Binging With Babish's Andrew Rea Reveals The Best Dish He's Ever Recreated - Exclusive
It's been five years since "Binging With Babish" creator Andrew Rea pressed publish on his first YouTube video. After gaining the attention of over 9 million followers, Rea has continued to create hundreds of episodes sharing recipes along the way.
Fans look to Rea for cooking tips and ideas as he shares recreated versions of recipes from movies and television shows. Some are childhood favorites, some are total classics, while others are entirely obscure. But there's one thing most recipes have had in common: They're entirely edible. And yes, that even means items you would never think could be real like Imaginary Pie from "Hook" (via YouTube).
But with countless recipes, how many has Rea found to just be delicious, compared to others that totally knocked his socks off? We went straight to the source to find out. In an exclusive interview with Mashed, Rea reveals the best dish he's ever been able to recreate.
Andrew Rea is most proud of this recipe on Binging With Babish
First of all, it's tricky for Andrew Rea to pick favorites in order to answer this question. With hours of hard work poured into hundreds of episodes, there's plenty to choose from. However, there's one that stands out. "I think the most satisfied I've ever been with the recreation was probably the Guacamole Sombrero from 'Despicable Me 2,' which I never thought I'd be able to do," said Rea. To pull it off, Rea first had to figure out how to make a chip that was in the shape of a hat, and then he had to deep fry it. It didn't even seem physically possible as he was working through concepts.
According to Rea, the help of his kitchen producer, Kendall Beach, certainly made a big difference as it included testing batch after batch of combinations of masa and flour. "We eventually found a combination that worked and held its shape and was nice and crispy, like a chip," said Rea. "It probably took the most R & D and it was something that wouldn't have been possible two years ago before I had a small staff. So it's a palpable example of how the company and how the brand and how the show's been able to expand and grow."
This is Andrew Rea's most delicious recipe on Binging With Babish
While Rea's sombrero was certainly the most technical feat to pull off for the show, it wasn't necessarily the most delicious. Of course, he's created and shared recipes upon recipes for tasty dishes, but there is one he noted as a standout for its flavor.
In an episode of "Rick and Morty" they mentioned Sugar Chicken in a joke about Panda Express, and Rea knew he had to recreate it. "I ended up using that joke to come up with what I think is a whole new original method to make Orange Chicken," he said. He ended up employing a method referred to as oleo saccharum, or mixing citrus peel and sugar together, to harness flavor. "Because the chicken needs so much sugar in the sauce I was like: 'Why not use the oleo saccharum?' It ends up making Orange Chicken that actually tastes like orange, which I've not had before," he said. "Most Orange Chicken tastes like sugar and like fried chicken in a sweet tangy sauce, which is great, but this is the first time I've had Orange Chicken that really tastes like orange."
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