March 07, 2007

Iron Chef: Battle Udon

Theme Ingredient: Udon noodles
Iron Chef: Sakai
Challenger: Tooru Komori, a traditional Edo period chef
Remarks: This episode aired on Food Network sometime in the late fall of 2000, no later than December 9. Tooru Komori, a traditional Edo period chef, was the challenger. He chose IC French Hiroyuki Sakai, which was kind of a surprise to me; I expected him to pull an Ohta Faction-like challenge and go after Morimoto. Guest commentators were actor Toiyu Watanabe and actress Miyako Furitari; the other judges were photographer Tenmei Kanoh and the ubiquitous Asako Kishi.

The theme ingredient was udon noodles. Like I've seen with some other noodle challenges, they stopped Sakai after 50 minutes and let Komori finish his dishes. It's done this way because cooking straight through, then serving the challenger's dishes before the Iron Chef's would mean that the IC's dishes would sit for 10-15 minutes getting soggy. When Sakai returned from the break, it looked like it took a while for him to get his rhythm back. Or maybe it was the fact that Komori and all his sous chefs stood at the edge of Sakai's side of the kitchen staring at him.

    Komori's dishes:
  1. Udon in a glutinous root sauce
  2. Steamed egg custard in turnip
  3. Baked udon with miso sauce. Very interesting presentation here; he tied bunches of noodles into knots and baked them. It looked pretty cool.
  4. Deep-fried udon with snapper and shrimps
  5. Udon wrapped in deep-fried tofu
  6. Udon pudding

    Sakai countered with:
  1. Udon and sea urchin gratin
  2. Udon salad a la Charlotte
  3. Sauteed shrimp wrapped in Udon
  4. Udon curry
  5. Udon Iron Chef style (and the others weren't? I missed what went into this)
  6. Udon blancmange

Unfortunately, I missed the tasting. Komori won 3-1: Kanoh 19-18 Komori, Furitari 20-19 Komori, Watanabe 19-18 Sakai, Kishi 18-16 Komori.

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Posted by Chris at 05:27 PM | Comments (0)
Category: Iron Chef

July 02, 2006

Iron Chef: Battle Pike Eel

Theme Ingredient: Pike Eel (Hamo), twenty live eels from waters near Akashi
Iron Chef: Morimoto
Challenger: Yoshimi Tanigawa, owner/chef of Kichi-sen, Shimogamo, Kyoto
Remarks: I'm posting this today in recognition of the Gion festival that starts each July 2 in Kyoto, since the festival is a major theme in this battle. This post is based on the 3 February 2001 airing of this battle on Food Network.

Kyoto-style Japanese cuisine has a 1000-year tradition that in recent years has gone a little overboard in the decoration department. To coincide with the annual Gion festival in Kyoto, Kaga invited Yoshimi Tanigawa, a Kyoto-style traditionalist, to battle in Kitchen Stadium. Tanigawa is trying to revive traditional Kyoto cuisine: style without over-decoration. He started cooking at age 15 and opened Kichi-sen in the Shimogamo district of Kyoto at 31. He entered Kitchen Stadium in traditional kimono and sandals--you know, the wooden platform jobs. He brought with him a group of Miko girls, who in my ignorance I could not distinguish from geisha, to cheer him on from the Royal Box. He challenged Morimoto. Guest commentators were actress Yukio Toake and actor Tsutaro Kataoka; the other judges were photographer Tenmei Kanoh and chanson singer Yoshiko Ishii.

The theme ingredient was a traditional Kyoto summer dish--Pike Eel (Hamo), twenty live eels from waters near Akashi. Tanigawa beheaded his eels right on the ingredient stand to keep them from thrashing and affecting the taste; he also cut the tails halfway through to drain the blood quicker. Morimoto killed his eels by spiking the head and running a metal rod down the spine to kill them quickly. Tanigawa's method may have been better, as one of Morimoto's eels briefly escaped.

Tanigawa chose the Star Festival (a particular part of the Gion Festival) as his theme and presented these six dishes:

  1. Pike eel appetizer in ground cherries. Served in hozuki bags (paper cherries) covered in gold leaf, with stewed liver and gourds. Toake thought the air bladder was "very nice" and Kataoka liked it a lot too.
  2. Grilled pike eel, Yoshino style. The eel was boiled, then covered with kudzu starch, then grilled with matsutake mushrooms.
  3. Grilled pike eel with seaweed sauce. Salt-cured wakame and white plum sauce Served with chilled sake. Kataoka liked it a lot.
  4. Pike eel shabu-shabu.
  5. Pike eel in rice soup, curry flavor. The soup included soy sauce, curry power, eggs boiled in a hot spring, and nutmeg. Cured eggplant garnish. Sliced from skin side to provide different texture. Kataoka called it "nice, but not overpowering." Toake didn't like the curry. Kanoh liked the whole combination.
  6. Bone crackers and tea. A traditional Kyoto-style finisher.

Morimoto's theme was "The Silk Road," designed to represent a 'cuisine path' ranging from Italy through India and China, and comprised these six dishes:

  1. Pike eel pasta. Fruit tomatoes, pepper, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, and "a Japanese edible plant" served over pureed pike eel-based noodles (piped into boiling water, then iced) and eel marinated in white wine and vodka. Served with caviar.
  2. Pike eel dip, Italian style. Pike eel roe, stewed and served with an anchovy garlic dip.
  3. Pike eel & water shield.
  4. Pike eel stew, Korean style. Japanese ginger, udon, pike eel, sugar, sake, garlic, soy sauce, and ko-chu-ja (korean hot chili paste). Kanoh liked it, but Ishii thought the bones bothered her a bit. I think that's a polite way of saying she found some bones and didn't think Morimoto did a good job bonecutting.
  5. Spicy fried pike eel. Chinese herbs, fried garlic, eel, winter melon, celery, red bell pepper, and long onion sauteed in peanut oil and curry. Toake liked the curry flavor.
  6. Pike eel rice. Served with a soup called, I think, kawanishi (or maybe that was the name of the dish): broth, light soy sauce, minced eel, grilled eel bones, and sweet cooking sake.

In this battle, tradition won out over Italian-pan-Indian-Korean neofusion, as Tanigawa took it in a sweep: Kanoh 19-17, Toake 17-16, Kataoka 20-19, and Ishii 18-17.

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Posted by Chris at 12:43 AM | Comments (0)
Category: Iron Chef

April 28, 2006

Iron Chef: Battle Tomato

Theme Ingredient: Tomatoes, some red, some green
Iron Chef: Kobe
Challenger: Franco Canzoniere, owner/head chef, Il Fornello, Nakano, Tokyo
Remarks: The second attempt of 'Serie A' to take down an Iron Chef. This synopsis is based on the battle that aired on Food Network November 25, 2000.

