British-Malaysian comedian Nigel Ng, better known by his online persona “Uncle Roger,” expressed displeasure at how American cook and TV personality Rachel Ray prepared a Filipino-style garlic rice.
A TikTok clip of a portion of his reaction video was shared by a Pinoy on Twitter on Tuesday, July 18, with the caption: “This is not Filipino Garlic Rice!”
It was accompanied by a loudly crying face emoji.
This is not Filipino Garlic Rice! 😠pic.twitter.com/teaOGlGqY9
— Renan (@renanbarco) July 18, 2023
The TikTok clip is available on Uncle Roger’s account while the full video can be seen on his YouTube channel @mrnigelng with the title “Uncle Roger HATE Rachael Ray Adobo.”
The first part of the comedian’s video shows his reaction to Rachel’s preparation and cooking of the Filipino-style chicken adobo, a braise considered a national dish of the country.
Uncle Roger called out the American personality — who he described as the “Karen of cooking” — for cooking the dish differently than how Pinoys would prepare it.
For instance, Rachel immediately added loads of black pepper to the pot without putting the chicken yet.
She also used Jalapeños. In common Pinoy chicken adobos, however, Jalapeño is not in the recipe.
Uncle Roger likewise expressed disappointment that Rachel added spring onions to the mix, saying it should be added as a “topping.”
The particular ingredient is similarly not included in common Pinoy chicken adobos, although some households add red onion to its sauce.
RELATED: Wrong ingredients? Uncle Roger has this to say about Food Network’s ‘traditional adobo’
Meanwhile, the second part of the comedian’s video features his reaction to Rachel preparing garlic rice, with the latter commenting that it is a “really big deal in Filipino cookings.”
In the Philippines, garlic rice is usually associated with breakfast meals. This type of rice is also locally known as “sinangag.”
In the video, Rachel threw huge garlic slices into boiling chicken stock, much to Uncle Roger’s astonishment.
“You just fry the garlic, fry the rice, and put [it] together, that’s it!” he exclaimed with frustration.
The American cook then added uncooked rice and coriander seeds, further aggravating the comedian. Coriander seeds are not present in common Filipino recipes of garlic rice.
Once the rice was cooked, Rachel sprinkled it with toasted sesame seeds.
Uncle Roger described the result as “disgusting,” adding that the rice was “clumpy” instead of having what he expected was a fried texture.
“Ms. Rachel, what are you doing?” he said.
Filipinos who saw the video also had similar reactions.
“Ginawang palitaw, amp, hahaha,” a Twitter user said, referencing a flat sweet rice cake snack topped with sesame seeds and grated coconut
“This is how NOT to do GARLIC RICE. Miss ma’am, garlic rice is simply GARLIC and RICE. Nowhere is there you put random sh*t on it. AND it’s FRIED. YOU DON’T BOIL GARLIC IN YOUR GARLIC RICE! Filipino ancestors are gnashing their teeth in horror and anguish,” another user commented.
“Wahahahahahha fried rice but cooked in boiling water? BLASPHEMY!!!” exclaimed a different Pinoy.
“Ang totoong garlic rice ‘yung kanin na ‘di nakain ng hapunan tapos kinaumagahan, ‘yun ‘yung gagawing sinangag!!!!” another Twitter user said.
A different Filipino pointed out that Rachel did not particularly mention that she was making a “garlic fried rice,” the exact English translation of “sinangag.”
In the Philippines, “sinangag” is usually cooked by sauteeing the sliced garlic and then stir-frying the rice until it warms up.
Some households season it with salt while others don’t.
Others also add garlic bits and other ingredients like mixed vegetables (corn, peas, carrots).
However, its most basic variant is sauteeing the garlic and then stir-frying the rice.
Other variations of the garlic rice include steaming the rice and then adding it with bits of garlic. Some also add margarine or butter to make it more flavorful.
While Rachel’s Pinoy-style garlic rice earned disapproval from some Filipinos, she did not exactly say that she was referring to the fried variant, which is the “sinangag.”
However, commenting that garlic rice is a “really big deal” in Filipino cooking implies she might be referring to the famous “sinangag” which is common in Pinoy-style breakfast meals.
Rachel is a well-known American TV personality and celebrity chef who gained fame with her cooking shows like “30 Minute Meals” which aired on the Food Network.
She has since hosted other cooking programs like “Rachel Ray’s Tasty Travels” and “Rachel Ray’s Week in a Day.”
Rachel has also written numerous cookbooks throughout her career.
