Gordon Ramsay Made What He Calls Puerto Rican Pegao And Puerto Ricans Are Not Having It
There are some things that people should avoid doing in the food world. One of them is creating very specific and cultural dishes. Renowned chef Gordon Ramsay found himself on the receiving end of harsh criticism after making what he called Puerto Rican pegao.
Gordon Ramsay recently made what he considered to be an authentic Puerto Rican dish.
Pegao is not a dish in and of itself. Pegao, put simply, is the crispy browned rice at the bottom of the pot after making a batch of white rice. It is something that people do eat and it is common enough to show up in other rice-based cuisines around the world. For example, in Iranian cooking, tahdig is the name for the crispy rice browned at the bottom. In Lao cuisine, it is called Nam Khao.
What makes pegao pegao is that is it literally the rice that is stuck (or pegao) to the bottom of the pot. Pegao is a slang term for stuck. Using that as the guide, people were quick to call out Ramsay for making his version that was not close to the original.
People on social media were quick to praise the chef for what looked like a delicious meal, but not quite what he advertised.
The dish that Ramsay made is, as @SandraSaysStuff on Twitter said, closer to arroz mamposteao. The only difference here is that Ramsay took the dish and then treated it like a fried rice recipe. Technically, it wouldn’t be pegao because of the mixing and stirring of the rice while it was cooking.
Food is an important part of people’s lives and identities.
When you make food for such a large platform, it is important to make sure that you do it right. One thing that Anthony Bourdain did right when introducing foods to his audience was getting them from an authentic source. He was masterful in walking into the situation as if he knew nothing and was able to learn from the people who eat the food daily, the real experts. This is something that helps to avoid these faux pas of incorrectly naming or preparing dishes while acting as an authority.
It is extra satisfying for people who know who Ramsay is and how he made his name.
Ramsay is known for being a ruthless person in the kitchen. He was filmed yelling at people for years for various reasons around the kitchen. It made him famous around the world and launched his career as a celebrity chef. Now people wish they had the opportunity to defend their food against Ramsay.
The world celebrated when Ramsay’s Pad Thai fell short.
The video of Ramsay being told that he didn’t make good Pad Thai went viral around the world. The chef who spent his career tearing people down got a taste of his own medicine that day. Now, with his take of pegao, people are ready to do it again.
