Original subtitles

ANNOUNCER: Previously on MasterChef Australia...

..Hong Kong hosted our home cooks...

Just look at this, you know?

I'm still pinching myself that I'm in Hong Kong.

..for a week of dazzling dishes.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: What you've done is really special.

POH: You've done brilliantly.

Honestly, I would eat that whole thing.

It's amazing.

Nat made the best version of Vicky Cheng's Michelin star dish.

ANDY: This is when you really turn from a home cook

into the chefs amongst them.

And... Wow!

..Nat and Darrsh won immunity

with their sensational street food.

(CHEERING)

Deep-fried team,

you're immune!

(CHEERING)

Tonight,

they've brought a bit of Hong Kong

back to the MasterChef kitchen,

and there's only one more chance

at immunity.

Back in Melbourne.

Back to it.

Yeah. It's good.

What a week we had.

It was a cracking week.

Let's go, guys.

A trip in Hong Kong was awesome,

like, and what I've learnt I think you can't teach somebody.

We just had a ball.

ANDY: Here they are!

(APPLAUSE)

What the hell is this? Ha-ha!

Welcome home, everybody!

Come on down.

We're back!

(LAUGHTER)

Sav, it's good to see ya.

We missed ya!

Oh.

It is what it is, but it's fine.

Missed you guys, too. Maybe.

Hey, but lucky for you,

you got a shot for immunity today.

Hell, yeah.

I do have the FOMO of not being in Hong Kong,

especially with the opportunity to get immunity.

But today is the day.

I hope you're feeling lucky,

because today's immunity challenge is...

..a lucky dip! Whoo-hoo!

Beneath these cloches are 30 Hong Kong-inspired ingredients.

One at a time,

you will pick two cloches,

and reveal the ingredient beneath.

Whatever it is

is what you'll be cooking with today.

If you're not happy with the ingredient that's revealed,

you can pick another one.

But you can only swap once.

Once you swap, the ingredient you didn't want goes out of play.

I'm just praying that some good fortune shines down on me,

and I end up with two things that I actually know how to use.

Let's see who's up first.

I'm so pleased.

Hi, Chef.

Well, there's only one left! (LAUGHS)

OK!

Lucky number five.

Harry, you're first cab off the rank.

Shall we go for a stroll down Lucky Dip Lane?

I've got a tactic here.

I'm not going to worry about trying to decide which things do.

Yeah.

Oh, my gosh!

(LAUGHS)

Very specific. That's it? That's the one.

Why did you go straight to this one?

So I've just gone the day of Lily's birthday, my wife.

I love it.

OK, Harry, I hope Lily's birthday serves you some good fortune.

Are you ready? Yeah, I'm ready, Poh.

Please make one of these cloches some seafood.

It is...

Black cardamom? Black cardamom.

OK, cool. Oh!

Yeah. That's good.

It's a pretty strong ingredient, you know, it's pungent,

it's got, like, a nice smokiness and earthiness to it.

I think I'll stick with it. Stick with it?

Yep. Alright, Harry, it's official.

Your first ingredient is black cardamom.

Cool. Sounds good.

Alright. Shall we go for another walkie?

Let's go. Let's go.

Um... I'll just, I'll follow you.

I think I'm just gonna go this one here, Poh.

You're so decisive! I'm making it easy for you, yeah.

I love it.

OK, and is this...

This is the month of Lily's birthday.

Lily's birthday. OK. Yeah.

Imagine if I got it wrong!

(LAUGHTER)

No, I'm confident. Alright. Are you ready?

Yeah, let's go. OK.

I'm hoping, under this cloche, it's a bit of a mellow ingredient,

because the black cardamom is so pungent and so punchy.

I just hope there's something mellow that I can just, like,

tie both of them together.

Black vinegar? What is it? (CHUCKLES)

It's sweetened vinegar sauce.

Ah!

OK, OK.

Yeah, I wanted something mellow, but... (LAUGHS)

..you don't get everything you wish for in this life, right?

And sweetened black vinegar, I've never heard of it,

but I was going with Lily's birthday,

so sticking with that.

This is gonna be really tricky.

I think I'm gonna keep it.

OK. It's official, Harry.

Your ingredients are black cardamom

and sweetened black vinegar.

Perfect.

Mimi, are you ready to go shopping?

Yes.

(SIGHS) I'm not a gambler.

I don't like taking risks.

I don't know. I'm very indecisive.

I like being in control.

