British envoy to MasterChef UK: No such thing as ‘crispy rendang’

PETALING JAYA: The chicken rendang served with nasi lemak is "never crispy", says the British High Commissioner to Malaysia.

The High Commissioner Vicki Treadell had weighed in on the dish after Malaysians on social media criticised the judges of MasterChef UK, questioning whether they were qualified to be criticising Asian foods.

"It can be chicken, lamb or beef. It is never crispy and should also not be confused with fried chicken, sometimes served with nasi lemak," Treadell said on Twitter on Tuesday (April 3).

. @MasterChefUK @JohnTorode1 & @GregAWallace #Rendang is an iconic #Malaysian national dish not to be confused with Indonesian options
It can be #chicken #lamb or #beef
It is never #crispy & should also not be confused with the#friedchicken sometimes served with #nasilemak https://t.co/3sCBsgiwgQ — VickiTreadell (@VickiTreadell) April 3, 2018

Treadell also said "rendang" was an iconic Malaysian national dish and should not to be confused with the Indonesian variant.

She also tagged the MasterChef UK twitter account and the two judges who had commented on the dish, Gregg Wallace and John Torode.

Treadell has Malaysian roots, having been born in Ipoh, Perak.

On Monday (April 2), MasterChef UK contestant Zaleha Kadir Olpin's had prepared a traditional rendition of nasi lemak with chicken rendang during the MasterChef UK competition, but was eliminated from the quarter-finals of the programme.

Both Wallace and Torode had criticised the rendang that came with Zaleha's nasi lemak.

Wallace criticised the chicken skin for not being crispy enough, saying that he couldn't eat the chicken because of this.

"The chicken skin isn't crispy. It can't be eaten and all the sauce is on the skin, I can't eat," Wallace said.

Torode said that the chicken rendang had not enough time to cook down and become "lovely and soft and falling apart".