Hunger 2023 Film - Fried Rice Scene.

Have you ever come across a video on YouTube and wondered why the scene turned out the way it did?  I mean the film “Hunger,” which is on Netflix in the Philippines.

The film follows a young girl named Aoy, who helps run her family's stir-fried noodles restaurant in Thailand's Old Town in Bangkok. One day, she receives an invitation that could be the opportunity of a lifetime, but at the cost of leaving the family business she has known her whole life to join Team Hunger. Imagine getting the chance to cook on Thailand's number-one luxury chef's table team, led by famous chef Paul. Here, Aoy has a chance to learn techniques many culinary schools don't teach. But I’m not trying to talk about the whole film; I want to point out a scene. The fried Rice scene.

In one scene, Chef Paul asks two chefs to compete: Aoy and another Sous Chef named Patt.

Chef Paul asks the two to prepare a simple dish: fried rice.  

Of course, Sous Chef Patt makes a comment saying it is too easy, almost asking for a challenge, which is going to bite him in the ass later.

I found the video clip so interesting because, when I was in college, I didn't study culinary arts; I wanted to point that out.  Second, I studied graphic design, and one of the most important lessons we learned is that presentation matters.

So, in the clip, when I saw the two dishes of fried rice presented to Chef Paul,  I thought the Sous Chef, Patt, was going to win.  Because the fried rice he made was presented beautifully, it almost looked like an art piece that you would see in a menu or in a magazine.

Aoy's dish looked plain and simple, like something cooked in a regular kitchen.  And yet, the one who got Chef Paul's approval was Aoy, and she won.  I didn’t understand why. Could it have been because Chef Paul liked Aoy and wanted to help her achieve her dream of becoming a Chef?  I wanted to know why, so I asked someone who I knew would have an answer; a Chef I actually worked with gave me a very interesting answer.  

You see, for fried rice, it is best to use rice made the day before and refrigerated rather than fresh, because day-old cold rice has less moisture.

When it came to cooking, Aoy and Sous Chef Patt used different cooking ingredients.  

For example, Aoy used cooking oil and a wok with high fire.  Sous Chef Patt mocks Aoy when she grabs the wok.

When making fried rice, you must understand that a wok and very high heat are the best way to make it. Because of the design, the wok is deep, has sloped sides, and let’s not forget the curved bottom, which allows the cook to cook at high heat. The design gives the cook or chef easy tossing and even mixing access, without any utensils spilling.  

Anyway, Sous Chef Patt used butter in a pan over medium heat.   Chef Paul notices this right off the bat.

Then I want to point out that Sous Chef Patt added diced veggies such as carrots and peas, and to top it off, he added shrimp to the fried rice.  

The chef I worked with explained several errors in Sous Chef Patt's dish; first, buttering the rice is not a good idea.  Some customers might have a dairy allergy;

the fresh rice was too moist because it came straight from the rice maker, so it won’t hold up when mixed and would be too mushy.  Then there were the diced veggies.  In every restaurant, veggies usually cost between $0.50 and maybe $2, whether they're fresh or frozen mixed veggies.  And finally, the shrimp, a major error because seafood is expensive and many people have seafood allergies.  And finally, the chef asked for a simple dish; he didn’t ask for creativity, he didn’t ask for additional items; he only requested fried rice.  

There you have it, plain and simple. And needless to say, Sous Chef Patt is not happy he lost to a girl, and Chef Paul grabs Sous Chef Patt's culinary knives and shoves them to Patt's chest and tells him to get out.