Original subtitles

ANNOUNCER: Previously on MasterChef Australia...

Round one of this elimination was macaron madness.

GILLIAN: I really can't tell what it is.

I'm going to go with strawberry.

Strawberry...

..is incorrect.

In round two, three cooks had to fight for survival.

This is the make or break for me.

It's, like, either do this or go out in a blaze.

Yeah.

Darrsh's dessert outdid the others...

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: The choux pastry is cooked perfectly.

This is probably the closest match outside France that I've actually...

Really? Yeah.

..and Gill had to say goodbye to the MasterChef kitchen.

Tonight, it's a mystery box

from Australia's newest food superstar.

SAV: Look at this. SUMEET: I know.

I always think about the first time we did this walk

and saw that building.

Oh, it's so incredible.

Even now, when I see that... It's still amazing.

It's so incredible.

(CHEERING)

HARRY: It's a tall box!

JOSH: I love trying to show yourself and what you've got.

So, mystery box day, bring it on.

They're very tall. MIMI: Yeah, they are.

If I tried desperately,

I could probably fit most of my body

into one of those boxes!

This week is going to be huge.

We will be joined by some of the biggest names in food,

starting with the superstar behind this mystery box.

OK.

She's made a successful career out of creating recipes

for the everyday cook to follow.

Her record-breaking number one best-selling cookbook even outsold

Jamie Oliver's.

Humble brag!

If you've searched for a recipe online,

you've most likely come across hers on RecipeTin Eats.

Please welcome Nagi Maehashi!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Yeah, Nagi!

Bienvenue. How are you?

Nagi, welcome to the MasterChef kitchen.

Thank you.

How are you guys?

I'm so excited to be here!

Nagi, how would you describe what you do?

If I just try to simplify it, I guess I share recipes

that I love to cook and eat, with the world, really.

Where did the passion for food come from?

So, the truth is, we didn't have a lot of money growing up,

but my mum just knew how to make amazing food

using very minimal ingredients.

And then when I moved out of home at 18,

I would come home from a long day at work

and a hot meal wasn't there waiting for me.

It was honestly just like, "What am I going to do?"

And so it was literally because of my desire

to eat great food,

I had to learn how to cook for myself.

And then I just never stopped. (LAUGHTER)

We are dying to know -

what is the most popular recipe of all time on RecipeTin Eats?

I'm dying to know!

You're going to be so disappointed!

It is so boring.

We have 12-hour slow roasted lamb shoulder,

we have lamb borek,

we have all these amazing recipes on the website,

and the single most popular recipe -

it's baked chicken breast.

Right?!

I know!

Well, I think it's time to show these guys

what you brought for them.

Let's do it!

Everyone, head on back to your benches.

Thank you for the warm welcome, guys.

JOSH: Nagi's cool and friendly and she's bubbly.

And, yeah, I hope she gives us some good stuff

in the...in the mystery box.

Let's do it.

Alright, you can lift your lids...

..now.

ALL: Oh!

Wow.

Whoa! There is so much stuff.

(ALL EXCLAIM)

DARRSH: Looks like hundreds of ingredients here.

It feels like there is a whole pantry

underneath this mystery box.

There's too many options! Oh, my God! My head...

There's so many things.

It's a mega mystery box.

Wow!

Yes! Hell, yeah!

Nagi, talk us through these ingredients.

So, there's a whole selection of ingredients here,

which I consider staples in my fridge and in my pantry.

And the selection here really covering quite a range of cuisines,

actually, from South-East Asian to Mediterranean.

There's spices here for Middle Eastern, Arabic.

We've got a beautiful piece of Murray cod.

Crispy skin. I'm seeing crispy skin!

So, yeah.

Zero excuses, I reckon.

(GASPS)

Nagi's been super generous,

but then I kind of look down and there's something else

in this box and it's freaking me out.

Darrsh, look at the timer.

Yeah. 30 minutes.

Amongst all the ingredients,

there's a little timer that says 30 minutes.

(NERVOUSLY) Eek!

There may be a lot of ingredients to play with,

but Nagi is known for her quick and easy dinners.

So today, you'll have just 30 minutes to bring us yours.

SAV: OK. Wow.

Oh, my God.

It takes me the first 18 minutes to just get all of my equipment.

So 30 minutes is really, really pushing the envelope.