I'm not, I'm not feeling this,

this side.

I think I'm gonna go middle. Middle?

Yeah. Straight up the guts.

Be kind to me, please.

You ready? Yeah!

Oh!

What is it? Yeah, it's red bean paste.

I don't see this having a savoury application.

It's strictly only sweet.

So I think I'm not going to go with it, because...

Straight up, can it?

I don't think I'm going to go with it, because the chances

of something, the next ingredient, being savoury,

might be high.

That means whatever you choose in the next two cloches

you have to use. I have to keep.

Game on.

Well, there's no going back now, is there? (LAUGHS)

Whatever's under this next cloche,

it's me and you, baby!

No, shake it up a bit.

You sure? Yeah.

Are we doing this? Yeah.

(LAUGHS) Stop!

Come on! Dried chillies!

(LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE)

OK.

That's really good! Good, that is good.

That's pretty good. That's pretty good.

Where are you heading?

The direct opposite cloche.

Yeah!

Whatever this is, you must use with dried red chilli.

OK. OK.

Come on, let's do it together. OK.

Three, two,

one.

Ah! Water chestnuts!

(LAUGHTER) Come on!

That's so good!

Yes! That's a combo.

Dried red chillies and water chestnut.

This is actually very exciting for me.

Sav, shall we go choose some ingredients?

Let's choose.

Well, you'll choose.

I'm not taking any blame for anything.

I'm gonna go with this one.

OK.

I am manifesting something savoury,

even though the thing that's under there's already there,

so I don't know what I'm trying to, like,

magic it into.

Oh, just rip the Band-Aid off.

Shrimp paste!

Oh!

It's an umami bomb.

I'd be an idiot to not, like, use it.

Nah, I'm keeping the shrimp paste.

Keeping the shrimp paste? For sho'.

She's keeping the shrimp paste!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Alright.

Where are we going next?

We're going seven. Alright.

That's this one for you, yeah? Yep.

You've got...

..tapioca pearls.

Ooh!

I'm not making a tapioca and shrimp paste dessert.

So you want to ditch tapioca pearls, which would mean your next choice...

I have to stick to. Yep.

I love tapioca. I love tapioca pudding.

But it's not... Not today.

Not today, Satan.

It's not going to happen.

Let's go number nine.

Number nine, same row.

Let's do it.

You've got okra!

Alright. I can work with that. (LAUGHS)

Nice.

There's a lot I can do with this,

because I'm lucky enough to know how to work with this ingredient

quite well.

Happy with shrimp paste and okra.

Lachie? Yeah.

Are you ready? Let's go, Chef.

Go, Lachie.

What is your favourite number?

Um,

Lil's birthday is the 20th,

and this is number 20, each way you look at it,

going from front to back, so... So you want this one?

This is the one that I want. Alright.

OK. Let's reveal.

Wood ear mushrooms!

Ooh!

(CHUCKLES)

What do you think?

Looking at your face... (LAUGHS)

..it's like a chicken who just found a fork!

Oh, my God. Jean-Christophe... (MIMI LAUGHS)

Say what?

(LAUGHS)

It's a very pungent mushroom.

Sure.

You know what?

I'm not going to go with it.

Are you sure? Yeah, I'm sure.

How strong and pungent that is, it can be,

I feel like it could be extremely overpowering.

My next two ingredients,

I'm going to be stuck with them.

OK. Are you ready?

I'm ready.

Yeah! Chilli bean sauce.

There we go, yeah!

I'm very happy with that one.

Chilli bean sauce. I can work with that in everything, pretty much.

This one?

Are you sure? Yep.

(THEY CHUCKLE)

Chinese sesame paste.

Alright. OK.

Oh, yeah? Yep.

That's so good.

Right now, he could make a ramen.

Pezza?

Shall we go find your two ingredients?

I don't think I want to!

Let's do it.

Really scared, Poh!

I think I'm unlucky.

I know that sounds bad,

but I'm always second in grand finals.

Three, six, nine,

12.

I can't believe it.

I reckon I've coached six grand finals senior teams

at local, and lost them all.

Two main women in my life

is my wife,

and my daughter's birthday,

so... Wow.

..that's where we're going. Number 12.

I was hoping no one took it.

So that's where we're going.

Hopefully she's... Mwah!

..with me.

Whatever's under here represents Jen, your wife?

Yep. Are you ready?

Probably a bit of fire. That's what she's like, so...

