{"id":154,"date":"2008-10-10T08:52:00","date_gmt":"2008-10-10T14:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ironcheffans.info\/wordpress\/?p=154"},"modified":"2008-10-10T11:22:55","modified_gmt":"2008-10-10T17:22:55","slug":"kitchen-stadium-episode-review-nakamura-vs-suzuki","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ironcheffans.com\/?p=154","title":{"rendered":"Kitchen Stadium Episode Review: Nakamura vs. Suzuki"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nakamura vs. Suzuki<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Originally aired 3\/1\/96<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Iron Chef, the Official Book episode# 121<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Iron Chef Collection episode# 410<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Rokusaburo Michiba retired as an Iron Chef on January 3, 1996. <\/span>\u201cI,\u201d Michiba told the Chairman, \u201cwill take responsibility for finding the man who will take my place.\u201d <\/span>Thus it is that, two months later, Michiba introduces Komei Nakamura.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cChoosing the right challenger for his debut match was no easy task,\u201d Kaga explains. <\/span>But he did find one. <\/span>Club des Trentes member Kiyoshi Suzuki first stepped into the world of French cooking at age 19, in 1966. <\/span>From 1971 to 1980, he worked at 24 top-class French restaurants in France. <\/span>From 1980-86, he oversaw the kitchen of l\u2019orangerie de Paris. <\/span>In 1986, he opened his own restaurant, Auberge de Suzuki, Tokyo.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Prior to the main action, we are shown Michiba\u2019s cooking outfit, on display under glass. <\/span>As Fukui-san explains, it \u201chas been retired, and shall hang in the Stadium forever.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>On the commentary panel are actor Ken Tanaka, Sachiyo Nomura, and Dr. Yukio Hattori.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/span>Smiling wryly, Kaga gives a teaser for the ingredient. <\/span>\u201cI couldn\u2019t resist the temptation to again witness the miracle Michiba showed us in his debut match.\u201d <\/span>The ingredient, uncovered, is foie gras. <\/span>It\u2019s an ingredient that won\u2019t put the new Iron Chef Japanese in his comfort zone, Fukui says, and Hattori concurs.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>The challenger begins with miso in a pot. <\/span>Fukui finds that, coming from a French chef, a little provocative. <\/span>Just as Hattori speculates that Suzuki will combine the foie gras with something sour, the challenger squeezes juice from one orange, and grates zest from another. <\/span>He steams one set of foie gras, then takes it, covered with a sauce, to the fridge. <\/span>Ohta gives a breakdown of the sauce: <\/span>white miso, soy sauce, Japanese sake, sweet cooking sake, sugar, grated ginger, and garlic. <\/span>He pan-fries some duck meat and prepares a wine-based sauce, to which he adds vegetables.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Suzuki dumps scallops into a bowl; Hattori says they would match foie gras very well. <\/span>He lays down some sauce on several empty plates, forming a unique pattern on each one. <\/span>Kaga described this practice in his opening description of the challenger, and now it brings appreciative praise from the commentators. <\/span>He uses a circle mold to create an aspic.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Nakamura follows in Michiba\u2019s footsteps in at least one way, by pouring an astounding quantity of dried bonito flakes into a pot of water. <\/span>Broth of vigor, Nakamura style? <\/span>When asked if she\u2019s ever used that amount of bonito at home, Nomura laughs and replies, \u201cThat\u2019s about ten years\u2019 worth.\u201d <\/span>Nakamura gets the rice cooker going and boils some scooped-out turnips, with kelp added to flavor the water. <\/span>He strains some boiled and chilled foie gras through a drum sieve, then transfers it to the food processor, combining it with steamed edible lily bulbs and pumpkin. <\/span>\u201cThat is a pretty wild trio of items in there,\u201d Fukui comments. <\/span>Nakamura slices some truffles, and impresses Hattori by having soft roe from the blowfish at hand. <\/span>He prepares sushi rice, which puzzles the commentators, but when he compresses it with alternate layers of foie gras in a circle mold, then tops it off with some shredded greens and caviar, the commentators nearly go wild.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>They do go wild as, in the last few seconds, Nakamura ladles his foie gras-pumpkin soup into an earthen bowl, plops the blowfish soft roe into it, and finally sprinkles in the shredded truffles.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cIt was really an honor to have the chance to do this,\u201d Suzuki tells Ohta after the battle.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cWell, first time stepping up,\u201d says Ohta. <\/span>\u201cHow did it feel?\u201d <\/span>\u201cVery short!\u201d Nakamura answers, with that appealing smile. <\/span>Ohta presses, \u201cBut you know, you seemed to be relaxed, calm, in control…\u201d <\/span>Nakamura denies all that. <\/span>When asked about his dishes, he modestly says, \u201cWell, I think they\u2019re all right for the first time.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>The challenger has created three dishes:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>— Foie Gras in Grand Marnier Sauce<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>— Foie Gras, Crab & Scallop in Wine Jelly<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>— Foie Gras Sandwiched by Duck Meat<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Nakamura offers the first four dishes of his IC career:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>— Foie Gras Sushi<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>— Foie Gras & Pumpkin Soup<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>— Foie Gras in Yuba Rolls<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>— Foie Gras & Miso Sauce on a Turnip<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>On the judging panel are Former Lower House Member Shinichiro Kurimoto, Ken Tanaka, Sachiyo Nomura, and Culinary Critic Asako Kishi.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cI can sense all the individual ingredients used in this dish,\u201d Tanaka says of the challenger\u2019s aspic. <\/span>\u201cEach one has a clear identity.\u201d <\/span>But Kishi says, \u201cIt\u2019s very good. <\/span>You don\u2019t need the crab and scallops. <\/span>You could have used foie gras only.\u201d <\/span>Kurimoto is very impressed with each dish\u2019s sauces.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>The Iron Chef\u2019s Foie Gras Sushi is a big hit with the tasters. <\/span>\u201cPumpkin and foie gras,\u201d says Kishi of the soup; \u201cI was a bit worried, when I heard it. <\/span>But it\u2019s fine! <\/span>The only thing, though–I wish you had put a bit more soup in the bowl!\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Mignardise: <\/span>The first time I tasted foie gras? <\/span>June of 2005, at Morimoto<\/a>, in Philadelphia. <\/span>It tastes nothing like the fried liver I\u2019ve otherwise had in my lifetime. <\/span>Actually, the taste of the foie gras whisked me back in time to when I was about four years old, when I put a little chunk of butter on my tongue. <\/span>Rich? <\/span>You bet!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Rodney Schroeter<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

September 2008<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nakamura vs. Suzuki Originally aired 3\/1\/96 Iron Chef, the Official Book episode# 121 Iron Chef Collection episode# 410 Rokusaburo Michiba retired as an Iron Chef on January 3, 1996. \u201cI,\u201d Michiba told the Chairman, \u201cwill take responsibility for finding the man who will take my place.\u201d Thus it is that, two months later, Michiba introduces […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ironcheffans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ironcheffans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ironcheffans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ironcheffans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ironcheffans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=154"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/ironcheffans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":186,"href":"http:\/\/ironcheffans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154\/revisions\/186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ironcheffans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ironcheffans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ironcheffans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}