, but I'm gonna actually check it

at 13 because I do want it to be slightly al dente

since we're making fried rice.

- Ideally I want to get this nice and dry

and room temperature for my wok.

- Okay, so we're gonna check on our rice

and I'm just gonna use a fork to gently fluff it.

It has a slight bite, which is what I want

because I don't want it to be mushy

since we are gonna recook it when we fry the rice.

And now this is my trick when I do it at the restaurants

and we need rice for fried rice, we will spread it out

on a sheet tray and let it kind of dry out like that.

One thing I really, really hate with fried rice

is when it's mushy, this will really help prevent that.

- Time to prep my veggies. We have some green peas.

It's always really inviting when you open up the pod

and you just see all the little peas sitting there,

they look really happy to see you.

Some rainbow carrots. Ooh, and look at the middle.

What a cool vegetable. A shallot, I love shallot.

Shallot's like an onion on steroids.

Last but not least some broccoli rabe.

- I love the texture of broccoli rabe and slight bitterness

that kind of balances all the delicate seafood notes.

- I've never had broccoli rabe in fried rice.

So this'll be a first for me.

- Clearly, Gabi didn't send me much vegetables to work with.

But it's okay, we're gonna still maximize.

The scallions, I'm actually gonna use in two different ways.

So I'm gonna separate the whites and the greens.

With the whites, I'm actually gonna use

to kind of flavor the oil when I cook the fried rice.

This will act as more of like your crunchy onion veg

and the greens I'm gonna use as a topping.

Little milder in flavor and can almost act like an herb.

So I'm slicing these on a long bias

because at the restaurant we like to call

this sexy scallions.

And I like to put it in cold water

'cause it can get a little slimy

and it also like perks it up.

Now for the jalapeño, I don't want any of the seed scraps.

And that's where a lot of the spice comes from

and I don't want to kind of ruin the fried rice

with too much spice, and our veggies are ready to go.

- Time to whip up my eggs.

I think I can handle this part.

There we go, get 'em nice and whisked up.

I wore the right color today. [laughs]

- Gabi, thank you so much for sending me eggs.

I was very afraid that I wouldn't have eggs.

I saw this on Tik Tok, actually,

thanks for the inspiration Tik Tok,

but it's something called golden fried rice and what it is,

it's separating the egg yolks from the white

and using the yolk, almost like a fat emulsifier

and coating the rice with the egg yolk.

It's almost like using a butter, which I did not have.

So this is why I'm using the yolk for this.

All right, our rice is ready to go.

- We got ourselves a wok.

- So Gabi's gonna be making her fried rice in a wok.

- I know that chef Esther has a cool trick

for fixing your stove top so that it's good for a wok.

- Here's a tip for someone who wants to use a wok at home,

you can actually turn the burner great upside down

to create a cradle for your wok to rest in

for maximum heat exposure.

- So now my flame can basically touch my wok.

- But before you even started cooking in a wok,

you have to season your wok.

So seasoning your wok means that you're coating your wok

with oil so nothing sticks.

There's a few ways that you can do this,

but the way that I like to do it

is get your wok screaming hot, add oil, twirl it around,

and then you're going to shock it in cold water.

- [Gabi] Here we go.

- And bring it back and do it all over again three times.

And every time you season your wok,

it's acting as a sealant, so you're creating layers.

- Cooking in a wok is not for the faint of heart.

You're gonna have killer forearms though after this.

- Do not skip this step, I've seen so many times

people trying to use a wok and they ask me,

"Why is everything sticking?"

'Cause you haven't seasoned your wok.

Every time you use your wok, you should season it.

- That was fun. That was different.

My wok is seasoned now.

- All right Gabi, it's game time.

You're ready to fry your rice,

everything is mise-ed out in front of you.

You're ready to go. everything is gonna happen

really quickly because that's the beauty of fried rice.

It's like a very, very quick cook.

Add a quarter cup of oil, get the oil super, super hot

and we're gonna add our eggs.

- Here we go. - When you add your eggs,

it's gonna fluff up and double in size

and it's just so beautiful.

- Oh my gosh, I've never seen an egg do this before.

This is really cool.

- So you wanna get that excess oil out of the eggs,

but the egg itself should be very fluffy

and you can set that aside. - Cool, eggs done.

- I have not been gifted with a wok,

so I'm gonna be using the second best thing,

it's a cast iron skillet.

I love the cast iron because it retains a lot of heat

and also, I can get the best part of rice that I love

is the crispy rice bottom.

First thing, fried eggs, beautiful shrimp oil we made.

Just add out eggs.

While that cooks, let's get our cast iron hot,

let's add some of our beautiful shrimp oil,

add my scallion whites.

So we're making this like beautiful scallion oil

in the shrimp oil.

- Okay, first thing, my aromatics.

- You're adding a quarter cup of oil,

then you're gonna start with your aromatics,

your scallions, your ginger, your garlic,

your red chili, your shallots.

- Hmm, that smells so good.

Call them aromatics for a reason.

- These eggs look great, I'm actually going to turn

it off the heat, set it aside.

I'm gonna add my jalapenos, sauté that slightly,

add our shrimp, slightly season it.

This is important to season every layer.

We're cooking the shrimp about 80% of the way

and we'll take it out.

- Then we got carrots, nice.

If you're using a wok, you have to like,

you know, you gotta own it.

That's what I'm doing right now,

just showing him his who's boss, you know.

Let's see if I can get a little flipping action.

Yeah, that's some air time.

Toss it in. So excited about the broccoli rabe.

It's chef Esther special.

