- 7 minutes ago
Beat Bobby Flay Season 43 Episode 8
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Short filmTranscript
00:00I'm Bobby Flay.
00:02Each week, one brave chef will try to take me down
00:04in my house.
00:05This is my show.
00:06Today it is.
00:07Tomorrow, who knows?
00:08Trash talking.
00:10This culinary battle is going to shake down in two rounds.
00:13Round one, to get to me, two contenders
00:15have to go through each other using an ingredient of my choice.
00:18It's do or die, Bobby.
00:19Two people that know me well will decide
00:22who's got the skills to beat me.
00:23Yeah!
00:24Round two, I go head to head with the winning contender.
00:27Let's go!
00:28It's their turn to surprise me with their signature dish.
00:31What?
00:32Don't try this at home.
00:33I know you did it, Bobby!
00:36Bottom line.
00:37You're gonna run in a chance!
00:38Everyone's out to beat me.
00:43All right, who's ready for a battle?
00:47My co-hosts tonight are hoping to get the scoop
00:49on how to get me beat.
00:51Please welcome Chef Jeffrey Zakarian,
00:53and from Entertainment Tonight, Nichelle Turner.
01:00So tonight we have Nichelle Turner from Entertainment Tonight.
01:03She's interviewed me a handful of times,
01:05and we hit it off because she has a great love of food.
01:08All right, Nichelle, I finally got you here.
01:10You did!
01:11I know.
01:11And you got me here with Jeffrey.
01:12I know.
01:13You see what you did for me?
01:13He couldn't help it.
01:14I was on the schedule, he couldn't say no.
01:17That's what it was.
01:18You've interviewed probably every single person alive in Hollywood, right?
01:22Is there anybody that you haven't interviewed?
01:24Jeffrey Zakarian.
01:25There you go.
01:26I got time after the show.
01:27I got a microphone.
01:29You know, we hung out at the Super Bowl last year.
01:31To me, it was so apparent that you're into food big time.
01:34Yeah, my grandmother was a cook by trade.
01:37She was my caregiver.
01:38And when you got one of her homemade cinnamon rolls,
01:40that means you were loved.
01:41Okay, sounds good.
01:42So, Bobby, we have some really good chefs in the house tonight.
01:46Are you ready to meet them?
01:46I am.
01:47All right.
01:48So, our first contender grew up in Singapore
01:51and loves to cook the food that she grew up with.
01:55From San Francisco, California, Chef Emily Lim.
01:59Give it up.
02:06Whoa.
02:08Our next contender is redefining Thai cuisine.
02:12Here to bring the heat, flavor, and everything fabulous
02:16from Nashville, Tennessee, Chef Arnold Mint.
02:20Yes.
02:25I see you.
02:33Hi, Emily.
02:34Hi, Arnold.
02:35Nice entrances.
02:36Yeah.
02:37What's your goal tonight?
02:38Re-evaluate and represent and celebrate the evolution of Arnold
02:41since the last time you sent me home.
02:43Oh, yeah.
02:45Oh.
02:45Arnold was on the next Food Network star years ago
02:47when Eddie Jackson won.
02:48So, he's here to not get sent home.
02:51It's good to see you.
02:53Good to see you, too.
02:54What about you, Chef?
02:55I am here to represent Singaporean flavors
02:58and hopefully beat you, too.
03:00All right.
03:00Let me tell you how it works.
03:01I'm going to give you an ingredient of my choice,
03:03and you must make that the star of your dish.
03:06No.
03:08This must be massive.
03:09And the ingredient is wild striped bass.
03:15Wow.
03:16Well, that's a great fish.
03:1720 minutes on the clock.
03:19Make sure you earn your stripes with the bass.
03:27Oh, God.
03:28Here we go.
03:29That is a gorgeous piece of fish.
03:31It's very pristine in flavor, and it has depth and texture to it.
03:34It can be raw.
03:35It can be cooked.
03:36Can you fry it?
03:37You can definitely fry it.
03:38Okay, good.
03:38But if you overcook this fish, you can't bring it back.
03:41Yeah.
03:41You can't hide from fish.
03:42It's like being naked in front of the mirror.
03:44There's nowhere to go.
03:47I think the good thing about wild striped bass is that it is very neutral and can take on flavors.
03:52So my strategy is to flex my culinary point of view that's full of bright colors, bold flavors,
03:57and sass.
03:59Arnold, what do you got going?
04:00I'm cutting down some fish now.
04:01I'm going to do a southern take on a Thai dish called lab.
04:05So it's going to be a southern fish fry with the flavors of Thailand.
04:09Come on, Arnold.
04:10You better fry that fish, Arnold.
