Chen vs. Ikegawa
Originally aired 11/10/95
Iron Chef, the Official Book episode# 106
Iron Chef Collection episode# 343
Challenger Kiyotaka Ikegawa, Head Chef of Ononishiki in Osaka, was formerly a Sumo wrestler. His restaurant is named after his father, who was also a Sumo wrestler, and who had previously owned the restaurant.
“Master Chen,” he shouts politely, pointing, “please accept my challenge!” Chen does accept, and the ingredient is revealed as horsehair crab.
On the commentators’ panel are Sumo Stable Master Wakamatsu, actress Mayuko (“pint-size by comparison”) Takata, Dr. Yukio Hattori, and Kenji Fukui.
While Challenger Ikegawa has trimmed down since his Sumo days (offering encouragement to any viewers wishing to lose weight), Wakamatsu is built like a Sumo wrestler. When asked if he’ll be OK with regular-sized portions, he assures Fukui-san, “No problem.” He’s on the lookout for a special stew eaten by Sumo wrestlers, called Chanko, but he and the rest of the commentators agree with anticipation, that much more than just stew will be set before them.
Ohta informs us that neither chef is exactly thrilled with this type of crab. “Taking the meat out is so tedious,” says Wakamatsu, as Chen laboriously verifies that comment. “I love crab, but I don’t like to order them frequently because of that.”
The challenger hollows out several yuzu fruit and creates crabmeat dumplings. He adds big crab pieces, with the shell, to his rice cooker. Chen blends up a puree of crab meat, crab liver, and crab soup. While Chen has set aside a small bowlful of crab liver, Ikegawa breaks out a plastic container of ready-made crab liver. The Challenger mixes caviar, onions, and crabmeat in a bowl. From rice flour, Chen makes a thin gyoza skin, which he shapes painstakingly into a flowery dumpling, to be steamed. Dr. Hattori comments on the use of ginger by both chefs.
Fifteen minutes from the battle’s end, Ikegawa learns that his rice cooker was never turned on. So it’s cranked up to high, and the crab rice is removed as the one minute mark is announced.
Ohta reports that Ikegawa is not making Chanko, “Because it simply can’t be done with crab meat.”
Ohta asks the usual questions at battle’s end. “Well, ah,” Ikegawa reflects, “I’ve never really used this ingredient before, so I think I did pretty well, considering that.”
“Horsehair crab,” says Chen. “I pretended they were normal crabs. I’ve had this crab myself, so I know what it’s like. But cooking it is a different story.”
Challenger Ikegawa offers six dishes:
— Crab & Radish Salad (in a hollowed-out yuzu skin)
— Crab Meatball Soup
— Marinated Crab & Caviar
— Grilled Crab Omelet
— Steamed Crab-in-Yuba (with a piece of gold foil hidden away)
— Crab Rice
Iron Chef Chen submits five dishes:
— Crab Salad (in a hollow lemon half)
— “Flower Petal” Crab Meat Gyoza (with ginger dipping sauce)
— Crab Chawanmushi (served in a crab shell)
— Braised Crab with Honey Glaze
— Hot & Spicy Crab Stir-Fry
On the judging panel are film director Nagisa Oshima, Wakamatsu, Mayuko Takata, and Chua Lam (a gourmet from Hong Kong whose acerbic comments make him a kind of Jeffrey Steingarten prototype).
Wakamatsu does make some highly perceptive comments on the dishes, but he starts with: “I… think I remember his face when he was still active. He didn’t make it in the Sumo world, but in this field of cooking, I think he’s going to make it big. That’s what I can see in his dishes, I’m sure.” (All this, as Ikegawa laughs with good-natured embarrassment.)
“I really believe you did a splendid job today,” Oshima tells Ikegawa.
“You could have given us one more of this,” Wakamatsu says of Chen’s flower dumpling. “You mean you like it?” asks the Chairman. Wakamatsu does qualify his praise by commenting that the size of the gyoza’s petals overpowers the taste of its contents. Lam compliments the dumpling: “Not too many chefs do it like this in Chinese cooking these days–I mean, in everyday Chinese cooking. This is very pretty. Ordinary chefs don’t have the skill to do this, anymore, especially in a limited time-frame like that.”
“Visually,” Takata says of the crab with honey glaze, “this is a bit… grotesque.” “Oh!” Chen responds, smiling.
“Push now coming to shove. The verdict: We’ll see which chef remains on his feet.”
Mignardise: I can sympathize with Wakamatsu about how tedious it is to eat crab. I once ordered curried crab legs at a Thai restaurant. I think I managed to inject curry sauce into my bloodstream several times, by poking myself on those sharp crab leg barbs. “I love crab, but I don’t like to order them frequently because of that.” He has that right.
Rodney Schroeter
June 2008
Kitchen Stadium Board
22 August, 2008