You guys know how fast time moves in this kitchen,

so cook quickly.

The under-bench staples are in play as well.

The bottom three dishes will land their makers

in tomorrow's pressure test.

Do you want to send them off?

Don't leave me hungry.

Your time starts...

..now!

(JUDGES CHEER AND APPLAUD)

Oh, they're quick!

Oh!

SAV: Let's go, let's go.

ALEX: Oh, there's too many options.

Oh, my goodness. I have way too many options right now.

I'm thinking I could go totally Vietnamese.

And then I think, "Oh, maybe I could do, like, a mash and some fish."

Do I go pasta and go the Italian route?

Look, I really don't know where I'm going with this box.

JOSH: Quick meals are right up my alley.

Being a butcher, when you work from four to six -

and seven sometimes -

you get home and, you know, you've got to be quick on your feet.

I'm feeling really good today. I'm going back to my old roots.

Going to try and make Mum's peanut chicken,

which is a great one at home for us.

Peanut chicken with a bit of rice, should be cool.

I know it down pat, let's just get it on.

What I can feel from Nagi - she just wants flavour.

She cooks tasty food and she can cook it quick.

Oh, look, I love Mum's cooking.

It's homely, and this is quick and easy,

really tasty, and I love it.

The only thing that worries me is the peanut sauce.

I normally use peanut butter out of a jar,

but we've got to make it from scratch today.

Never done it before,

so I need to get the sweet and spicy balance right.

It's going to be yummy. It's going to be yummy.

Alright. That's on. This...

Er...

I'm so happy.

30 minutes on the clock. Game on.

This is my kind of mystery box.

So, I'm making a poached fish - Murray cod -

in a beautiful coconut green broth.

Very similar to tom kha, and I'm making it

because this is so quick

and this is so the type of flavours I would want to eat

as soon as I come home from work.

There's something about being able to whip things up.

I tend to do it quite a lot, like,

after coming down from the mountain, after skating.

I'm so hangry that I reckon I'd make food in, like, 15 minutes.

Ooh, this is a workout!

But, like, I have to be careful,

because even though this is

the biggest mystery box I've ever seen,

my strategy is to pack as much flavour as I can,

but make sure it's simple.

30 minutes, so I'm trying to be really strategic.

I need to start putting everything in,

like just, "Whoosh!" You know, work really fast.

I feel like a DJ right now!

I'm hoping the judges are going to eat it and think,

"This has so much depth, so much flavour

"that it probably took, like, two hours."

Punch these flavours in, let's go.

MIMI: Oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God. Chaos!

I'm living away from family, I'm alone a lot,

so I've cooked so many solo dinners for myself.

Half an hour - I'm satisfied, it's delicious.

But we have the fish king cooking next to me,

we have spice queens cooking next to me,

people that are extremely talented with herbaceous food.

I just need to be very strategic

and think about how I'm going to make myself stand out.

Today, I'm making spicy pork noodles.

I'm racing to get this dough on, because it needs to rest.

Um... Oops!

Oh, God. Chaos. Um...

30 minutes. Look at me!

I really don't think anyone else is going to be ballsy

and familiar enough with making handmade noodles

and a meat sauce in half an hour.

It's top nine, there's 30 minutes, we're in a white apron -

no time to spare.

POH: This is incredibly exciting,

because this is the most plentiful mystery box

we've ever given the contestants in the history of MasterChef.

But only 30 minutes.

So, where we're giving them a lot, we're also taking away.

The paradox of choice is a real phenomenon.

I mean, you think about people going into a supermarket,

and then there are all these brands, and you don't know what to do,

and you stand there like an idiot staring at it for five minutes.

I do it at the fridge, like... Yeah!

Don't worry about the supermarket!

What are you looking for?

What do you want to see versus not want to see?

You know what? For me, above all, it's really simple -

something delicious. Yeah.

I'd love for them to hone in

on ingredients they're familiar with,

using combinations that they're comfortable using

and trying not to do too much.

Have you got a dish that you would, kind of, look to...?

Oh, what would I do?

Instinctively, I really want to use the Murray cod,

and I want to use the herbs.

We've got some chilli here, eschalots, and some cherry tomatoes.

We've got some canned tomatoes as well.

So I actually think I would do something like an acqua pazza,

a tomato-based Mediterranean sauce,

really focusing on getting that crispy skin.