The top Italian chefs in Tokyo have formed a group called 'Serie A' (after the name of Italy's highest-tier pro soccer league) which looks suspiciously like the Ohta Faction that has dedicated its professional life to taking down IC Japanese Masaharu Morimoto. Anyway, like the Ohta Faction, their first attempt on Kobe ended in failure: Constantine, who got broke open like a cheap shotgun in Battle Bell Pepper, 4-0 and 76-62(!).

A quick word about the judging. When looking at margin of victory, figure that each point difference represents a touchdown. If you beat a guy by one point, you beat him. If you beat him by two points, you beat him badly. If you beat him by three points, you beat him so bad his mama felt it (the exception to this is when Asako Kishi judges; she almost always uses a two-point spread). Constantine lost Battle Bell Pepper by an average of 3.5 points per judge!

Franco Canzoniere is Serie A's 'second man.' He is the owner and head chef at Il Fornello in the Nakano district of Tokyo. He is a Roman-style chef, which may explain the guy in his entourage carrying a "SPQR" banner. The theme ingredient was tomatoes, some red and some green (and still on the vine). In true IC fashion, we learn that they run USD2.50 each. Guest commentators were actress Chizuru Azuma and essayist Panzetta Girolamo. The other judges were Lower House member Shinichiro Kurimoto and fortune teller Kazuko Hosoki.

The smack and maneuvering started right away. Canzionere called Kobe's dishes 'feminine' and vowed to show the judges what real Roman food tasted like. He also took all the herbs. When Kobe crossed the DMZ to get some, he was soundly booed by the challenger's compatriots in the Royal Box. Kobe responded by tossing a couple of tomatoes at them. We were also introduced to orecchiette ('earlobe' in Italian), a small pasta from southern Italy named for its shape, and we learned that salsa di Pomodoro means 'tomato sauce' and is generally made with garlic and basil in Roman-style cooking. Big surprise there.

    Canzoniere presented five dishes:
  1. Tomato appetizer, Roman style. Three appetizers: artichoke stuffed with tomatoes, tomatoes stuffed with ricotta cheese, tomatoes stuffed with mozzarella cheese and grilled, and a tomato fritter.
  2. Scampi prawn fettuccine. Asparagus and white wine vinegar were added. Azuma thought the fresh tomatoes were overpowered by the prawns, while Hosoki thought it was great. Girolamo thought it was nothing special.
  3. Tomato sauce orecchiette. Kurimoto thought it was "just right," while Girolamo thought it reminded him of his mother. Whether that was good or bad was not made clear.
  4. Eel stewed in tomato sauce. A home cooking dish. Hosoki: "I can't find the words to describe it, it's so good."
  5. Fresh tomato and beef stew. Beef cheek meat was used here. Azuma didn't particularly like the use of fresh tomatoes in this dish, either.
    Kobe, clearly targeting the Japanese palate, also brought five dishes to the table:
  1. Tomato appetizer, Iron Chef style. Boiled and peeled tomatoes were stuffed with bonito, avocado, yam, and yogurt; green tomato served with rock salt on the side; fresh tomato stuffed with scampi prawns, anchovys, and 'an Italian vegetable' (whatever that means). Kurimoto wanted more basil flavor, but Girolamo liked it (although he was "a bit puzzled at first").
  2. Ravioli in cold soup. Cheese-stuffed ravioli was used.
  3. Bread and tomato stew. A traditional Toscana recipe garnished with peas. Hosoki pronounced it "perfect," while Azuma thought it had almost a Chinese flavor to it.
  4. Grilled tomatoes with white meat sauce. Each tomato had a grilled with a chili pepper stuck in it. The white sauce featured bacon and veal meat. Azuma thought the pepper was a nice accent, but Hosoki didn't like the texture.
  5. Tomato and orange mousse. Garnished, I think, with bacon!

The verdict was 2-2, with Kobe winning 75-72 on total points. Kurimoto 18-17 Canzoniere, Azuma 20-18 Kobe, Girolamo 20-19 Canzoniere, and Hosoki 19-16(!) Kobe.

This battle was also synopsized at Ironfans.net.

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Posted by Chris at 04:31 PM | Comments (0)
Category: Iron Chef

December 27, 2005

Iron Chef: Battle Veal

Theme Ingredient: $8000 worth of European milk-fed veal.
Iron Chef: Chen
Challenger: Kyoko Kagata, chef at Ann Moreve, a French restaurant in Gotemba.
Remarks: Aired on Food Network on November 5, 2000. Judge Korn also appeared in Battle Oxtail. In a 1993 appearance, Kagata was the first female challenger on the show.

The challenger was Kyoko Kagata, a chef at Ann Moreve, a French restaurant in Gotemba. Kagata was the first female challenger, and she defeated Chen in Battle Scallops in 1993 at age 26 (which also made her the youngest challenger to win). After that victory, she got married, quit her hotel job, got divorced, and started cooking at a restaurant owned by her aunt and uncle. In true Iron Chef personal-difficulty-is-fair-game style (f'rinstance), the divorce was brought up several times during the show. Also in a bit of an eye-opener, she challenged Chen again (I was expecting her to go after one of the others). The theme ingredient was $8000 worth of European milk-fed veal, two sirloins and two legs. I think they referred to it as koishi in Japanese, but I could be wrong. Guest commentators were Kayoko Kishimoto, who judged Chen in a battle in 1997, and singer Korn, who was judging for his fourth time, but his first with Chen.

I missed a good portion of the cooking, which was a shame because they looked to be doing some really neat stuff (Chen in particular seemed to be pushing the envelope). I did catch Fukui referring to the challenger as 'he' a couple of times, and Hattori actually admitted that he didn't know something! The other judges were photographer Tenmei Kanoh and the stern but fair Asako Kishi.

Kagata's dishes:

  1. Veal ham carpaccio, shabu-shabu style (update: from bento.com with a hat-tip to commenter Hollis, I now know that "shabu-shabu means 'swish-swish', referring to the swishing action when you cook a very thin slice of beef in hot water", and if I hadn't been such a lazy bastard I would have Googled it in the first place).
  2. Veal stew, cheese sauce. She used gorgonzola cheese in the sauce. Kishimoto said it was 'almost like chicken;' Kishi tabbed it 'outstanding, a success.'
  3. Veal cutlet with scampi prawns. To this she added a sauce made from foie gras (naturally) and truffles (of course). Sometimes I think chefs go on IC just to get their hands on foie gras and truffles, because they're used in just about every battle.
  4. Veal ribs grilled in crushed walnuts. The walnuts and sliced chestnut garnish brought out the sweetness of the veal, although Kagata said she wanted more time on that particular dish.