04:11Yeah, baby.
04:12Hey!
04:15Growing up, I literally spent my entire life at my parents' Thai market and restaurant.
04:20Food has always been a big component of my life, as well as competition.
04:23I used to be a professional figure skater.
04:26I win drag queen pageants, and I do cooking competition shows.
04:29Why?
04:31I need validation.
04:32After Food Network Star, both my parents passed away.
04:35So I moved back to Nashville to revamp our family's international market.
04:39And we're known for elevated Thai cuisine.
04:42Hey, Bobby.
04:42It's so good to see you again.
04:43I can't wait to show you how I've evolved and who I've become.
04:48Emily, what are you making?
04:49I'm making a seared fish with a mango coconut curry with a side of salad.
04:54I'm a sucker for a good curry.
04:55I'm only seasoning my bass with salt and pepper.
04:58And then I start the fish skin side down on a hot pan to sear.
05:02This skin, you know, it's thin enough.
05:04If it gets crispy, it's actually good.
05:09When I was a kid in Singapore, I would get really interested in, like,
05:12what's presented in front of me for dinners and try to ask questions about it.
05:15So I became a chef so that I could learn more about food and make money while doing it.
05:21When I cook, my goal is to bring out nostalgia within the folks who eat my food
05:27of that time they had in Singapore.
05:29So it's very emotionally driven.
05:31Tonight, I'm here to teach Bobby the thing or two about Singaporean food.
05:34Because representation is important.
05:36From a person coming from a country that's, like, seven million people strong.
05:39So, Bobby, get ready to learn.
05:42All right, 15 minutes, everybody.
05:46Ronald, when's the last time I saw you?
05:48Food Network star.
05:48Who won?
05:49Not me.
05:52I got close.
05:53What are you roasting?
05:54I am doing toasted rice powder.
05:55It adds a nice texture to the salad.
05:58I am very impressed.
06:01In Singapore, we have fish hit curry.
06:03So I make a riff off of that.
06:04There's green curry paste, shallots, coconut milk, and mango.
06:07Hi, Emily.
06:08I love what you're wearing, by the way.
06:09That's really cool.
06:10Thank you. My husband actually got it for me
06:11because I once complained I only wear black.
06:13I try to do that to my wife, but she takes everything back.
06:15Oh, no, that's your fault then.
06:19You're searing this closely.
06:21And are you going to turn it and braise it?
06:22I will not braise it.
06:23I get it.
06:24That's a beautiful fish, but it's very delicate.
06:26Exactly.
06:26Let's give it up for Emily.
06:29Jeffrey, you got some intel?
06:31Yeah, and there's some cooking, real cooking going on.
06:33But you have, like, Thai and Arnold,
06:35and Singaporean with Emily.
06:36Those are big, bold flavors,
06:37and you've got to be careful not to overwhelm the bass.
06:39Yeah.
06:41Eleven minutes, oh, my God.
06:42I came here to showcase Singaporean food,
06:44and the best way to do that is to get to round two.
06:47Almost every dish you eat would need some kind of brightness.
06:49So I'm making a little herb salad with dill, fennel, basil, beautiful herbs.
06:56This dressing is literally called crack sauce in some parts of the world.
07:01Thai chilies, garlic, fresh herbs, lime juice, and sugar.
07:05You guys like fish sauce?
07:06You like it funky?
07:07Bobby should be intimidated because I really honed in on my point of view,
07:11and my food is really good.
07:13Eight minutes left.
07:17Ooh, look at that skin.
07:18Now listen, did you see when Arnold bounded in here with his fan?
07:22I know! I was like, how am I going to beat that?
07:24Are you worried about it?
07:25I got the food. I got the food. I'm not worried.
07:28It is time to fry my fish.
07:30And so I coat it lightly with salt and pepper and turmeric for color.
07:34Arnold, I see some spice.
07:36Yeah, we have some Thai chilies.
07:38I was hoping for some spice.
07:38We have some Fresno peppers.
07:41I know you're tired of going home.
07:42You're saying they're not sending you home again.
07:43Honey, not this time.
07:44So now I need to get all of my components into the salad.
07:46Some red onion, fresh herbs, Fresno chilies, the toasted rice powder, and my dressing.
07:52Three minutes.
07:54I am happy with how things are flavored.
07:56So I've played at my green curry.
07:58I'm just like helicopter tiger mom, just watching my fish be beautiful, be perfect.
08:03Go, go, go.
08:06I'm really happy.
08:07My salad tastes like home.
08:09And then I take the fish out of the deep fryer.
08:11Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.
08:22Yeah, that's a cup.