What would you do, JC?

I'm very tempted of something with the chicken,

something Provencal.

Then maybe like a pie. A fish pie.

I would love one of the contestants to bring us something in 30 minutes

that you haven't covered

in your 2,000 recipes on RecipeTin Eats.

That's one thing I was so excited to come here for -

was to get ideas from these guys and take some inspiration from them.

And, yeah, I think so.

I think I will as well. Yeah.

ALEX: Oh, my God, that smells so good, Sumeet.

SUMEET: I know! Look at your sprinkling skills.

Let's get them spices and, like, sprinkle it like champions.

Oh, yeah!

Oh, this is a dream mystery box for me.

So many ingredients and seeing spices and rice

and onions and lime and, oh, my God, garlic.

I'm just, like, in heaven.

I know there's this myth about Indian cooking

where people think it's complicated, there's too many ingredients,

it's too hard to make it versatile.

But I would love to bust that myth,

for everyone to think, "Oh, yeah, that's something I can do

"on a regular basis."

With 22 minutes left to go, it's not going to be easy.

Sumeet. Hey, Sumeet.

Hello! Hello.

You looked pretty happy when you saw that box.

What are you making? I tell you what,

that is, like, a dream mystery box

with all the spices and the aromats.

So, yes, I'm making you an Indian dinner.

So, essentially, I'm going to make a pork mince kofta curry

with some steamed rice.

And I'm going to have some sides with it as well.

But curry in 30 minutes? I know. It's nuts, isn't it?

So we've got to...

I'm just, like, really using all the hacks that I know

when I used to cook really quick dinners for the twins.

What are they? Um, using tomato passata.

Sort of just cutting up the tomatoes,

using garlic powder instead of spending time cutting up the garlic.

I'm using a very quick recipe for the rice.

I'm making a very quick raita.

I'm going to toast up some of the peanuts

and fry up some shallots to give it a bit of crunchy element.

So just doing really quick things

to be able to get a really flavourful curry up.

That's a lot... A lot.

..of very quick things, though!

I know, it's a lot of things.

There's ambition and then there's making good choices.

Yes.

You need to straddle both of those two

to be able to bring us a dish that's going to keep you out of the bottom three.

Absolutely. Don't freak me out.

A lot is riding on the success of this dish.

Nagi is expecting dinner in 30 minutes,

so I'm feeling a lot of pressure.

I'm used to cooking really fast,

but this is, like, even faster because the stakes are so high.

ANDY: 20 minutes till go time, crew! 20 minutes.

Oh, my God. My table's a mess.

Are you good? Yeah.

It's stressful. I know.

It is stressful, but we're going to get it done, Alex.

We're going to stay away from the bottom three, yeah?

This dish is literally, like, a staple in my household.

You know, the cricket might be on,

and I'm like, "I can't be bothered, it's been a long day of work,"

and this is what we always eat.

All that I seem to be thinking about is what I cook for dinner at home.

SOFIA: Alex, our little Viking. Hi!

What are you cooking? How are you doing?

I'm good, I'm good. I'm doing, um...

That smells good. ..something I would cook for dinner.

Um, it's like a spiced chicken tenders,

crispy potatoes and beans

in a little yoghurt sauce.

Beautiful. I love this. You know why?

Because you've kept it simple. Yeah.

You're not going overboard.

Simple is great.

Yeah. But it needs to be...

I know. Banging. ..delicious.

I know. Absolutely banging.

Did I hear the word crispy potatoes.

They're going to be crispy, right, Alex?

Well, hopefully.

Yeah, hopefully.

Good luck, Alex. Thanks, Alex.

Looking forward to it. Thank you.

This might not be my most creative dish

in this kitchen but I would love to impress Nagi.

So I've really got to pack the flavour in this meal.

It's all about flavour today

and just a delicious dinner cook meal.

Lochy, you've got the spices out.

I do have the spices out.

Oh, I like the look of this.

I'm going to do, like, a middle eastern chicken breast

over a bed of, like, a yoghurt and tahini,

and hopefully a salsa verde.

Darrsh... Hi.

Are you leaning back into your Sri Lankan heritage?

Exactly. It's just been too long. It has been a while.

My dish today is going to be a coconut fish curry

with garlic rice on the side.

So good.

Harry?

HARRY: I'm calling it Monday Night Fish Night.