Aww! ..probably a bit of spice.

Come on, Jen,

bring me something good, darl.

Alright, Pezza,

Jen is...

..salted egg yolk.

(LAUGHTER)

(LAUGHTER CONTINUES)

Is Jen salty?

Salted egg yolk?

What do you think you could do with this?

Not much. No much?

No.

Look, I'm going to make the big call.

Yeah, I'm going to leave it. You gonna leave it?

Alright.

I think we're going to change

our plan of attack. Yeah?

Let's get away from the women in my life...

(LAUGHTER)

..and let's go to the boys in my life.

They're failing you!

First one will be Isaac.

He's the 16th.

Come on, boy.

Alright, Pezza. You must cook with this.

And Isaac is...

Alright, Pezza, you must cook with this.

And Isaac is...

..bamboo shoots.

I'm going from bad to worse.

What are my family doing to me?

I think I got to get rid of him.

Don't really know that one either, Poh,

but it looks like we're cooking with it.

(LAUGHTER)

If only there was a panda around you could ask for some advice.

What it tastes like! (LAUGHTER)

The last pick, I've got to get something good,

you know, like I've had so much bad luck.

Lock her in, boy. OK.

Your second ingredient, and you must cook with this,

is...

..winter melon.

(JEAN-CHRISTOPHE LAUGHS)

Jesus Christ!

Poor old Pezza. You couldn't have picked anything worse.

OK, that was a bit of fun.

You have 75 minutes

to create your lucky dip dish.

We must be able to taste both your ingredients.

Whoever cooks the best dish will win immunity.

Your time starts...

..now!

Come on, everybody! Come on, come on!

Bamboo shoots and winter melon.

I'm thinking the judges are going to do something,

come over and say, "Ah, we're joking ya, Pezza.

"You can actually have this."

But nope.

Oh, well, I'm just going to wing it, Chef.

I've got to today.

It's like going to a sweetshop, no? Surely?

Um...

..really, really scared on what I'm going to cook.

I'm really excited about this, because these ingredients

are really going to challenge the contestants.

I think Mimi, with water chestnuts and dried chillies,

should absolutely fly. Yeah.

Yeah. High expectations.

And even Sav - okra and shrimp paste.

Like, they can go really anywhere. Yeah, yeah.

Oh, yes. Yeah, absolutely.

Who do you think's got the biggest challenge ahead of them?

Uh, I think Harry,

because he does have two flavour bombs -

the sweet vinegar, and then he's also got the black cardamom.

Balancing them is going to be the trick.

You know, you can also look at Pezza - the bamboo shoots

or the winter melon.

I don't mind what he's got.

I know we're having a bit of a joke,

because he's never seen or used either of those ingredients before.

The thing is, with cooking, it's like music.

There's always a possibility... Mm, mm.

..for a lovely serenade.

(LAUGHS)

I am going for immunity today.

This is a ripper,

ripper combination of ingredients.

I'm so, so lucky.

Red chillies and water chestnut -

two ingredients that I'm incredibly familiar with.

This is an awesome day in the MasterChef kitchen.

Meep-meep!

Hi, team!

How are you, Mimi? Good, good.

So is this just like your dream challenge or what?

It is a little bit. So tell us what you're making.

Um, I'm making fish dumplings in a sour Sichuan broth.

Nice.

Um, but it's going to be served like agnolotti.

Cantonese and Italian. 100%.

That's great. This is, uh, this...

I mean, this whole week has been insane.

And this challenge, just seeing rows and rows and rows

of Cantonese ingredients, like, I just felt proud to stand here.

Yeah.

So I am really going for a ripper dish,

and I think it's going to be so tasty.

Thanks for that. Yeah. Thanks, Mimi.

My plan is to use the red chillies in my spicy fish broth

and use the water chestnuts in my agnolotti filling.

Agnolotti is filled pasta and it's quite like a mini dumpling.

I'm using the fish flesh in the dumpling dough,

which makes it extra fishy and delicious.

Come on, mate.

I have the chilli bean sauce as well as Chinese sesame paste,

and I'm really happy with those two choices.

I've got a great idea in my head

of doing like a five-spice fried chicken,

um, tossed with the chilli bean sauce and the sesame paste as well,

with a side of cucumbers.

Everybody loves fried chicken,

and I remember seeing so much fried chicken in Hong Kong

and I'm like, yeah, I can put my own twist on it.