08:26The bass is my beautiful baby, perfectly cooked child.
08:30I love it.
08:32It's really as beautiful as you are, dude.
08:33Oh, man.
08:35Whew.
08:37So chefs, my sources are telling me that the chances of Bobby Flay losing are at an all-time high.
08:45But it all comes down to what you did with that beautiful wild striped bass.
08:49Chef Arnold, tell us what you made.
08:50I made a Thai-style southern fish fry lob.
08:56I wanted heat.
08:57I wanted flavor.
08:59I got both of those things.
09:01And I love when you get it all together and then that heat hits you at the end.
09:05I think that's delicious.
09:06But if I'm judging it by the sea bass being the star, I think that they're all kind of co
09:11-stars.
09:12Valid.
09:13Beautiful visual play.
09:14And the salad's just delicious.
09:16Also great texture.
09:17The fry and the fish is good.
09:18Some of my fish is a little dry.
09:20But overall, really good plate of food.
09:22Thank you, Chef.
09:23Chef Emily, tell us about your dish, please.
09:24So I have a seared bass with a mango green curry.
09:30Really good dish.
09:31Texturally beautiful.
09:33And the fish is beautifully cooked.
09:34Why you leave the skin, Jeff?
09:35I'm going to eat that skin.
09:36You can give it to me.
09:38My criticism of this dish is you needed more acid, more heat.
09:41Just needed some oomph.
09:42Emily, the skin on that fish, sis.
09:45I'm trying to steal Jeffrey's over here because he's eating it too slow.
09:49The flavor, delicious.
09:51I think this fish is cooked perfectly.
09:54But I was underwhelmed by the curry.
09:56Thank you, Nichelle.
09:57I don't know which way this is going to go.
09:59I know what I can deliver on round two.
10:01I just hope I get there.
10:03The chef moving forward is...
10:09Chef Emily.
10:12I'm totally bummed, but I'm very proud of what we both brought to the table today,
10:16representing our heritage.
10:18Good luck.
10:18She's a good one.
10:19So Emily, please tell me that whatever is up your sleeve is something that Bobby Flay is not good at.
10:25Based on statistics, yes.
10:27He's not good at it.
10:29Based on data.
10:35All right, Emily, congratulations.
10:37You did a great job.
10:38How do you feel about the second round?
10:39Feeling really confident.
10:40Yeah?
10:41Yeah, you can go home now.
10:41That'd be awesome.
10:42That's good.
10:43So what is your signature dish?
10:45My signature dish is...
10:51Laksa.
10:52Like a noodle soup, right?
10:54Yeah.
10:54Yeah, spicy.
10:55Well, I can already see tomorrow's headlines.
10:57Bobby Flay defeated in his own kitchen by Chef Emily.
11:0145 minutes on the clock.
11:03Show us what you got.
11:05Yes!
11:10Ooh, I love this.
11:12This is a get down.
11:13Laksa, wow.
11:14It's a Southeast Asian noodle soup.
11:15A noodle soup.
11:16It can have chicken.
11:17It can have pork.
11:18It can have shrimp.
11:18It needs to be a really deep, dense broth.
11:21It is spicy, and it can use both wide noodles, big, thick noodles.
11:24I was going to say, I believe I've had it with the thick noodles.
11:27And it's delicious.
11:28Yeah.
11:29My signature dish is laksa with shrimp, fried tofu, and chicken meatballs.
11:34This version is my best nostalgic callback to traditional laksa in Singapore.
11:39So why did you choose this laksa as your signature dish?
11:43I feel like a lot of people think that, you know, Southeast Asian food should be cheaper.
11:48But I think once they see, like, the 20-something ingredients that go in it,
11:52they might change their minds.
11:53All right.
11:53The first thing I got to do is build my rumpa, which is a spice paste that comprises
11:57Fresno chilies, shallots, garlic, ginger, and galangal.
12:02Look at everything that's going in there.
12:03Yeah, so that's like making Tabasco.
12:05Oh.
12:05You know, it's like, boom.
12:07I think I was born for this.
12:09Bobby, you're about to get learnt, boy.
12:11I'm just kidding.
12:12Can't say that.
12:13That's too mean.
12:13I mean, I've eaten a lot of dishes like this,
12:15so I know what I want it to taste like.
12:17I'm making laksa with shrimp and chicken, boiled egg,
12:21and I'm going to make my own wheat noodles with cilantro.
12:24Is he making homemade noodles?
12:25Bobby, why are you making this so much more difficult on yourself?
12:28I got to do something to compete with this amazing chef over here.
12:32And then I start with my broth.
12:34It has these aromatics like the shallots and spiciness from the ginger and the galangal.