So like a cherry tomato, seafood pasta style sauce,

grilled fish.

And then I'm going to do some rice on the side.

Something smells amazing here.

So I'm doing Sav's orange curry

with poached Murray cod

'cause I love a bit of poached fish.

So this is definitely very much my happy place.

And it's already turning orange, so I'm happy.

Oh, this is just going to be incredible.

Let's hope I deliver, right?

Believe it or not, we're halfway through the cook.

15 minutes gone. 15 minutes to go.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: How are you feeling?

It's making me nervous when you're standing there watching.

You're doing well.

NAT: Oh, my God. Not stressful at all.

I'm doing a poached Murray cod with a green curry sauce.

It's simple. It's quick. It's easy.

But very flavourful.

Mmm! Ooh!

15 minutes in, my lemongrass stock is done,

coconut cream is on the stove.

I need to start with the Murray cod.

None of that. None of that. None of this.

Oh, my God.

Fish.

I'm going like the wind, like Sally Pearson.

100 metre race straight through.

Hi, Nat. Hi.

How are you doing? Gosh, really good.

Fiddly. Pin boning. Yeah.

You know, I didn't think there'd be bones in here still.

So here we are.

And I think I might just get rid of this piece of fish,

because... You know what? I'm going to do that.

How are you planning to cook the fish? Are you poaching it?

I'm poaching it Poaching it. Yeah. And what...?

You're taking it off the skin? Um, no, I'm not.

No, I want to keep the skin

'cause it's like what I want for flavour.

Have you poached Murray cod skin before.

I have. It... You know, I think so.

Oh, you've made me question things now.

I'm unsure.

Should I take it off?

Mmm...

OK.

Let's go.

And you are taking it off the skin?

Yeah.

Thank you. We're looking forward to it, Nat.

Thank you. Good luck.

The idea was to keep the skin on, to add flavour,

but I'm gonna play it safe.

Skin off it is.

PEZZA: Oh, yeah.

It's cooking beautifully.

Just over 10 minutes to go.

Peanut sauce for my mum's peanut chicken dish

is looking really good, vibrant.

It's got a beautiful colour

and I'm quite happy with how it's coming along.

I'm just tasting

and I'm just trying to get the balance right,

you know, from salty, sweet.

We love things sweet

'cause we're fat and chunky down home

and we've got to keep warm in that cold weather.

So let's get it on and see if I can balance it right.

Pezza. Hey, chefs.

What's on the menu, mate?

Mum's peanut chicken... Respect to your mum.

Yeah, I love it. There's a couple of things I'm missing,

but I'm just trying to make it in and make it my own today.

I just want to know what's in the satay sauce.

I made it with my own peanut butter.

Right. OK.

It's starting to come together.

I'll just tinkle with the balance of the lime and that.

You can have a taste.

Pezza, I've made a lot of satay sauce in my life.

And I think the thing

that most satay sauces suffer from in this kitchen

is that there's just not enough depth with the aromatics,

and it just tastes very heavily of the peanut butter.

Yep.

Can I be brutally honest?

That is exactly what that tastes like right now.

Now you've got to sort this out. Yep.

Because it's one thing to cook Mum's peanut chicken.

Yep.

It's another thing to cook a peanut chicken

that's going to be top of the class and not bottom.

Thanks, guys. Good luck, Josh.

Oh, shit.

I'm used to doing what suits me and what suits the family.

I'm sort of stuck in between a rock and a hard place,

so I need to tinker with this sauce.

It's got to be a banger.

Otherwise I could be in that bottom three.

You've only got 10 minutes to go.

MIMI: Whoa!

PEZZA: Oh, look at that.

Whoo!

Let's go, Mim. You go, girl!

MIMI: All of my elements for my spicy pork sauce

are going and reducing and sizzling and browning.

Oh, yes!

I know I've let the dough,

let the noodles rest for at least 15 minutes.

Now I need to grab a pair of scissors

and cut this ball of dough and straight into the water.

Food tastes better when you're smiling.

Really love this noodle recipe,

so I'm going to do it with a smile on my face.

Hey, Mimi. Hey.

Hey, hey. You alright?

I'm really manic right now.

Every minute counts for this dish. Every second counts.

I'm making my scissor-cut noodles with spicy pork.

Scissors-cut? Yeah.