I think chicken and sesame in the Cantonese world

goes really well together,

and obviously chilli will just tie in really well with it.

Let's go, Lochy. Go, Lochy!

Fried chicken is simple, so I've really got to dig deep

and probably cook the best fried chicken I've ever cooked.

Alright.

Fried chicken. Mm-hmm.

I'm pretty happy with the, um, twist in fate today.

I love okra.

It's so beautiful.

It's actually one of my favourite things to eat when I make it

the Sri Lankan way.

But I also don't want to do something Sri Lankan

because I've got the shrimp paste

and I really want to make that shine.

Sav. Hello.

Hi, Sav. I've gone not Sri Lankan for once.

So tell me what you're making.

Kingfish, like, yellow curry. Mm.

And it's got okra through it.

What culture?

Malaysia. Malaysian.

Yeah. Yeah. Sounds Malaysian to me. Yeah.

And I've got the, um, shrimp paste going through the okra.

There's a crispy skin barra as well.

When you said the words crispy skin...

Yes.

..how are you gonna make sure it is crispy?

Well, um, I...

..need it on a high heat.

Fish weighed down,

and we'll cross our fingers.

Can't wait to taste it. Thank you.

I realised that I should have just not said anything

about crispy skin on my fish,

because now I've definitely committed to it.

Um, it is very stressful.

I don't know why I did that to myself, but now I'm committed

so I have to go for it.

The most challenging part of the cook for me, I think,

will just be making sure that the black cardamom is used correctly

and it shines through enough.

Um, because, yeah, I've never cooked with it before.

So, um, that's a big challenge.

I've never used black cardamom and sweet and black vinegar

either on their own, let alone together.

They are two very potent ingredients and they could overpower the dish.

So today I'm drawing a bit of inspiration

from our Hong Kong trip.

I ate so much char siu pork the whole time we were there.

I had it probably every day.

So I'm just doing my take on that.

I'm also going to do some braised daikon, which is also inspired

from a cook in Hong Kong.

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

Char siu pork.

It's a classic Chinese barbecue dish,

and hopefully the black cardamom and the black vinegar could work

in the char siu glaze.

Harry. Hey, gents.

Char siu pork fillet. Yeah, correct.

OK, here's the thing with this.

Yep.

You have the hardest pairing

'cause you've got two beastie flavours.

For sure. You got two bombs.

So your challenge was to balance the black cardamom

and the sweet vinegar.

Yep. That's hard.

Yep.

I didn't think that I had the hardest pairings today,

but obviously I do.

So, uh, yeah.

Pretty terrifying.

POH: It smells like Hong Kong in here!

You have 45 minutes to go!

45! Let's go!

Come on, guys!

Smells good, Harry.

JOSH: It's lucky dip day,

and I've pulled out bamboo shoots and winter melon.

A nightmare, I think, is an understatement.

How did I end up with this?

I'm pretty stressed, but you've got to go back on memories.

And I am definitely taking inspiration from Hong Kong.

Pezza.

Do you reckon you've got this? Hey, Pez.

I hope so today.

So tell me what you're making.

So I'm gonna make some egg noodles today.

Just gonna have duck breasts that I'm going to put over top.

I'm going to make a broth and pour a broth over

so it's like a soupy mix, that real hearty Hong Kong sort of food.

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Nice.

And I'm going to put the bamboo shoot with the melon in the stock.

How did you arrive at your dish?

Oh, I really enjoyed it in Hong Kong.

Went out with Mimi one night and we had a real late night.

And we had a hearty soup with, um, wong-t...wontons in it.

And I've just seen a fella over a bit further had...

..he'd sliced duck breast or pulled duck over top of his,

and it looked really yummy

and I thought, I wish I had what he had, you know?

And... So you're going off that?

Yeah, I'm going off what... I love it! I love that.

..he looked...he looked like he was enjoying it. He was scoffing it.

I love that your dish is kind of inspired by, like,

food perving on someone.

Not bad! Food voyeurism, isn't it?

You want that broth to have a really nice depth and richness to it.

Yep. Yep.

You're a butcher. You know what gives broth flavour. Thanks, girls. Appreciate it.

Thank you.

With the broth, we're trying to get all these flavours,

but I want to incorporate this winter melon and bamboo shoots.

I've decided to cut it into cubes.

The bamboo is so hard and fibrous,

so it's going to have to go in earlier.

And the winter melon is...it reminds me a lot of a watermelon,

so it's going to need nowhere near the same amount of time to cook.