Chen, facing humiliation over the possibility of losing to the same chef twice, presented:

  1. Veal and foie gras hors d'oevures. Veal and foie gras were minced and wrapped in kinogasa (I think) mushrooms. Korn said the dish was perfectly presented; Kishimoto said it was 'crispy and nice.'
  2. Roast veal with white sesame seeds. I don't know what's so special about white sesame seeds, but the panel loved them. Korn: "Sweet, hot, spicy, fantastic."
  3. Avocado and veal stirfried in milk. I totally didn't get this one; apparently, the producers didn't either, since they didn't show any taster comments on it.
  4. Salt crust grill. Fukui called this one during the cooking--the veal was stuffed with pineapple and banana(!), wrapped in grape leaves, then covered in a mixture of salt and egg whites and baked. It was Chen's centerpiece. Kano loved the pineapple, Kishimoto didn't like the banana, and Kishi liked the texture and the use of fruit in general.
  5. Szechuan veal pasta. Chen used pumpkin here for sweetness, and it blew Korn away: 'This dish is beyond my comprehension.'

Chen was rewarded for his aggressiveness by winning in a sweep: Kanoh, Kishimoto, and Korn all scored it 20-19, and Kishi scored it 19-17. Kanoh, perhaps summing up the panel's feeling, afterwards commented

[Chen] tried to go beyond his boundaries today. I respect that.

Posted by Chris at 05:33 PM | Comments (2)
Category: Iron Chef

July 19, 2005

Iron Chef: Battle Lamb

Theme Ingredient: six lambs from Pauillac, France
Iron Chef: Sakai
Challenger: Michel Husser, Owner/Chef, Le Cerf, Alsace, France
Remarks: I don't know when this episode aired on FoodTV, but I'm guessing sometime in the second half of 2000.

Sopexa is a bi-annual French cooking competition for Japanese chefs; eminent French chef Joel Robuchon was the head of the jury. The 1998 (I think) winner was Akira Itoh, chef at the Royal Park Hotel, whose winning lamb dish bowled over the jury. Kaga, however, wasn't impressed, and he wanted to reach beyond even that for Battle Lamb. Enter Michel Husser, Owner/Chef, Le Cerf, Alsace, France (himself on the Sopexa jury). Husser trained under his father from age 10, then apprenticed at 18, studying under Alain Senderens, the leader of the "nouvelle cuisine" movement in France. At 22, he returned to Le Cerf and took over as 4th generation head chef, earning a Michelin two star rating five years later. Head on, he challenged Iron Chef French Hiroyuki Sakai. I like that kind of 'to be the man you have to beat the man' thinking; I always feel slightly ripped off when, for instance, a Chinese-style chef (any variety) takes on Kobe instead of Chen. Kobe in particular often gets picked on in this fashion; I think it's because he's younger than the others.

In a bit of a break from form, both chefs knew in advance that lamb would be the theme ingredient; specifically, six lambs from Pauillac, France. Husser was shaking his head when the lamb was presented; I'm not sure why. Maybe he thought it wasn't the right kind or something. You know how those French can be. Guest commentators were actress Akiko Nishina and sportscaster (and ex-baseball player) Kazushige "Junior" Nagashima, who's a pretty big guy, and whom I remember from a previous battle saying "I ate two box lunches before the competition so I wouldn't be hungry". Enigmatic photographer Tenmei Kanoh and the ferocious Asako Kishi were the other judges; Sopexa winner Itoh also tasted but did not judge.

    Husser brought five dishes before the panel:
  1. Lamb liver and foie gras salad. Walnuts and apples were also featured.
  2. Fried lamb tenderloin, mustard flavor. Salt-cured cabbage was included. Kishi liked it and Kanoh was impressed as well; Nagashima thought he could eat twenty or thirty of them.
  3. Alsace style stew. Lamb meat loaf rolled in pasta dough and cooked in consomme. Nishina liked the choice of flavorings; Kanoh liked it too.
  4. Roast lamb and soubise. The gelatin is key to the texture here. Kanoh liked the contrast in flavors, calling it a "perfected dish."
  5. Lamb belly saute and bell pepper sorbet. The sorbet was served with white wine poured over it. This dish was a big hit with all tasters.

    Sakai's retort also had five dishes:
  1. Roast lamb & foie gras royale. This dish features Sakai's ability to fuse Japanese techniques with French recipes.
  2. Lamb stew & French-style fried rice. The rice was sweetened with fruit. Kishi thought it was a bit undercooked, but Kanoh liked it.
  3. Filet pie crust grill & roast round meat. The main dish; almost a meal in itself. The crust was a Alsace-based recipe in tribute to the challenger; Sakai served it himself off a silver tray. Nishina: "It almost tastes like flowers." Kishi and Junior both liked it a lot; Kanoh liked the contrast between the grill and the round.
  4. Lemon & basil sorbet. Served with fried lamb slices.
  5. French style tenderloin, shabu-shabu. Made with lamb tenderloin.

Itoh said all of Husser's dishes were beyond anything he had done at Sopexa.

Sakai's stew had several condiments on the side, and tasters were invited to use them as desired to adjust the taste. I don't remember any Iron Chef saying that before, but it seems to have paid off here; Nishina didn't like the stew at first, but was able to adjust the taste to her liking.

Kanoh said at the end of the tasting that he'd vote it a tie just so they could come back and cook again.

Kaga said the dishes were the best lamb dishes he'd ever had, and was sad that he had to announce a winner. But he did; he voted 20-19 Husser. Nishina went 19-18 Sakai, Nagashima 20-19 Husser, and Kishi 19-17 Husser.

Posted by Chris at 12:52 PM | Comments (0)
Category: Iron Chef

July 01, 2005

Iron Chef: Battle Saury

Theme Ingredient: Pacific Saury
Iron Chef: Sakai
Challenger: Kazumi Nagayama, head chef, Shochiku, Hongo, Tokyo
Remarks: This is a different Battle Saury than the one that airs on Food Network on July 4 and 5. These comments refer to the battle that aired on Food Network on November 26, 2000.

Shochiku is a restaurant in the Hongo neighborhood of Tokyo. It is a traditional elite supper club where admittance had until recently been restricted only to members. It is hideously expensive and caters to the elite of Tokyo society; it's sometimes called "The Kitchen Of Tokyo University" due to its proximity to that institution. Lately, Shochiku has been feeling the pinch of a downturn in the Japanese economy; in response, it has opened its doors to the public and retooled its menu a bit, aiming for the female market.