Fantastic. Yep.

I am so in disbelief Nagi is standing in front of me,

but I can't even react right now.

Sorry, Nagi.

You haven't made the noodles yet?

Well, they're getting cut straight into the water.

I'm very excited about this.

If I pull it off, it should be really, really good.

But it's a matter of me against time.

I've made these noodles quite a few times.

That's why I'm confident doing it in this amount of time.

It's not going to be quite the same without the noodles, is it?

No, no, no, no... I'm gonna leave you.

We'll leave you to do the noodles.

And we've historically loved your noodles, Mimi.

So more of that. Thank you.

I'm cutting my noodles into the water.

To get the texture and the cook on the noodles right,

each of those noodles have to be uniform in shape.

WOMAN: You've got this, Mimi.

Hopefully these noodles cook through in two or three minutes,

and I can put it into the sauce

and get to plating as soon as possible.

It's a very ambitious cook today.

My hands are shaking.

LACHLAN: The judges want my Middle Eastern chicken breast

nice and juicy.

My tahini yoghurt is almost there.

I'm just taste testing and adjusting as we go.

So all I really need to do is get the salsa verde done.

Everything's coming together.

DARRSH: It's been a long, long time

since I've cooked coconut fish curry.

This is something that my mum definitely made all the time.

And it's something that, you know, I love to whip out,

usually not under time pressure of 30 minutes, but here we are.

HARRY: Far out.

I'm gonna finish cooking the fish.

Um, my sauce is looking pretty delicious.

And then I just want to get some butter into that rice,

give it a good stir up, and it's going to be ready to go.

Mm.

Yum.

SAV: I've got my fish skin going.

I've just got to get the garlic on my garlicky green beans,

and I just have to perfect my orange curry sauce,

but I'm definitely anxious.

It could do with maybe another 15 minutes on there.

So I'm just going to keep balancing it.

I definitely do not want to be in that bottom three.

So, yeah, that's the name of the game.

SUMEET: Home run. Come on. ALEX: Let's go, girl.

We're not going to the pressure test tomorrow and that's it.

No, we're not.

Less than seven minutes on the clock

and I've got my pork koftas finishing off in the sauce.

It's like a butter chicken, makhani type of sauce.

I'm just using as many spices as possible to pack as much flavour

in the minutes that I have.

Overall, I'm pretty confident

that everything's going to marry up really well.

I want this dish to look like they're sitting at my dinner table.

There'd be lots of dishes to choose from

and mix and match to your taste.

There's a risk of, you know, doing too much,

so I really have to keep focused and just keep going

and finish what I'm intending to do.

There's a rule with my friends.

When you're coming to Sumeet's house,

you don't eat that day,

'cause you know you're going to be fed well and watered well.

NAGI: A quick cook is a good cook.

You've got five minutes to go.

Come on.

Oh...OK. Uh...

Burning my peanuts!

Wow!

Time is just going like no tomorrow.

It's unbelievable here.

I've got sweat coming off me and I'm working hard,

there's no doubt about it.

The chicken's been fried off with the shallots

and the garlic and ginger.

And now it's time to get this peanut sauce in.

Oh, yeah.

It's very thick, the sauce, and I like it alright.

But after what Poh said, I've still got to get depth

and try and get a lot of flavour in.

And I'm a bit worried about the flavour's too sweet.

I've just got to get the balance right.

SOFIA: Pezza. How are you going, girls?

Hi. How are you? I'm good, thanks.

Look at the colour of this sauce. It looks delicious.

What are you making? Smell that.

I'm making a peanut chicken.

Just trying to get the balance...

Andy came around and said

he didn't want it too, like, peanut buttery.

And that's the hardest thing now, to get the balance right.

And you're still playing with this flavour?

Yeah. 'Cause you have five minutes left.

Yeah. Ready to plate. I'm nearly right.

I'm just trying to get it perfect

'cause I know it's got to be perfect.

It has to be perfect for Nagi. Exactly right.

Alright. OK.

Thanks. I'm rooting for you. Thank you.

SUMEET: How are you going?

Yeah, good. Good. Awesome.

Potatoes are crispy, chicken is rested,

I've dressed it in a little bit of honey

just to bring out some sweetness in the sauce.

The beans are done, buttered up with salt and pepper,

and I've just had a bit of a light bulb moment

to introduce a little bit of a last-minute peri-peri sauce.