So I'm hoping flavours mould together to make a really good dish.

How you tracking, Pez? You good, mate?

Feeling alright, bro. Nice work, mate.

Keep pushing.

The food is smelling and looking ridiculously good today.

And I am pumped. Absolutely.

Yeah, I'm particularly excited about Mimi.

She's doing a fish agnolotti with Sichuan pepper broth.

I think this is absolutely her challenge to win,

because she's missed out a few times in Hong Kong,

and I think she's got a little bit of an axe to grind.

Yeah. Uh, is that the right term?

Yeah. She's gonna chop someone's head off.

Yeah, yeah.

Harry has been inspired by char siu, so he's doing a version of that.

He's chosen sweet black vinegar and black cardamom

as his ingredients, but he is not super familiar with either of them.

Sav, uh...

So the curry that she's making is very attractive in colours.

The smell is definitely a superb.

Pezza up the back,

who was so unfamiliar with his two ingredients -

winter melon and his bamboo shoots.

Winter melon, I think he's got the right idea for.

Bamboo shoots, he's got them in big cubes.

So will he be able to go,

that's gonna be texturally a bit of a challenge for us? Yeah. Yeah.

He needs to try that and adapt.

Well, I'm really excited about the tasting

because it actually smells like Hong Kong in here.

Yeah. Yeah.

Looking good, Harry. Yeah. Nice work, Haz.

HARRY: Alright, so I've got my pork marinating.

Uh, and my daikons are braising.

I'm gonna set up a steaming basket for the vegies.

Char siu pork. It's a tricky protein to get right,

especially considering you have to use two strong flavours.

Black cardamom and the black vinegar.

Beautiful.

Epic colour, Haz. Looks sick.

Thanks, guys.

Gotta keep tasting things and make sure that

I've just worked out that balance.

I'm doing braised daikon because I was just inspired

from my cook with Chef Vicky,

and it's going to be the perfect accompany to that pork.

Also, just some beautiful greens.

The greens are something that I was just craving

at the end of the Hong Kong trip

because I just had, like, the meat sweats

for like a whole week and...

You just get to the airport.

I was like, "Oh, God, I need something green,"

and just ate a bucket load of Chinese vegetables.

The most challenging part would just be balance.

Sort of trying to learn as I go with it.

Ole, ole, everyone!

30 minutes left to go!

Ole!

On your mark!

LACHLAN: Uh, you know what? I'm feeling pretty good.

I've got my chicken in my marinade.

I've got to bread 'em, get 'em into the fryer, fry 'em off,

and then really work on my sauce and my cucumber side salad.

It is simple, in a way.

Fried chicken. Right?

But my concern is that sauce that I'm going to coat in

needs to hero my two ingredients.

So I'm making a chilli bean sauce and sesame paste coating,

which I'm going to toss the chicken in so you get that full punch

of both those flavours working together.

I hope the judges taste that sesame delicious coating over the top

with that chilli hit, that five-spice breading,

and I just really need to make sure my fried chicken is cooked perfectly.

Hopefully this is a winner today to get me up into immunity.

I'd absolutely love that.

SAV: Mmm. Yum.

I am working on my curry sauce.

I have blistered the okra that I'm using.

I still need to fry my fish off.

I'm bringing a pan up to temp to do that.

Sav.

Hello.

Uh, crispy skin barra

with yellow curry and okra. Yes. Yes.

Yes. It's like a shrimp, um, okra almost.

And what Jean-Christophe sucking in right now,

where are we at with that?

Is it gonna be hot? Sour?

(COUGHS) Is it gonna be earthy? Spicy?

It's gonna be more, um, coconut milk and tangy driven.

Oh! Um, it's got...it's got heat to it.

So... But it's not, like, crazy.

I don't think it's crazy hot.

Oh, you don't think?

I don't think that's like... Ha!

It is going to get finished with coconut cream.

I'm gonna balance it at the end as well.

It is very, very flavour... Super.

It's spicy.

Good luck, Sav. Thank you.

Good luck. Smelling lovely, by the way.

Thank you.

I really like the flavour of the curry sauce.

On the okra,

I almost sort of want it as a warm salad type of thing,

where the shrimp paste forms the dressing.

I really hope that the judges love the okra as much as I do.

Ah, sugar, sugar, sugar.

Go Mims. (CLAPS)

MIMI: I'm very happy with where it's at.