Kazumi Nagayama is head chef there, and he challenged IC French Hiroyuki Sakai (fresh off his defeat at the hands of Ron Siegel in Battle Lobster). The theme ingredient was Pacific saury (also called sanma), a blue fish similar to the sardine. This was a mixed blessing for Sakai: saury generally isn't used in French cuisine, but he was able to make sardine-style dishes using it. However, this wasn't much of an advantage for the challenger, either; saury isn't often served in high class restaurants. The saury was harvested from the waters off Sanriku, and they're a popular autumn dish since they're fattening up for the winter then.

The guest commentators were singer Johji Yamamoto (previous appearance 1 1/2 years before in Battle Bell Pepper), whose single "I'm Your Man" was on the charts at the time, and actress Kuniko Asagi (previous appearance: Battle Unisex Salmon). The other judges were Lower House member Shinichiro Kurimoto and spiritual consultant Kazuko Hosoki.

Nagayama presented five dishes:

  1. Saury hors d'oeuvre. Saury marinated in the Russian style and stuffed in 'a citrus fruit' (orange or tangerine, I think). French mustard and caviar are mixed with nuts and served on a 'crispy saury cracker.' Salt-grilled saury was also served Peking duck-style. All were served with sake and persimmon cocktail and beefsteak tomato leaf sake. Kurimoto liked the canape (I think he meant the Peking duck-style dish), especially the cashews. Hosoki liked the use of miso, and Asagi liked the different taste experiences.
  2. Saury ball soup. Pounded glutenous rice with grated daikon radish helped mask the fishy smell and soften the taste. Yamamoto wished he could have this dish after a night of drinking to settle his stomach. Hosoki didn't like it so much, saying it was too tough.
  3. Grilled saury on ice. Served with a citrus juice-soy sauce dip.
  4. Smoked saury. Saury was combined with other 'autumn delicacies' and smoked in Japanese maple leaves, persimmon leaves, gingko leaves, and sugar. Kurimoto liked the scent of pine leaves but was turned off by the fishy scent.
  5. Stewed tomato and saury. Celery was used here to suppress the fishy smell. Don't ask me how. Foie gras was added because, well, it's Iron Chef! Kurimoto didn't like the tomato base, and Hosoki thought the dishes were a bit too traditional in general.

Sakai countered with four:

  1. Smoked saury on buckwheat crepe. The saury was smoked in apple chips and sugar, prompting Asagi to ask "What kind of aroma would apple chips give?" It was served with a sauce made from the innards of the fish, with sour cream and caviar. Also served with soup. Kurimoto called the addition of caviar "perfect," Asagi loved the innards sauce, Hosoki called it "transformed into art." Gee, do you think they liked it?
  2. Saury carpaccio. The saury was marinated in vinegar and served raw. It also came with a persimmon sauce that also had kidney beans, udo leaves, foie gras, sun-dried tomato leaves and peanut butter (!). Asagi didn't like the peanut butter at all; Yamamoto loved it.
  3. Roast saury, Provence style. Frying the fish before roasting highlighted the taste and added a crispy texture. He roasted the saury sectioned but not gutted; he also originally had onions on top but discarded them when they ended up overdone in the oven. Kurimoto liked the vegetables but didn't like the overall feel of the dish. Hosoki disagreed.
  4. Saury red wine stew. This dish exploited the slight fishy smell rather than trying to hide it. A whole bottle of red wine was cooked down to make the base.

Yamamoto pronounced afterwards that "I'll never be able to eat my wife's saury dishes again." The verdict was Sakai 4-0 and 78-69: Kurimoto 19-17, Asagi and Yamamoto both 20-18, and Hosoki 19-16.

Posted by Chris at 02:23 PM | Comments (0)
Category: Iron Chef

May 16, 2005

Iron Chef: Battle Oxtail

Theme Ingredient: Oxtail
Iron Chef: Sakai
Challenger: Koji Hosogai, Head Chef, Poisson D'Or, Niigata.
Remarks: Photographer Tenmei Kanoh tasted but didn't judge. Warning: horsemeat (horsefat, actually) in use. Comments based on the Food Network's October 28, 2000 airing of this episode.

The challenger was Koji Hosogai, Head Chef, Poisson D'Or, Niigata. He is an expert French chef whose speciality is using local ingredients. Photographer Tenmei Kanoh, a frequent judge, says he's his favorite chef, and actually followed him around shooting a series of 'day in the life' photographs. Hosogai challenged Hiroyuki Sakai.

The theme ingredient was Oxtail (at about USD100 per), 3 each of whole raw, whole boiled in bouillion, chopped (into sections) raw, and chopped boiled. The boiled parts were available because cooking a raw oxtail can take up to three hours; obviously, this is not practical in an Iron Chef match. Guest commentators were actress Keiko Saito (mmm.... Keiko Saito) and the performer Korn. The other judges were Lower House member Shinichiro Kurimoto and fortune teller Kozuko Hosoki. Kanoh was present as a taster, but did not judge, although he kept trying to tip the scales in Hosogai's favor.

Hosogai's dishes:

  1. Oxtail royale and tartare toast. Minced oxtail was mixed with--get those barf bags ready--raw fat from the base of a horse's mane. It was served on toast and 'iced' with mayonnaise. Korn thought the dish would be 'thicker' (I think they meant heavier or greasier) than it turned out to be. Hosoki didn't like it at all--she thought the meat was 'too fluffy.'
  2. Oxtail soup. This is a variant of one of Kanoh's favorite dishes. Minced oxtail (cooked this time, I think in red wine) was folded into ravioli-like noodles and served cold on top.
  3. Oxtail risotto. Oxtail croquettes were served over the rice in a fatty netting. Korn loved this one.
  4. Shochu sorbet. How oxtail figures in a sorbet dish was not explained. I think I speak for everyone when I express my gratitude for that.
  5. Oxtail red wine stew. This dish had truffles, foie gras, and persimmons (to tenderize the meat). Saito thought it was too strong a dish.

Iron Chef Sakai's dishes:

  1. Oxtail jelly and broad bean mousse. A small chunk of grilled oxtail that looked almost bacon-like served as a garnish. Korn loved how the broad bean matched with the oxtail. Hosoki liked it too.
  2. Oxtail foie gras croquette. These were also served in a fatty netting, which Sakai advised the tasters to remove before eating since they'd already had one dish in fatty netting. Kurimoto liked it, but Kanoh said it 'lacked originality.'
  3. Oxtail red wine stew. He used bone marrow to add a sweet taste, and used South African tea to tenderize the meat.
  4. French-style rice porridge. Similar to Hosogai's risotto in that they were both oxtail over rice. Korn liked the challenger's version better. Remember that when you see the scores.