I've only got four minutes to whip it up,

but I want to do it.

It's all about flavour today,

and I think this could bring another element of deliciousness

to this plate.

I'm so bloody determined to keep out of that bottom three.

I'm not here for it. (LAUGHS)

NAT: Let's get this done.

I'm plating up

and because I've only got three elements,

they need to be perfectly cooked.

One last taste. Let's go.

Sweet.

I think the flavour for my coconut green sauce

is definitely there.

And despite not using the skin on the Murray cod,

the fish is looking good.

It's all about the rice now.

Got to be perfect.

Got to be perfect!

I lift the lid off the pressure cooker

and I look at my rice.

I'm like, "Goddammit!"

I have completely overcooked this rice.

Oh, my God.

I'm really worried. I can't do anything to change it.

Oh, sugar.

Oh, my God.

I'm plating up and I look at my rice.

I'm like, "Goddammit!"

I have completely overcooked this rice.

I'm trying to decide how I want to plate this.

I'm really worried about the rice,

'cause I know that anything less than perfect

will send you to the pressure test tomorrow.

Cooking rapido.

We have two minutes to go!

Allez!

MIMI: Let's give them what they want.

With two minutes to go,

I finally combine my scissor-cut noodles

into my Asian ragu, really.

I am doing the pasta thing.

I am making sure the consistency is right.

No time for complicated planning.

Today it is noodles, bright red spicy pork sauce,

a little coriander

and peanut topping with lime juice and lime zest.

Nagi's in the kitchen today and if she's anything like me,

she is hopefully going to love this dish.

Make it quick, but make it delicious.

You have one minute to go. JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Allez!

SUMEET: Can I have one spoon? Yeah. Here you are.

Cool, cool.

It's a 30-minute cook,

and I've managed to put a lot of things together.

I really like the colours.

Everything looks really good.

The only thing I'm concerned about

is that I didn't have enough time to really cook out that sauce.

Quick sticks! 30 seconds to go.

PEZZA: Time's running out.

I plate the rice. I get the chicken, put it in the bowl.

I've done a take on Mum's peanut chicken.

It looks good. I'm happy with the dish.

It looks rustic. It looks like Pezza.

I've got the crunchy element. I've got my sauce on the side.

Let's just hope that they like it.

Your time is up in ten...

JUDGES: ..nine, eight, seven,

six, five, four,

three, two, one.

Well done, bro.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

Looks good.

At least I've put up something

that's...that's me.

That's what I'm thinking.

Maybe I might have another spin on it and cook it for Mum when I get home.

Whoa, man, that looks delicious.

Looking around,

and some people have been making some impressive things.

And I'm just really, really, really scared

that I don't think

I got my creative juices flowing enough today.

First dinner we'd like to dig into...

..is from Mimi.

(APPLAUSE)

MIMI: I'm pretty proud of the dish that I made today.

All I want is for the judges to take a bite of the dish

and just think, "This is yum."

Mimi, tell us what you've made.

Hi, Nagi.

Hi.

You did so great. (LAUGHS)

I made spicy pork scissor-cut noodles.

That's so impressive.

I'm not gonna lie, I was a bit worried for you,

but look at you.

This is incredible.

I'm very happy I got it on the plate.

I think we give it a crack.

Beautiful. Shall we go guests first?

Oh. Thank you.

It never gets easier standing up here.

You know what, Mimi?

This kind of food is my soul food.

Spicy Asian food.

Yeah.

Incredible depth of flavour.

The fact that you made those noodles in that time that you had

is phenomenal.

I can tell you now, I can't do it.

Mimi, I could just eat a mountain of that easily.

I love all the balance of flavours.

You've just got enough spice in there.

The sauce is really nice and rich

and it was a really good use of that pork mince.

Thank you.

Mimi, there are a number of reasons

why this dish is a monster success.

The first one is it feels like a dish that has taken an hour,

an hour and a half.

The second part is the depth of flavour in the sauce.

It's really round,

but it's also seasoned really, really well.

The pork mince is cooked perfectly.

And then we've all talked about the noodles.

They're A-grade. Like, they are absolute A-grade.

That little effect of the scissors...

Click-click-click-click!

..with the right shape is sexy,

it is elegant, it is easy to eat.

C'est superbe.