- So at this point, I'm actually gonna turn off the heat

'cause I don't want any more color

and I'm gonna take everything else.

- Let's see, what do I got?

My prawns and they're gonna be the last thing I put in

before I started adding in my rice.

- When the prawns get slightly pink, 80 to 90% cooked,

then you add your rice.

- I'm only gonna use about half this rice

'cause the one thing that I do know about woks

is that you don't want to crowd a wok.

And I also have to consider how much I can fit

in my very special crab bowl.

- And you add your rice, make sure every granule is coated,

tossing the pan as much as you can,

along with using your spatula to toss everything together.

And you have to work quickly because it's very, very hot.

At this point, we are gonna fry our golden rice.

And the reason why I took out the shrimp

is because I don't want anything to steam.

If your pan is too crowded,

chances are your rice is gonna steam, which I don't want.

I think I'm gonna add a bit more oil here.

You see how all the granules are separated,

there's no clumps, really important in fried rice.

So I'm cooking the egg whites in the center.

I didn't want to just pour it over

because I want it to slightly cook before I fold it in

because we don't want anything to be mushy.

You're cooking the egg whites, so it's almost all there

and then we'll incorporate it into the rice.

How beautiful does that look?

- We're gonna take it home now.

So I'm adding in all of my extra garnishes.

I'm gonna turn this heat a little bit lower,

not really looking to cook anything at this point.

So I'm gonna add a nice little knob of butter,

a little knob.

I'm gonna add in my peas,

my egg, I guess, just kind of gets thrown in there.

I'm just gonna kind of rip it into some shreds.

I don't know if that's how we're gonna do it, but why not?

Give that a stir.

- We're gonna add our shrimp and our aromatics

back in there, give that a toss.

Remember this beautiful case, this is basically our MSG.

Start with half 'cause we don't want it to be too salty.

Taste it for seasoning.

I'm gonna go ahead and add all of it, tiny bit of salt.

Super, super important that you taste as you go.

- Gotta put the crab in, got a little ahead of myself.

Can't forget the crabs. Whoa, this is nuts.

I'm having a blast right now.

- One last thing that I'm gonna do here,

some oil on the side, because what we're gonna do

is make crispy rice, flatten this out like so,

lower the heat to a medium and kind of just let the bottom

get super crispy.

But at this point, it's done.

- Seasoning, white pepper, fish sauce, shoyu.

- And with the seasoning, most importantly, Hondashi,

which is a type of MSG, that's going to make this

even better, toss it all together.

And then you're going to finish with your greens

and some sesame oil.

- All right, perfect. I got this delightful crispiness.

I'm done, we are done.

Okay, time to plate.

I have the body of the crab that will basically serve

as the plate itself, so very full circle.

Some nice scoops of my fried rice

and just go ahead and dump it right in.

Get a little egg in there, prawn in there, yeah.

So I might just do one guy in here.

Oh, it looks so good.

I'm gonna go ahead and garnish with some of this scallion.

Just add some nice brightness.

We'll just put a couple more chunks of this king crab.

What a beautiful dish truly.

Okay, last but not least, I'm going to finish my garnishing

with the ikura.

This is gonna add some nice saltiness.

I feel pretty good about this plating.

I think with the prawns and the prawn heads,

pretty proud of myself if I do say so.

And here is my take on chef Esther's fried rice recipe.

What a cool dish, Michelin star.

I hope she really likes it.

I think she will, I hope she does.

- Now we're just gonna garnish with our fried egg.

Remember our beautiful like scallion greens

that we sliced on a bias really nicely.

And then our garlic chips.

Now I would serve this as is.

I'll bring this to the table, sizzling like this

and it always makes a beautiful presentation.

And then you just serve tableside.

Finally you guys, I was really nervous about this.

I'm impressed. And this is my take on Gabi's fried rice.

I really hope Gabi likes what I did with her ingredients.

- [Both] Hi.

- Good to see you. - Good to see you too.

- Oh my gosh, how was it? Everything go okay?

- So good. I'm so excited to see what you did with my dish.

- I'm really excited. I'm nervous.

[Esther gasps] [Gabi chuckles]

Oh my God, beautiful.

- Wow, this smells amazing.

It just like hit me.

- This looks like it belongs in a gourmet restaurant.

Definitely smells like very aromatic

with like all the seafood.

- Just a little, you know, it's not too much.

So,

think, we like? - Oh my gosh.

Hmm and the rice, the texture of the rice.

- Yeah? - You did a great job-

- Oh, thank you, yeah. - With frying it.

The seafood has so much flavor.

It perfumes the rice completely.

This is perfection, great job.

- Thank you. - I'm impressed.

- Aw, thank you.

- Okay. - I'm having so much fun but-

- Now, you gotta try my humble-

- Yeah. - Fried rice.

- Oh, I'm so impressed, like this is not what it looks like

when I make this, that's for sure.

Hmm, mm. I'm tasting some of the garlic.

I'm tasting some of the aromatics, feels really well-rounded

and the garlic really adds a nice little touch.

So good, I'm gonna get another big bite

- I feel like it's no secret

but I'm such a big fan. - Oh my gosh.

This is a huge moment for me. - Don't make me blush.

You're actually a great cook.

- Well, thank you. - Yeah, I mean, hello.

- I'm blushing now.

- You made this. - Man, day made, seriously.

Oh, thank you.

- Now you can cook for me properly.

- Okay, sounds good. - Yeah? Yes.

Let's do it. - Dinner party.

I'm in already. See I knew this would happen, I knew it.

I knew I just have my chance. [laughs]