In a clean sweep for Sakai, Kurimoto and Hosoki both scored it 19-17, Saito 19-18, and Korn 20(!)-19.

Posted by Chris at 03:57 PM | Comments (0)
Category: Iron Chef

May 13, 2005

Iron Chef: Battle Tuna

Theme Ingredient: Tuna
Iron Chef: Kobe
Challenger: Shinya Tasaki, 1995 world champion sommeiler
Remarks: Comments based on Food Network's October 22, 2000 airing of this battle

The challenger was Shinya Tasaki, who is not a chef but was the 1995 world champion sommelier (wine steward). He chose Iron Chef Italian Masahiko Kobe, specifically because he is the youngest IC and he thought he'd have the best chance against him. The theme ingredient was fatty tuna (chu-todo) harvested from the Mediterranean. The contestants would also have access to Chairman Kaga's wine collection.

Guest commentators were actress Naomi Kawashima and actor Masumi Okata, this time with his mustache. Kawashima 'keeps a well-known wine diary,' and I think that means she is knowledgeable about wines, since she made several insightful wine-related comments. However, in true BDJ style, she asked "Are we going to have wine with the meals?" The other judges were Lower House member Shinchiro Kurimoto and the unstoppable Asako Kishi.

Tasaki opened with a bang, literally, as he used a sword to open a bottle of champagne. This practice is known as sabre service or sabreage. Normally, challengers bring sous chefs from where they work; Tasaki had chefs helping him but where they came from was not mentioned. It sure looked like he was coasting at the end--he spent the last two minutes writing a menu with wine list--but in the post-cooking interview he said that he didn't have enough time to taste-test any of his dishes.

Challenger Tasaki presented five dishes:

  1. Tuna steak tartare (marinated in champagne) served with Kristal Champagne (1990). Kurimoto said the smoky flavor was key to this dish.
  2. Tuna on rice (a white wine-based sushi, rather than vinegar) served with Riesling (1990). This was made sweet to counter Kobe's pasta dish.
  3. Tuna stewed in red wine and bitter chocolate, served with Chateau Monteus (1992). Okata really liked this one.
  4. Grilled tuna in truffle sauce, served with Margues de Murrieta (1968).
  5. Tuna dessert cassis flavor, served with Pinon des Charentis. Kawashima and Okata both liked this one.

Kobe presented four dishes:

  1. Tuna appetizer in eggplant served with Donna Cora (1995) sparkling wine. Kobe marinated the tuna for this dish in Cinzano to reduce the fishy flavor. Kurimoto didn't think the tuna was center stage here, but Kawashima liked it that way.
  2. Tuna gnocci.
  3. Ham rolls and cutlet soup served with Poggio alle gazze (1996). This dish featured spelt wheat, a very rare kind of split wheat found in Toscan cuisine. Kurimoto didn't like it; Kawashima did.
  4. Tuna pasta grill, served with Solare (1990). This was a very interesting dish--the tuna was stuffed (but I missed what was in the stuffing), then was covered in two large sheets of pasta. Kobe then pan-fried it for a couple of minutes to harden the pasta crust, then baked it. Okata loved it; Kishi called it 'a noble ingredient.' Kawashima thought a white wine would have been a better match.

The verdict: Kurimoto 19-17 Tasaki, Kawashima 19-18 Tasaki, Okata 18-16 Tasaki, Kishi 19-17 Kobe.

Posted by Chris at 02:18 PM | Comments (0)
Category: Iron Chef

May 12, 2005

Iron Chef: Battle Girls' Festival

Theme Ingredient: None, really. Clams, kinda. All is explained later.
Iron Chef: Sakai
Challenger: Motohito Kondo, Master Chef, Hifumi, Kamakura
Remarks: Funniest. Battle. Ever. Comments based on Food Network October 15, 2000 airing of this battle.

Girls' Festival is a Japanese festival honoring, well, girls. That's about all I know about it except that it occurred on March 3 in 1998 (and I don't even know if it's a fixed date like Christmas or a floating one like American Thanksgiving).

The challenger was Motohito Kondo, Master Chef of Hifumi in Kamakura, a city described as 'an ancient seaside capital.' Kondo is a Tea Ceremony master and a sake sommelier (I didn't know there were sake sommeliers, but it makes sense), and was an especially good choice for this particular battle, since his daughter turned 11 on that day. He challenged IC French Hiroyuki Sakai, whom the show inexplicably continues to refer to as 'the Delacroix of French cuisine.' I see their point, but the expression doesn't parse. It'd make a lot more sense to me to refer to him as 'the Kurosawa of French cuisine.' But I digress.

Chairman Kaga revealed no theme ingredient per se, challenging the chefs to create dishes honoring Girls' Festival from whatever happened to be lying around Kitchen Stadium, stipulating only that clams were a 'must have' since clamshells symbolize chastity in Japanese culture (stop. stop right there.). Granted, that still gave the chefs plenty to work with, but Sakai did mention that working without a theme ingredient was harder for him than he expected.

Instead of the normal two guest commentators and two regular judges, there were actually three guest commentators: 17-year-old actress Yumi Adachi, actress Naomi Hosokawa (who also appeared in Battle Strawberry), and Yoko Akino (a semi-regular). The ever-cuddly Asako Kishi would join them for the judging. Fukui's take on this: "A collection of judges covering the whole spectrum from high school through middle age and beyond." Well, if they can spend an entire episode cracking on a challenger's marital problems, then I guess this is pretty mild by comparison.

The girls hazarded a guess that a blender full of milk, cream, sugar, and eggs would be made into ice cream. Gee, you can't put a thing past them. Adachi: "The ice cream is turning around and around!" Fukui, revealing a heretofore unknown pederastic side, asked Adachi if she knew what 'chastity' meant. She said she did but offered no details.

This reminds me of an R-rated joke, so scroll ahead a bit if that prospect bothers you.

A kid's walking home from school one day when he finds a pair of welders goggles on the sidewalk. He picks them up and continues walking, and before long a stranger pulls up next to him and offers him a ride home. Not being the sharpest tool in the shed, the kid accepts.

"That's a neat pair of welding goggles you got there, kid."
"Thanks."
"Say, kid, do you know what 'pederasty' means?"
"No."
"Do you know what 'sodomy' means?"
"No."
"Do you know what 'oral copulation' means?"
"Mister, I just found the goggles - I'm not a welder!"