This is going to end up on my website.

I am going to credit you

and you're going to come and teach me how to make it.

Aw!

I really think you've nailed that.

I'm so impressed. So, so impressed.

Well done, Mimi, you're going nowhere.

Fantastic.

Thank you! (APPLAUSE)

It just feels so good.

I'm so proud of myself.

I'm definitely going to continue to bring that light heartedness

and brightness into my cooking.

Nat, bring us some dinner!

NAT: I think my plate looks good.

I think I did a really good job in packing flavours in 30 minutes.

But I only have three elements, so if my rice isn't good,

that fish needs to be perfect.

I'm a little bit worried.

So, Nat, what have you made us for dinner?

I've made you guys pla neung manao,

which is a Murray cod poached in a herbed coconut broth.

Classic Thai aromatics going on here.

Yeah. Beautiful.

(EXHALES SHARPLY)

Nat...sauce, broth,

it's really good!

The flavour is bang-on.

I love the lemongrass that comes through that.

Just that little bit of roundness from the coconut

with all of those bright, wonderful flavours in there as well.

Nat, I need you to make a big vat of this sauce for me,

because my team needs to try it.

It is so good.

Nat, it is delicious!

You've used a very thin piece of cod and I'm flabbergasted.

I am absolutely mesmerised by all this mix of ingredients...

..who make sense.

So well done to you! Well done.

Everyone's already said it, that sauce is bang-on.

Thank you.

But the rice is surprisingly a little bit mushy, Nat.

No, I agree. ANDY: Thanks, Nat.

Thanks, Nat. Thank you.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Good luck. Thanks.

I'm trying to be positive, but rice is overcooked.

I reckon I'm definitely doing the pressure test tomorrow.

Sumeet, we'd love to taste your dish next.

(APPLAUSE)

ANDY: Oh, my gosh.

SOFIA: Sorry, did you start early? You're hilarious.

Actual dinner.

Dinner is served!

SUMEET: There's a lot at stake for me at this point.

If I haven't nailed all the flavours,

it could put me in the danger zone of the bottom three dishes.

ANNOUNCER: In the mood to cook?

Grab your aprons

and try these delicious MasterChef-approved recipes

on 10Play.

So what I've put on the tray today for you is a pork kofta curry

in a butter chicken-style sauce and some cumin raita.

Sumeet, it's beautiful.

Oh, thank you. My God.

It's generous,

it's you, it's sauce boss.

It's all the things that we've learned to love.

It's a family-friendly dish and it's just really soulful.

It makes me feel good inside, so thank you for that.

Thank you, Sofia.

POH: I loved the meatballs.

They just had the perfect body.

And I thought they were the perfect size,

really kind of rustic and very hearty.

Yeah.

I think it's an enormous effort for 30 minutes.

Thank you.

That is fantastic.

Oh, thanks, chef.

30 minutes to deliver this,

to get down to that colour, that flavour.

The depth is just unbelievable.

I was trying each component separately and then I thought,

"Well, that's just silly because I actually want to eat

"the whole thing together."

And together it just works.

It really works.

In terms of using what you had in the box to make something

that is just yum... Yeah.

..I think you nailed it.

Thank you. ANDY: Thanks, Sumeet.

(APPLAUSE)

So cool to hear Nagi say all those wonderful things.

I'm feeling really grateful.

I love her even more.

Next 30-minute meal we'd like to taste belongs to Lochy.

LACHLAN: Middle Eastern spiced chicken breast

with a salsa verde and a tahini yoghurt.

Really clever combination of ingredients there,

and I really like the way you use the salsa verde here.

Thank you.

If this was on a menu, I would have gone for the dish.

Dinnertime, Darrsh. Let's go. (APPLAUSE)

DARRSH: This is a Keralan-style fish curry

with garlic rice and toasted peanuts.

Really enjoyed the sweet-and-sour nature of the curry.

I would happily eat that for a weeknight meal

any day of the week.

POH: Harry, we'd love to taste your dish next.

I've called this dish Monday Night Fish Night,

pan seared Murray cod, salsa verde,

and then a green bean salad.

All your expertise on fish is so clear.

This is the type of dish, I had a long, bloody day,

and this is actually allowing me to unwind.

This is perfect. Thank you, chef.

Next up, dinner at Sav's.

SAVINDRI: Poached Murray cod with an orange curry sauce.