My Sichuan sour broth is simmering away, my crispy chilli oil is done

and I'm ready to move on to my agnolotti.

So I'm just taking an Italian technique and applying it

to Cantonese flavours.

OK.

Mimi. Wow. Yep.

Ooh, these look cool. Look at you.

Sorry. I'm really concentrated.

Um... Little Cantonese agnolotti.

Yeah, basically. Love it.

What's in here?

Uh, water chestnut and fish.

Coriander.

Uh, is the broth going to be clear?

No. Nup?

Uh, so it's inspired by Chinese Sichuan sour...sour fish soup.

OK. Yeah.

Quite fatty and gelatinous.

Yeah.

I know how worried you are about the pasta.

I'd be...I'd be looking at that broth, 'cause right now,

I know you got that...a lot of pork fat in there, but...

Yeah. ..but it is like...

..it's making my lips stick together.

Right. Really?

So... Yeah.

It's extremely fatty.

Good luck. Thank you, Andy.

I'm feeling so nervous.

I don't want to miss the last chance for immunity

at the end of Hong Kong week.

I need to figure out a way to fix it.

Going to pull it way back.

The judges were concerned about the fattiness of my broth.

I know that while I've been rolling out my dumplings,

it's overreduced slightly.

It's just gotten to a point where it's really sticky

on the mouth, but I'm pairing it with a lot of pickle,

so I'm hoping that the fattiness and the sourness of the pickles

actually just, like, find that balance in the middle.

It's time to try your luck. Three minutes to go!

Let's go, Sav!

SAV: Three minutes to go, I've got my yellow curry sauce.

I have a very funky shrimp paste fried rice, almost.

I've got my okra.

It's got this char on it

and it's so beautiful.

And this tiny little snapper fillet is so delicate.

I did promise crispy skin,

so that's a bit of a stressor for me at this point in time.

Just need to make sure it's executed well.

Being able to do fried chicken and do it extremely well

is where it's at, so...

I need this fried chicken to be juicy and tender.

Perfect for a second fry.

I take it out.

It's looking really dark,

like, there has got lots of flavour in that breading.

There's spices in there. It's looking perfect.

Exactly how I thought it was going to be.

And now I get to toss through that sauce and I try a little bit

off the side.

Got it.

And wowee, it is bangin'. I love it.

Looks epic, Haz. Nice work, mate.

HARRY: Thanks, guys.

I've got my perfectly cooked pork,

and I brush just a little bit more of that glaze over the top.

That's looking good.

It's a little bit caramelised.

It's sticky, it's sweet.

It's a little bit tangy from that black vinegar

and the black cardamom.

The flavours work well together.

I've got three slices of that beautifully braised daikon

and then also just some beautiful greens.

It smells amazing.

I'm stoked with it.

Ooh, looking good, Harry.

What's left, Pez?

I think I've brought it back from the dead.

You brought it back from the dead? Yep.

I taste the broth for my duck noodle soup.

It's really nice.

It needs to get strained and put into the thing.

I get the noodles. They're cooked beautifully.

I put them in the bowl.

I toss the winter melon and bamboo shoots through the noodles.

And on top I lay this beautiful duck.

I can remember being in that...that little place,

having a feed of noodle soup,

and looked over to old mate

and he's got duck going and I just wished that I was eating it.

So I'm hoping that it works,

but I'm not sure on the...the winter melon and the bamboo shoots,

so fingers crossed.

Last immunity of the week and only one minute to go!

Come on, guys! (CHEERING)

Go Mims!

MIMI: My broth is done with my pickle mix.

I feel like it's so much better than what it was.

It's awesome.

I've taken my agnolotti out of the water

and they're beautifully cooked.

Hopefully this little bowl of fish agnolotti

is what's going to get me that immunity.

It looks good.

We're hitting the gong on Hong Kong in ten...

Nine... ..seconds! Oh.

(LAUGHTER)

Sorry.

What are we doing? Wait, wait, wait. Sorry.

Ten!

ALL: Nine!

Eight!

Seven!

Six!

Five!

Four!

Three!

Two!

One!

Yeah!

SAV: I'm pretty happy. I really like the sauce.

Um, but the fish skin,

I am concerned about what the judges would say about that, though.

SOFIA: Love the energy in the room today, guys.

First dish we'd like to taste

belongs to Pezza!

I'm nervous going up to tasting.

My biggest concerns are the bamboo shoots and the winter melon.

Wow.

So, dreading what they're going to say.