Back to live action. Fukui sounded disappointed that Adachi didn't want to discuss chastity. He also noted that Ohta wasn't breaking in as much as usual. Ohta's explanation: "With today's guests, it's hard to get a word in edgewise."

'Ama-me' was described as "A recently introduced (whatever that means) vegetable from Okinawa." 'Hishi-mochi' is a stacked dish wrapped in foil and baked in a long, narrow pan, then cut into diamond shapes that look much like baklava.

    Challenger Kondo brought seven dishes to the table:
  1. Sake cocktail. A low-alcohol sake was used, and the cocktail was deemed acceptable for Adachi.
  2. Clam hors d'ouevre with soft roe and whitefish. Kishi quashed this one as being 'for adults.'
  3. Marinated clams and vegetables. I think this is where the ama-me appeared. Akino: "Here you have a chunky texture and a slippery texture." Stop. Stop right there.
  4. Girls' Festival stew with steamed rice cake. The rice cake was tri-colored: reddish pink, white, and brown, and it looked very much like Neapolitan ice cream. The different colors signify something that I couldn't write down fast enough.
  5. Salmon grilled with sake. This was his main course. All the panelists thought the dish was too heavily herbed.
  6. Abalone rice.
  7. Sake with peach ice cream. flower_goddess thought that he was trying to get Adachi drunk since all the dishes used sake in some fashion.

    Iron Chef Sakai fired back with five dishes:
  1. Red snapper and tuna combo featuring hot bean paste. Stop. Stop right there. Kishi thought it was a bit hot for Girls' Festival.
  2. Blowfish (stop. stop right there.) soft roe risotto. Akino thought the clams were a bit tough. Kishi would have liked to see it in a sake sauce rather than a white wine sauce. I don't think there was any sake left after Kondo was done with it.
  3. Clam and vegetable soup.
  4. Scallop spring rolls. Akino: "I'm enjoying this cream sauce very much." flower_goddess fell out of her chair laughing. Kishi: "This dish doesn't have much impact."
  5. Peach Festival sorbet. Adachi: "It wobbles in my mouth!" Woo hoo! What a closing statement!

Fukui's voiceover before the last commercial break: "Which man measures up?" OK, I was wrong. That was the closing statement. The verdict? 3-1 to the Iron Chef: Adachi 18-17, Akino 20-19, and Kishi 18-17. Hosokawa voted 19-18 for Kondo.

Iron Chef is always funny, but this one is by far the funniest of the thirty or so eps I've seen. I don't know if the double entendres were purposeful, and I don't care. If you ever get a chance to see this episode, DO IT!

Posted by Chris at 01:43 PM | Comments (0)
Category: Iron Chef

May 10, 2005

Iron Chef: Battle Chinese Cabbage

Theme Ingredient: Chinese Cabbage
Iron Chef: Chen
Challenger: Cui Yufen, Head Chef, Han-mei-fang, Tokyo
Remarks: ironchef.com was also used as a reference for this battle, mainly because I lost the second page of my notes. Comments refer to the Food Network 11/11/2000 airing of this battle.

Mao Zhedong once said "Chefs who create great food are treasures of the state." He established the Special Grade Certificate of State-Certified Chefs to certify the best chefs in the country. The top rank are referred to as Culinary Craftsmen. Three of these chefs work at Han-mei-fang, a Chinese restaurant in the Akasaka district of Tokyo. Ji Wenchen, Special Grade Chef, specializes in stir-frying. Hao Huizhi, Special Grade Chef, Culinary Craftsman, specializes in appetizers. The most highly regarded is Cui Yufen, also a Special Grade Chef, Culinary Craftsman. She is the head chef at Han-mei-fang, and had previously served as a chef catering to Mao Zhedong and Zhou Enlai. She challenged Chen, who seems to have been picked on a lot lately. The theme ingredient was Chinese cabbage, a staple of Chinese cuisine. This battle wasn't as simple as Chinese vs. Chinese; Chen is a Szechuan-style chef, and Yufen's speciality is Imperial cuisine, also called Peking-style. The guest commentators were actress Kayoko Kishimoto and singer Shinji Tanimura (making his first appearance in two years). The other judges were Lower House member Shinichiro Kurimoto (doesn't this guy ever actually spend any time in the Diet? On second thought, the country's probably better off this way) and the dominatrix, err, food critic, Asako Kishi.

Cui Yufen rocked the house with six dishes whose presentation knocked the judges' socks off:

  1. Chinese cabbage in crepe, Imperial style. Shredded cabbage was wrapped in crepes and served with fried eggroll skins as garnish.
  2. Prawns wrapped in cabbage. The prawn heads were boiled and the liquid drained off to produce a 'shanton' broth. Pickled cabbage was served as a side dish.
  3. Rockfish stewed in naitan. This is a premier dish in Imperial Chinese cuisine, often served to visiting dignitaries. The fish is deep-fried, then cooked in naitan, then served on a fish-shaped plate. The name of the soup, naitan, is literally translated into Japanese as 'swimming lady.'
  4. Mustard cabbage and diced pork. Chairman Mao's favorite. The judges seemed to cough when they ate it (too spicy?) but said they liked it.
  5. Cabbage soup. A clear soup with cabbage chunks; Zhou Enlai's favorite.
  6. Diced pears and cabbage hearts. For reasons not disclosed, Chinese Chinese cabbage isn't as bitter as American Chinese cabbage, so you can get away with using it in a dessert.

Chen countered with five:

  1. Cabbage hors d'oeuvre with mushrooms. Something (can't remember) was used to control the sourness.
  2. Cabbage spring roll. "The soft and fluffy texture creates a new harmony with the chenpi." I don't know what chenpi is, and they didn't explain. Chen used sheets of bean curd instead of dough to wrap the spring rolls.
  3. Chinese cabbage stew with crab meat. "Grated carrots and crab meat add depth, body, and visual impact." This is the dish that he's cooking in the show open--the one where it looks like he almost dropped it on the floor. The orange color comes from carrots.
  4. Cabbage, pork belly, and red snapper cooked in a clay pot. He made a fiery broth featuring (for Chen, what else?) hot bean paste, saying it was his hottest sauce ever.
  5. Sauteed cabbage and soup. "The crispy texture of the cabbage matches with an oyster sauce." Sesame seed oil and boiled rice were served on the side.

Cui Yufen won the battle 4-0. Kurimoto 20-19, Kishimoto 20-19, Tamimura 19-18, and Kishi 19-17. 78 points total for Cui; I don't think I've ever seen a challenger score that high. Even the great Ron Siegel (Battle Lobster) only totalled 77. Note also Kishi giving the challenger a two-point margin; that's almost unheard of.

