This former MasterChef contestant may be a whizz in the kitchen, but it seems that everyone is talking about Poh Ling Yeow’s hair.
Fans were stunned to see the season one runner-up sport a brand new bob when she returned for the reality show’s eleventh season and were even more shocked when she chopped it all off yet again for a bold pixie cut.
In an exclusive chat with Now To Love, Poh opens up about the crazy reaction to her hair plus her mid-week cooking dramas and how MasterChef has changed since she first starred on the show.
Poh admits that her bob caused a lot of controversy with many telling her that she didn’t look like herself with her new hair, and some even wondering if she was going through a mid-life crisis!
“The bob was just so annoying in the kitchen, it wasn’t quite long enough for me to pull back properly and it’s just too much styling involved for my liking,” Poh confesses to us.
Poh found her bob to be a little too impractical.
(Image: Channel Ten)“I’m very low- maintenance and quite tomboy in the way that I dress so I thought it would be really nice to have a go at short hair because I’ve never really had gone short. I did at one point in my twenties but it wasn’t done fantastically and I wanted to have another go at it.”
“I really love it now, it’s so easy and very freeing and it suits someone my age as well I think.”
But the kitchen whizz confesses she didn’t expect the nation to react as it did.
“I never expected people to respond so adversely or so positively to anything I’ve done!”
Poh’s hairstyle sent the Internet into meltdown!
(Image: Instagram @pohlingyeow)It’s been over ten years since Poh walked through the MasterChef doors and while the standard of cooking goes up with every season, Poh is all about home cooking.
“Everyone thinks I’m the queen of fancy meals but not at all,” she says.
The TV personality, who has partnered with Crock-Pot to help Aussies get through the ‘mid-week meal dilemma’, says that by the time she gets to Wednesday she lacks inspiration of what to make for dinner but has a few handy go-to recipes that are made easier with her pot.
“I do a lot of stocks and sauces and stuff like that so you can just throw things into it and make a really quick meal. There’s a standard tomato sauce that I do a lot and then Asian-style noodle things that you can quickly bung in the microwave and heat up but one of my favourite meals is a basic beef stew.”
When the mid-week slump hits and you have no idea what to make for dinner, Poh has one handy hack.
(Image: Supplied)Want to cook like a MasterChef? Get Poh’s Cheat’s Hainanese Chicken Rice recipe here
Poh’s Cheat’s Hainanese Chicken Rice recipe is part of her new #WednesdaysWithCrockPot six-part recipe series in partnership with Crock-Pot, and while it will normally take you two hours, it’s just a 25 minute job with the Crock-Pot.
“The flavours of garlic, ginger, and spring onions sautéed together form the foundation for flavouring the rice, while the spicy chilli sauce and sweet kecap manis season the gently steamed chicken. Simply omit the chilli sauce for the little ones and I’m certain this will quickly become a family favourite!”
Watch the video recipe below. See the recipe after video…
Serves eight
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
3 large cloves garlic
3 tablespoons finely shredded ginger
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced spring onion
3 cups Jasmine or long grain rice
1L chicken stock
2 teaspoon soy
2 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons Shaoxin rice wine (available at Asian grocers and some supermarkets)
1-2 teaspoon salt
1 kg whole chicken thighs
For serving
1 continental cucumber, halved lengthways, sliced 5mm
1 bunch fresh coriander (optional)
1/2 cup kecap manis
Chilli sauce
1/4 cup Sriracha or any store-bought garlic chilli sauce
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons caster sugar
Yep we’re serious, it’ll only take you 25 minutes to make this.
(Image: Supplied)Method
Select SAUTÉ, then press START/STOP. Immediately combine the olive oil, garlic, ginger and spring onions in the Crock-Pot® Express Crock XL Multi-Cooker and stir until golden and fragrant.
Add the rice and stir until coated evenly with oil. Stir in the stock, soy, sesame oil and Shaoxin rice wine. Taste to season, then lay the chicken thighs evenly across the surface of the rice. Secure the lid ensuring the steam release valve is in the seal (closed) position. Press START/STOP.
Select RICE/GRAINS then press START/STOP.
When the cooking has finished, carefully release the pressure and allow to rest on KEEP WARM.
To make the chilli sauce, combine the chilli sauce ingredients in a bowl and stir well.
Serve with the cucumber on the side, then a good drizzle of kecap manis and chilli sauce to taste, over the chicken. Garnish with coriander.