12:38It has heat from the Fresno chilies, and then it has that funk from the shrimp paste
12:42and the fish sauce.
12:42Then I add some coconut milk.
12:44Is that a curry?
12:45It is either red curry or it's cat food.
12:49You know Bobby loves his cats.
12:51He does love his cats.
12:53All right, 36 minutes.
12:55Hurt.
12:56Stinky, stinky belacan.
12:59The style of laksa has a lot of shrimp flavor,
13:01so I'm grabbing one of my favorite ingredients.
13:04Hello, chef.
13:04Hi, chef.
13:05What do you have here?
13:05This is belacan, the fermented shrimp block that everybody will love.
13:08Where is that?
13:09I want to smell that.
13:10It's funky.
13:11Oh!
13:13Wow.
13:14All right, let's give it up for Emily.
13:19What is that for?
13:20This is going to be some garnish, crispy shrimp heads.
13:22So you just make a little tempura?
13:24Yeah.
13:24This is a challenge for you, I can tell.
13:26You're not being funny or pithy.
13:27That's probably because you're not pithy and funny anyway.
13:29Exactly.
13:3131 minutes, chefs.
13:32Is he in trouble deep?
13:33He's challenged.
13:34Okay.
13:34There's a lot of things he's putting together at the same time.
13:37He's got shrimp fried, he's got to puree that soup,
13:39and then he's got to get the spice mixture right.
13:40Then he has eggs.
13:41So there's room for error.
13:43Correct.
13:43And Emily is over there, cool as a cucumber.
13:47I'm incorporating my childhood into this dish.
13:49Okay, does Bobby have that?
13:53I don't think so.
13:57All right, it's all right.
14:0326 minutes.
14:04My broth is going, so I'm going to boil my eggs.
14:07I'm also frying some chicken skin.
14:09Just going to add a little more texture.
14:10And then I always love a chicken thigh, so I sear it,
14:12turn it over and put it in the oven.
14:14Bobby, how are you doing over there?
14:15I got a lot of work to do.
14:17I'm making a shrimp stock to extract all the flavors from the head of the shrimp.
14:22And then I'm blanching my shrimp and I'm cautious not to overcook it.
14:25Singaporean food requires a lot of knowledge of what ingredients and what techniques to use.
14:30So Bobby definitely should be so scared.
14:31All right, Jeffrey.
14:32I'm going to go stick my nose into somebody's business.
14:35See what I got?
14:35I love it.
14:36Go get it.
14:36I'm going to go get it.
14:37Excuse me, Mr. Flea.
14:39I'm out.
14:39How are you today?
14:40Hi, very well.
14:41Thank you so much.
14:43Just over here making some cilantro noodles.
14:45You look really great today.
14:46I'm wondering, what are you wearing?
14:49This is Levi's, J. Crew.
14:51Mr. Flea, just a couple more questions for you.
14:53I love the media.
14:54You look like you may have had some work done.
14:56Was there a little plastic surgery that you had before coming on television today?
15:02No, no plastic surgery and I don't do Botox.
15:04I don't like needles.
15:05Thank you so much.
15:06Bobby Flea, this smells good over here.
15:09Typically, in Laksos, you get a boiled egg cut in half, like a ramen egg.
15:13And then I'm making chicken meatballs with cornstarch, oil, and soy sauce.
15:18Miss Emily, I heard that you've got someone here in the audience with you.
15:21Yeah, there's Melissa.
15:22Melissa?
15:23Where's Melissa?
15:23Melissa!
15:25Scale of one to ten, how nervous should Bobby Flay be?
15:27I mean, I got to say ten.
15:30You heard it from her friend.
15:34It's time to get cooking my chicken meatballs.
15:36Can Bobby do this?
15:37I don't know.
15:38I don't think he can.
15:39Look at that.
15:40She's done that so many times.
15:41That's like grandma stuff.
15:43Absolutely.
15:44The noodles look beautiful.
15:46Bobby, can you make me a plate?
15:49He's had it with us.
15:51And then I want to add a vegetable to this, so I'm going to add some bok choy.
15:54Make a chili sauce.
15:55Sambal tumis is what rounds out the whole laksa dish.
15:59I'm grabbing chili peppers and blend it up with some belacan, sugar, and oil.
16:03There will be a soup spoon of sambal tumis.
16:05So it's up to the judges to mix however much into the soup.
16:09And then I take my shrimp stock and coconut milk and put it all together with the rumpa.
16:13I'm so excited.
16:15So I blend the broth.
16:16It has tons of flavor and heat.
16:18Let's go in and try this.
16:19Let's do it.