What were your ingredients? And what did you cook?

Winter melon and bamboo shoot.

And today I've made you duck and noodle soup.

Can't wait to dive in. Shall we? Mm!

ANDY: Pezza.

The duck.

The render on it is dynamite, mate.

Good concept. Right?

I think that that was going to be the hardest thing

for you to get right, is what to do with those two mystery ingredients.

I think definitely with the winter melon you got there.

Having it in a soup was definitely the right call.

It's got that really lovely, slippery texture on it,

and it does give a nice texture to the soup as well.

For me, I think the one that you could have done better

was the bamboo shoots.

It needed to be finer.

Yep.

Then you would have been on the money.

It's a bit unconventional, the cubes.

I think if you'd had these huge chunks of the winter melon

and then, like, a julienne of the bamboo shoot,

that would have been exactly the right mouthfeel you'd want

with that dish.

But the broth is really lovely.

I think the duck is beautiful and succulent still.

You've done a really great job.

Thanks, Poh.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: It's colourful. It's generous.

And I think your broth is fantastic.

It's got that little bitterness, sweetness.

Very, very tasty.

Thanks.

Is this the best dish so far?

I don't know, we haven't seen anything else. But...

This is the best dish so far. Yeah, it's best dish so far!

But you know what?

Well done. And thank you.

Thanks, guys.

Well done, Pez.

Good job.

Well done, brother.

Brother.

Next up, Sav.

I should have just kept my mouth shut and not said anything

about crispy skin on my fish.

It's crunch time, literally.

(SUCKS TEETH)

ANNOUNCER: In the mood to cook?

Grab your aprons and try these delicious MasterChef-approved recipes

on 10 Play.

ANDY: What were your two ingredients?

My two ingredients were shrimp paste and okra.

I made a Malaysian style barramundi yellow curry with charred okra

dressed in shrimp paste and a funky rice.

These guys were all inspired by Hong Kong.

I was inspired by Adelaide because I spent my week in Adelaide.

I love that!

How about trying to get your... your skin crispy?

I was trying to get the skin crispy, but I don't know how it's gone.

(CUTLERY CLATTERS)

Sav.

The fish...

Crispy skin?

You've done a really good job, in my opinion.

Phew!

For me, it's your use of the shrimp paste that I really adore.

If there was funky rice written on a menu

with or without an explanation, I would 100% order it.

And I love that rice.

I love that it's got that strong umami flavour through it.

I think you nailed it.

Thank you.

The fish is crispy enough.

I love it.

Your shrimp paste is mellowed very well.

Okra is, for me, the most boring ingredient on the planet.

But you know what? I've enjoyed it.

You've convinced me once again.

Yay!

It's lovely. It's cooked.

It's the right tenderness.

And that char - ping!

Bit of garlic.

That's superb.

A very accomplished result.

Well done to you.

Nice one, Sav! Cheers to you, Sav.

Thanks, judges. Thank you.

I am feeling very encouraged.

And absolutely I want immunity.

Well done, mate. I just wanted... Thank you.

Next dish is from Lochy.

Go Lochy!

I am really happy with this dish.

Like, this is something that I would actually love to serve

if I have a restaurant.

My Hong Kong style southern fried chicken.

It's really, really good.

Lochy, what were your lucky dip ingredients and what have you made?

Chinese sesame paste and a chilli bean sauce.

And I've made a sesame paste and chilli bean fried chicken

with a chilli bean cucumber salad.

POH: I'm going in.

ANDY: Get in there. Going in.

The fried chicken.

Marinade is epic.

Like, it's so delicious.

Thank you, chef.

Penetrating to the chicken in such a short amount of time too.

I love the balance between the sesame and the chilli in that.

So well done, mate. Thank you.

Think you fried your chicken really well.

I was curious as to how you were gonna use the two main ingredients

as your coating sort of sauce,

because it's, for me, it's a little bit

not quite the right thing for the fried chicken,

but having tasted it, it tastes really good.

Well done, mate. Thank you. Thank you, chef.

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

HARRY: I'm really proud of this plate of food.

I think it looks great on the plate, but it also tells a story

with my journey in Hong Kong and just everything that I loved

about Hong Kong.

Very Hong Kong colours and plating.

Thank you.

What were your ingredients, Harry? And what have you made us?

Black cardamom and the sweetened black vinegar sauce.

And I've made you a version of char siu pork.

Done some braised radishes and some steamed greens.

