Recipes from first-ever MasterChef Canada winner as team opens new restaurant (2024)

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Eric Chong, the first-ever winner from MasterChef Canada, and his mentor Alvin Leung have opened their first restaurant together in Toronto's Chinatown and share a couple of their signature dishes.

Chop Suey - Diced Vegetables, Smoked Plum Sauce

• Blanched Corn (In Sugar Water for 20 seconds)
• Blanched Sugar Snap Peas (With Skin, Cut on a bias) (In Sugar Water for 15 seconds)
• Steamed Golden Beetroot (Olive Oil, Salt, Sugar until tender) then diced
• Green Apple, Julienne (Lemon Juice)
• Jicama, Cube RAW
• Red Pepper, Julienne (whites removed) RAW
• Carrot, Brunoise RAW
• Celeriac, Brunoise, RAW
• Bean Sprouts RAW
• Crispy Noodles
• Butter Lettuce

Smoked Plum Sauce:

• 200g Picked Smoked Plum Flesh + 900g Hot Water
• Equal Parts Smoked Plum Water & House Plum Sauce

House Plum Sauce:

• 500g Honey
• 50g Rice Vinegar
• 10g Finely Minced Thai Chilies
• 20g Minced Garlic
• 20g Minced Ginger
• 5g Chinese Five Spice
• Season with Salt to taste
  

1. To Extract Smoked Plum: Boil Smoked Plum with Hot Water until soft then push through a chinois to remove seeds and extract flesh.
2. Toss all vegetables excluding butter lettuce together with smoked plum sauce
3. Top with crispy noodles
4. Fill butter lettuce with filling and enjoy!
   

Chow Mein - Wok Fried Lobster & Chittara Noodles

Chittara Egg Noodles:

• 2.5 Cup AP Flour
• 9 Eggs (3 Whole, 6 Yolks)
• 1.5 tbs Olive Oil
• Touch of Water if needed
• Pinch of Salt
  

1. Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl, create a well in the middle
2. Add eggs and oil into the well
3. Beat eggs and oil in the well, while slowly incorporating the flour by pulling it in from the sides
4. Knead the dough until smooth, approximately 10 minutes
5. Rest dough for an hour
6. Roll out to 5mm thick, and dust with semolina
7. Cut with a Chittara
8. Boil till done

Lobster Sauce:

• 4 Lobster Heads & Shells
• 5 Green Cardamom Pods (Crushed & Toasted)
• 125g Shallot
• 30g Garlic
• 50g Ginger
• 180g Shao Hsing
• 40g Tomato Paste
• 540g Tomatoes
• 100g Lemongrass
• 5g Kaffir Lime Leaves
• 35g Green Onion
• 800mL Coconut Milk
• 20g Palm Sugar
• 5g Deseeded Red Thai Chili
  

1. Roast or Sauté Lobster heads until golden brown and caramelized
2. Add Shallots, Garlic, Ginger and sweat
3. Deglaze with Shao Hsing Cooking Wine
4. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring it to a boil
5. Simmer for 1 hour
6. Salt to taste
7. Strain through a chinois

Lobster:

1. Remove lobster tail from body by skewering the tail to make sure it doesn't curl and blanching lobster in boiling water for ~30 seconds then shocking it in an ice bath
2. Vacuum pack lobster tail with chunks of cold butter
3. Sous-Vide lobster tail for 15 minutes at 59.5°C
4. Remove and shock in ice bath
5. Heat Wok on high heat
6. Add Canola oil
7. Sauté some shallots and garlic
8. Add blanched noodles
9. Add cut up lobster
10. Stir fry then finish with sauce and some beansprouts
11. Top with lime segments and finely minced green onion

Left to right: Eric Chong, the first-ever winner from MasterChef Canada, Alvin Leung, three-star Michelin chef and executive chef Nelson Tsai of R & D Restaurant