Posted by Chris at 04:10 PM | Comments (2)
Category: Iron Chef

May 09, 2005

Iron Chef: Battle Bean Sprouts

Theme Ingredient: Bean Sprouts
Iron Chef: Chen
Challenger: Takeshi Ohkubo, Head Chef of Kinachi China in Ginza
Remarks: $10,000 worth of Daioh sprouts was used. Comments based on the Food Network 12/8/2000 airing of this battle.

Kihachi Kumagai is the CEO of the Kihachi Group, a chain of about twenty Western- and Chinese-style restaurants throughout Japan. He has said that there are three basic styles of cuisine: Japanese, Chinese, and Western (which I consider to be a very racist statement, especially if you consider this hypothetical converse: "There are three basic styles of cuisine: French, Italian, and Asian."). This was his group's third try to topple an Iron Chef; they were 0-2 coming in. His chosen man for this battle was Takeshi Ohkubo, Head Chef of Kinachi China in Ginza. He went after Chen, so we had yet another Cantonese-Szechuan battle. The theme ingredient for this battle was bean sprouts, called "the shark fin of the field". 5kg each of three different kinds of sprouts were provided: Daioh sprouts, which run USD2000 per kilo (eesh!--typical sprout prices are USD5-10 per kilo) and are grown in only one place in Japan, regular bean sprouts, and soybean sprouts. Guest commentators were actress Akiko Hinagata, last seen in the Valentine dessert battle, and singer Takao Horiuchi. The other judges were alleged Lower House member Shinichiro Kurimoto and chanson singer Yoshiko Ishii.

Ohkubo put together six dishes in this battle:

  1. Stir-fried bean sprouts with cheese and egg whites. Cream, corn starch, egg white, bean sprouts, abalone liver, stir-fried rice, and soybean sprouts (heads only). Kurimoto called this dish "A great way to start."
  2. Bean sprouts shabu-shabu. This dish used Daioh sprouts.
  3. Stir-fried bean sprouts and basil. The sauce was made with basil, chili oil, fish soy sauce, hot bean paste, sugar, sesame seeds, tofu, garlic, regular soy sauce, and ginger (whew!). Horiuchi thought it was a "luxurious dish;" Hinagata liked it too.
  4. Bean sprouts and yuba, Peking duck style.
  5. Red snapper grilled in bean sprouts. Molojan (I think; I don't know what that is) stuffed red snapper covered in sprouts, garlic, leeks, and olive oil, then wrapped in foil and grilled in a manner similar to a salt-crust grill. Kurimoto: "Fantastic; great stuff;" Horiuchi concurred.
  6. Stone-grilled bean sprouts. The sprouts on top were raw, designed to be cooked by hot oil in the stone bowls. This may have been the clincher, although it looked like the tasters were getting hit with drops of hot oil. They all liked it. Horiuchi declared "game over" after tasting it.

Chen also presented six dishes:

  1. Raw spring rolls. Chen removed the heads and tails of the sprouts for one dish (I think it was this one), which made it more like 'royal' cuisine.
  2. Stir-fried bean sprouts and stewed shark fin. [Chinese rice wine added] Kurimoto said the dish "matches well with the sauce. Truly a great dish."
  3. Soft stir-fried bean sprouts. Omar lobster, lobster brain, egg white, evaporated milk, chinton soup, cornstarch, naitan soup fried to a merengue-like consistency, then topped with all three sprouts and chicken soup powder (?!?).
  4. Bean sprout soup. Soybean sprouts, chinese rice wine, chili oil, chinese pickles, chinese ham, chinton soup, and naitan soup. Well-received by all tasters.
  5. Bean sprout fried noodles. The noodles were first steamed, then fried to get the right consistency. Horiuchi thought the noodles were too crispy and the sprouts got lost in the dish, but Kurimoto liked it.
  6. Bean sprouts in wine jelly. Red wine, sugar, honey, and Daioh sprouts made up this dish.

Chen lost this battle, marking the first time he'd ever lost two in a row. Voting for the challenger were Hinagata (19-18), Horiuchi (20-19), and Ishii (18-17); Kurimoto scored it 19-18 for Chen.

Posted by Chris at 03:55 PM | Comments (0)
Category: Iron Chef

May 08, 2005

Iron Chef: Battle Lobster

Theme Ingredient: Lobster
Iron Chef: Sakai
Challenger: Ron Siegel, Master Chef at Charles of San Francisco
Remarks: My comments are based on the October 29, 2000 airing of this episode, so take that into consideration when reading. Sakai was riding a 6-battle winning streak, but he had lost his previous two lobster battles.

I've really been looking forward to this episode; friends of mine who've been watching longer than I have say it's one of the best ever. The challenger was Ron Siegel, Master Chef at Charles of San Francisco. He was personally recommended by Mayor Willie Brown, who said "Dining on his food is like viewing a fine Picasso." Ron himself certainly isn't lacking for confidence. In the pre-battle interview, he said "And I feel like you picked the right person and I'm going to bring the gold back to the USA." Ron's speciality is California-style French cuisine, which balances salty and sweet flavors. He challenged Sakai, who had won his previous six battles but had lost his previous two involving lobster. Chairman Kaga selected lobster as the theme ingredient because it is a very popular item in California cuisine. Forty lobsters from Canada were used.

Actress Aiko Morishita, in her first appearance as a guest commentator, thought Kitchen Stadium was really intimidating. She has had lobster before, but, in true Bimbo Du Jour style, can't remember how she cooked it. Singer Kazuhiko Katoh, dressed more conservatively than his previous appearance (but sporting a fez-like hat he called a 'pajama hat') was the other guest commentator. He likes lobster sashimi. The other two judges were photographer Tenmei Kanoh and 'fortune teller' Kazuko Hosoki.

In keeping with Iron Chef tradition of soaking the show for all it's worth (Chen in particular is famous for opening a case of caviar whether he plans to use it or not, since the show lets him take the rest back to his restaurant), Sakai planned to use a large quantity of Matsutake mushrooms (20 of them, total price USD1500!). Siegel's sous chefs were Japanese, which was a problem because he knew only two words of Japanese: doke: 'get out of my way,' and isoke: 'move it'. Hattori noted that depending on the inflection, those could be considered 'roughneck' words and that whoever taught Ron them should be held accountable. Ron nicknamed his sous chefs 'Teddy' and 'Katz' and was eventually able to get things straight with them. According to Ohta, Siegel used 3-5 times as many herbs as other chefs on the show use; he said this was because the vegetables he had to work with weren't as aromatic as he was accustomed to, so he had to cheat a bit.