16:20I add lime juice and now I think it's hitting all the notes.
16:22Can we taste this?
16:23Yeah.
16:25I mean...
16:26It's all good?
16:29That's not half bad.
16:30It's delicious.
16:32Dinner.
16:32I need to cook my noodles.
16:34There's rice vermicelli and yellow noodles for two different kinds of texture.
16:38Can we taste?
16:39Yeah.
16:40That's the soup.
16:41It is spicy.
16:45Yeah?
16:46God, that's good.
16:48Five minutes left.
16:50At this point, I'm putting tofu in cornstarts
16:52and dropping it in the fryer just to get it lightly golden.
16:56So now I take some of the noodles, the broth with some of the shrimp, some of the fresh herbs,
17:00and then I add some chicken skin on top of the chicken, the eggs, some bok choy,
17:04the crispy shrimp heads, and then a little lime zest on top.
17:07Now, I put the noodles in a bowl and add the laksa broth.
17:11Hey, Emily, how are you going to celebrate when you beat Bobby Flay tonight?
17:15I'm just going to hang out with Melissa, whether she knows it or not.
17:19Oh, those are chicken meatballs.
17:20Two balls because it's only natural.
17:22And the shrimp.
17:23There's her eggs.
17:24And then tofu.
17:26Emily, what do you have in those little soup spoons?
17:28Uh, extra chili to make it extra spicy.
17:30Oh, my God.
17:33It is gorgeous.
17:34It is what a laksa should be.
17:36And all it took was 45 minutes of me losing my mind.
17:40Three, two, one.
17:45I applaud Chef Bobby, but cilantro does not go into laksa.
17:50Bok choy does not go into laksa either.
17:52It's like pudding, chocolate, and pizza.
17:54I don't know that I'm going to win, but if I can't beat her today,
17:57I can't beat her in this dish.
17:59This is great.
18:02Emily, Bobby, congratulations.
18:04Now we want to introduce you to the judges.
18:06First up, the chef owner of Lout, Salil Mehta.
18:10The chef owner of Pig and Cow, Leah Cohen.
18:14The co-owner of Sood and Sape, Joel Watanawangwai.
18:21Judges, please start with the first dish in front of you.
18:28It looks like what a laksa should look like.
18:31You know, the sambal really adds flavor,
18:33and that really kind of ties the whole dish together.
18:36And, you know, I love a jammy egg, so that was a win for me.
18:39But I wish the chef added more of the herbs to kind of brighten it up.
18:43Looks like a great laksa.
18:45I love the sambal, the different proteins.
18:47It kind of comes together pretty well.
18:49And I think the choice of noodle was great,
18:52but the rumpa wasn't cooked enough,
18:54so it needs a little bit more balance.
18:56I love the presentation and the spice profile is great.
18:59The egg is cooked well, but I wish there could have been more acidity.
19:04And I feel like just one choice of noodle is great,
19:06rather than having, like, different noodles in there.
19:09All right, judges, thank you.
19:10Time for bowl number two.
19:17I think the chicken with the crispy skin, well-seasoned,
19:20the shrimp head, you know, your fried shrimp head,
19:22and you put it on something was there not to like.
19:24But it's not what I'm used to as far as a laksa.
19:27The noodles are not very traditional.
19:29It doesn't have the balacan flavor, but it's very well-balanced.
19:33Beautiful bowl of noodle soup.
19:35The broth itself is balanced.
19:38It's well-seasoned.
19:39It has that acid, and I want to just keep on eating it.
19:42The noodles, not something I've ever seen in a laksa.
19:46But again, is it something I want to go back and eat more of?
19:49Absolutely.
19:49I love the flavor of the curry.
19:52I think the balance, it's amazing.
19:53Chicken is cooked well, but the shrimp is a little bit overcooked.
19:58Noodle choice is great, but I wish it could have been a little bit smaller in the size.
20:03All right, judges, please vote for A or B.
20:06So I definitely fumbled on the acidity part, and I think Bobby cooked a nice dish.
20:11But who knows?
20:12It could go either way.
20:13This is not a unanimous decision.
20:17And the winner is Bobby Flay.
20:26Bobby definitely got a little bit lucky with his laksa, but I'm so proud.
20:31I came here to showcase San Fran cuisine, and I think I did a great job.
20:35I chose this dish because the balance and the flavor on this one was slightly superior to the other.
20:42Thank you, Chef.
20:43Thank you, Chef.
20:45Him being him, he pulled it off because he knows flavor so well.
20:48Bobby, this is my first time.
20:50Hope it's not my last time, because I need to see you go down.
20:54Yeah.
20:55Laksa la vista, baby.
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