The fish...

..it's a fair way overcooked.

And the beans...

..for me, there's just too much garlic.

NAGI: I personally would have liked

a little bit more seasoning in the sauce

to get a little bit more depth and complexity.

I felt it was lacking a little bit of salt.

Thank you.

Thanks, judges. (APPLAUSE)

Crispy, it's dinner time!

ALEX: Oh, yeah.

I'm walking this dish up to the judges

and although I know it's a really simplistic dish,

I'm just hoping that the flavours

are going to take me over the line today.

NAGI: Alex. Hi!

What have you made me for dinner?

Spiced chicken tenders and crispy potatoes

with a lemon yoghurt peri-peri sauce.

The potatoes are crispy, but they're just potatoes.

Yeah.

And the chicken is cooked nicely.

There's nothing wrong with the elements,

but it's just so basic.

It wasn't cook us the most basic dish

that you could execute with the ingredients.

It was cook something that would essentially wow us.

POH: When you do simple, you still have to show us

that you're moving forward,

and I feel like this dish is stepping backwards.

(EXHALES SHARPLY)

You know, there's something to be said about the fact

that the plate is basically empty,

that you've made something tasty.

The potential was there.

I think it was just getting a little bit more creative

to make it MasterChef worthy at this stage.

Yeah. Thanks, Alex.

(APPLAUSE)

I'm emotional because it is a little bit embarrassing,

to tell you the truth.

I am frustrated in myself.

I just had an absolute stump in my brain, so I'm really scared.

Come on down, Pezza.

PEZZA: I'm really proud of what I've cooked today.

It's something that's really, really close to my heart.

It's a home dish that the family loves,

so it's going to hurt today if they don't.

I'm a bit anxious at the moment.

Pezza, what have you made us for dinner?

I made Pezza's take on Mum's peanut chicken.

You know, one of the things I love about being here

and trying all these dishes

is seeing foods that you guys love to cook

and what appeals to your palate, and particularly the ones

that have got a bit of a backstory like this one here.

I think it's got more depth of flavour than I expected.

It's a little sweet for my personal palate,

but I can absolutely understand why you love it.

So thank you for bringing that here today.

Thank you.

Pezza, it's missing that 'je ne sais quoi' flair.

It's missing refinement.

It's missing a bit of soy

or maybe some Chinese vinegar.

I think you've used honey instead of sugar.

It might not be the right balance.

I just wanted more savouriness.

I feel like it's just too sweet.

This is a very retro version, and I was hoping you would make

some kind of spice paste out of your shallots

and your garlic and your chilli.

I really feel horrible saying this,

but I don't think I like it very much.

Thanks. Thanks.

I'm gutted going back to my bench.

This is probably one of the hardest...

..hardest pills to swallow today, it really is.

I've just got to pull my head out of my you know where

and just get back on top of this, you know.

Nagi, how did you think these guys went today?

You know what? I would have crumbled under the pressure. (LAUGHS)

So I think you did incredible.

Put your hands together for Nagi Maehashi, everyone.

(WHOOPING)

Alright, gang, some good news to start us off.

Some of you were able to cram a whole lot of flavour

into that half hour.

And one of you in particular hit us over the head with it.

Mimi!

(CHEERING)

Those noodles were next level.

We'd all take a seat at your dinner table

any day of the week.

You are safe.

Everyone else, if I say your name...

..step forward, please.

You're cooking in tomorrow's pressure test.

Alex.

That was the wrong dish to bring us today.

It was just too basic for this stage of the comp.

Pezza.

Unfortunately, mate, we wanted more complexity from your dish

and the sauce was just too sweet.

Sav.

Your fish was overcooked...

..the sauce needed more work,

and for some of us, the beans were way too garlicky.

Pezza, Sav, Alex, all three of you,

you've got to shake it off,

'cause this pressure test, it packs a real punch.

Night, everybody.

WOMAN: Goodnight.

ANNOUNCER: Tomorrow night on MasterChef Australia...

Please welcome Hugh Allen!

(CHEERING)

..when Australia's Chef of the Year brings a pressure test...

Today, you'll be making my...

..banksia pod.

Oh, my...

..you know it's going to be...

What in the world?

That is mind blowing.

..incredible.

This man's a genius, honestly.

Who in their right mind

has made anything like this before?