Siegel's dishes:

  1. Egg royale. This was lobster custard served with caviar and a burdock stalk in eggshells over rice. Katoh and Kanoh both thought the presentation was more Japanese than French, and were pleased that Siegel could do that. Hosoki liked it too.
  2. Lobster cream soup with scallops & truffles. Both Kanoh and Katoh liked this very much.
  3. California salad with lobster, basil oil, tomato concasse, and avocado. Siegel boiled the lobster tails in about five pounds(!) of butter, without skewering them to keep them straight, and the curved look was interesting. Hosoki thought it was 'the ultimate.'
  4. Lobster ravioli with sweet corn sauce. He used five different herbs to season this dish. Hosoki thought it was 'very good, really good'. Morishita said she wasn't expecting much of him but stood corrected. Kanoh said he'd thought the Japanese had the best taste buds in the world, but had his eyes opened.
  5. Lobster & foie gras in fig sauce. The sauce was port wine boiled with figs, then the figs were removed and butter added and reduced. The foie-gras was grilled first, then pan-fried. I've heard that Chen was sampling this sauce after the show.

Sakai's dishes:

  1. Seafood gratin soup. This was served with lobster-stuffed wonton on the side. Katoh and Kanoh compared this to Siegel's lobster cream soup.
  2. Lobster and matsutake combo. Sliced lobster tail and thinly sliced and lightly pan-fried truffle were sandwiched between sliced matsusake mushrooms. Morishita liked the change of pace to Japanese style after so many French dishes. Katoh didn't like the matsusake mushrooms so much.
  3. Lobster mousse with truffles. Sakai used scampi prawns to sweeten the dish and served it with a sauce made from morels, exo sauce, boiled lobster heads, saffron, and olive oil. Hosoki: "This is our eighth lobster dish, and my tongue is a bit tired, but this is wonderful." Morishita: "I'm getting full, but I can't stop eating this."
  4. Lobster salad, Japanese flavor. The sauce for this was strained pureed carrots with orange juice.

The verdict? 4-0 to Siegel: Kanoh and Morishita 20-19, Katoh 18-17, Hosoki 19-18. Sakai noted that he knew the tasters liked heavy flavors and leaned his dishes that way; it may have backfired on him as he lost his third lobster battle in a row. In a break from normal show layout, Ohta interviewed the judges afterwards; Kano said the soup was key and that Siegel's, which used lobster sweetbread (a part around the throat that goes away as the lobster gets older) was 'perfect.' Katoh was impressed with his taste and combination of elements, and Hosoki said he was bold, with sophisticated and elegant presentation.

Posted by Chris at 02:10 PM | Comments (0)
Category: Iron Chef

May 06, 2005

Iron Chef: Battle Banana

Theme Ingredient: Banana
Iron Chef: Kobe
Challenger: Hironobu Tsujiguchi, chef at Mont St. Clair in Jiyugaoka. Winner of 1998 World Cup of Desserts.
Remarks: $6000 worth of chocolate also used. Kobe's first dessert battle.

For the episode that aired Valentine's Day 1998 in Japan, Iron Chef staged a dessert battle. Hironobu Tsujiguchi won the 1998 World Cup of Desserts, the youngest patassier (dessert chef) to do so. He's also won seven other world-class competitions. He cooks at Mont St. Clair in Jiyugaoka. He challenged IC Italian Masahiko Kobe, who had not yet been in a dessert battle. Tsujiguchi was even more confident than Ron Siegel was, saying "I'm definitely going to win!" Bananas were the theme ingredient, and $6,000 worth of top-quality French chocolate (half of it melted in a big pot) was also available. Ten bunches of ripe Taiwan bananas, five of unripe Taiwan bananas (conventional supermarket-style), five of monkey bananas (smaller), and five of brown bananas (which need to be cooked because they're too bitter to be eaten raw) were used. Kobe remarked that he's unaccustomed to working with chocolate, which I think is odd for a European-style chef, but they don't celebrate Valentine's Day in Italy so he didn't have much to go on there. Kobe got out-sprinted to the ingredient stand, the first time I can remember that happening. Actress Akiko Hinagata (in her first appearance) and ballet dancer Tetsuya Kumakawa (in his first appearance) were the guest commentators. Lower house member Shinichiro Kurimoto and the stalwart Asako Kishi were the other judges.

Tsujiguchi propped his helpers in the post-cooking interview, one of the only chefs I've heard to do so. His theme was 'Valentine's Day Desserts for the 21st Century':

  1. Caprice chocolates and bananas. Hinagata said 'He doesn't have too much here, so it's easy to eat!'
  2. Grilled banana with chocolate. Split whole bananas stuffed with butter and a vanilla bean and grilled with thyme (a new trend in France). Kishi compared it favorably to a dish from her childhood, while pointing out that the challenger's version was definitly 'a dish for adults.' Kumakawa made one of many references to his own youth here. I was ready to boot him back to grade school after the seventh or eighth one.
  3. Corona chocolate dessert. Earl Gray tea was used as the base, and it was garnished with Japanese honeywort.
  4. Melting chocolate dessert. This was a variant of one of the dishes he used to win the World Cup. He used bitter chocolate and vanilla from Tahiti and garnished it with hard candy 'sculptures,' which the tasters loved. For some reason, Hinagata was surprised that the accompanying cake, which had been baked, was so hot.

Kobe's theme was 'Whispers of Love':

  1. Chocolate dip, three flavors. Wine, green tea, and herb base were the three dipping sauces for the grilled banana in this Thai-style presentation. Hinagata liked the tea dip. Kishi liked that it was char-broiled.
  2. Banana pudding and chocolate. Unripe green bananas and balsamic vinegar added flavoring elements.
  3. Banana peperoncino. Designed to clear the palate, it includes banana and white chocolate. Kurimoto called it 'punchy' and liked its placement at this point of the tasting but thought it would be too strong if served alone.
  4. Cocoa ravioli. He formed the ravioli into a heart shape, and used pureed banana and gorgonzola cheese for the sauce. Kaga thought the color was 'unappetizing,' and Kurimoto didn't like the color either, although he loved the sauce. Kishi called this one another dish for grownups.
  5. Chocolate banana gratin. The chocolate he used in the gratin was designed to make it a bit bitter, to draw out the sweetness of the dipping sauce. Kurimoto saw what he was trying to do, but didn't like it.

Tsujiguchi won 3-1: Kurimoto 17-16, Hinagata 18-16, and Kumakawa 18-14(!). Kishi scored it 19-17 Kobe. This marked the first time a challenger beat an Iron Chef in a dessert battle.

Posted by Chris at 02:05 PM | Comments (0)
Category: Iron Chef