So, be honest with me. Yep.

How much char siu did you actually eat in Hong Kong? (LAUGHS)

I ate a lot.

An arm's worth? Yeah, I had so much.

Yeah, I literally got home,

I don't think I can look at pork for like the next month, so...

Yeah. (CHUCKLES)

Harry.

I really, really like the dish.

I think you've done a fabulous job.

I love the radishes.

They've got this, uh, bitterness to them that I really love.

Pork is so succulent,

yet still has those beautiful char siu flavours,

but with a little bit of an edge with that vinegar.

Thanks, Poh.

In that char siu, you just get that warmness

of the black cardamom.

That is the reason why this is like the Aussie...your version

of char siu.

This plate of food right here, it is just a huge exclamation mark

on how much that trip changed you as a cook.

So well done, Harry.

Harry, it is bloody delicious.

I think the pork is not only cooked really well for the dish

and still juicy and tender,

it's got that lovely, glossy, glistening quality,

which is exactly what I associate with char siu as well.

The daikon is perfect.

I really love it.

All those flavours that it's absorbed just kind of dance

on the back of your palate.

Thanks, guys.

(APPLAUSE)

Let's go!

The next dish is Mimi.

MIMI: I am so nervous.

Not being able to win immunity in Hong Kong, I am so devastated,

and I just...I'm so hungry to redeem myself today.

Tell us, what was your lucky picked ingredient?

Fried chillies and water chestnut.

This is fish agnolotti with a sour and spicy broth.

SOFIA: It's very appetising.

Are you very much looking forward to get an immunity?

I almost care a little bit too much,

because I think at the end of that trip to Hong Kong,

it felt like I let a lot of people down.

People I didn't even know.

Had a lot of people specifically speaking Cantonese to me,

cheering me on.

Getting emotional just thinking about it.

Oh, bless you.

So, like, not...

..winning immunity felt like I let them down.

And I... Haaa!

That really made me feel like I was now...had a lot on my back.

And I just want to be able to turn that into encouragement

and not pressure.

Yeah. Yeah.

SOFIA: Mimi.

You've nailed this one.

Thanks, Sofia.

Inside your perfectly crimped pasta,

you get the fish, yes,

but then you've actually used your water chestnut in a way

that is reminiscent of how it's used in Cantonese cooking.

Yeah.

So you get that wet, watery crunch in there as well,

which is just a delight.

That's restaurant ready as far as I'm concerned.

Thank you.

Your agnolotti, the way you did it is really good.

It's done very well. It's stuffed very well.

It's garnished very well.

It's proportioned very well.

And it's cooked very well.

So, bingo. Centre point.

I'm not going to bang the table. Straight up!

I already took my hands off it.

I'm not gonna bang that table.

But you know what? Well done to you.

It's so scoopable and more-ish and you just want to just...

..scoff it down.

I think it's genius that you've used all that gelatinous meat

to create this...

..almost emulsion, the sauce.

It's so beautiful and rich and thick that it's white.

The beauty about this dish is that it needs every single element

to be itself.

You know, the pasta needs the broth, which needs the crumb,

which needs the little garnish, crunchy garnish,

which needs the chilli oil.

It all just works together.

Thanks, guys. Thanks, guys.

My pride really needed that.

A couple of your dishes took your Hong Kong ingredients

to the next level.

Harry.

A fresh take on a classic char siu

that we could really sink our teeth into.

Mimi.

From Hong Kong to Italy, eh?

That dish, it was a universal love language.

Both good dishes.

But one, it embodied the yin and the yang that we were looking for.

And that dish...

..was cooked by you,

Mimi!

Congratulations.

Immunity is yours!

Thanks, Sofia. How does it feel?

Uh, it feels incredible

'cause there's not a lot of cooks left to go, so, yeah,

um, definitely going to take back and simmer in this for a little bit.

OK, mes amis. Goodnight and good luck.

Au revoir.

ANNOUNCER: Sunday night on MasterChef Australia...

It is...the time auction! Yes!

Yes!

All their ingredients come at a price.

Five minutes, Pezza. Ten.

You got ten? 15 with Pezza.

20. 20.

5. 25.

I want the fish.

One of these other guys wants to take it off me,

they're gonna have to pay for it.

And by the end of the cook,

someone will be going...

I'm running out of time.

..going...

You have your work cut out for you.

..gone.

I'm just gonna have to pull something

out of my hat.

Captions by Red Bee Media