BATTLE DATA FILE
Japan Original Airdate: 6/10/94
Episode: 32
The Challenger: Katsumi Hanato, who began his apprenticeship at the age of 15. He is now under the wing of the infamous Toshiro Kandagawa, who defeated Iron Chef Chen Kenichi some four months earlier. Having practiced with over 40 different theme ingredients, he believes that defeating an Iron Chef is the top diploma as a professional. He wants to take down the mightiest Iron Chef of them all.
The Iron Chef: Iron Chef Japanese I, Rokusaburo Michiba, arguably the mightiest of them all. So far in this timeline, he's had two impressive wins...can he make it three in a row?
The Battle:
TV host Keiko Kohno joins Fukui and Hattori in the broadcast box for this match, making her first appearance.
Kaga is quite peeved by the fact that Toshiro Kandagawa "barged into my Stadium," as he puts it, after his minions defeated his Iron Chefs before, then marched into the Stadium himself anyway and blew Chen Kenichi out of the water--even after he vowed he would only do so if his men lost.
Kandagawa's designated hit man this time, Katsumi Hanato, desperately wants to take on Iron Chef Michiba--he's been preparing for this battle with over 40 possible different theme ingredients in rehearsal battles. Kaga speculates whether this is Kandagawa's plan to take down Michiba himself...
It's pretty obvious that they're using an applause track here, as the challenger's Royal Box is completely empty and applause can be heard. But no matter, Chairman Kaga enters...with a rather nasty scowl, might I add.
TV host Keiko Kohno joins Fukui and Hattori in the broadcast box for this match, making her first appearance.
Kaga is quite peeved by the fact that Toshiro Kandagawa "barged into my Stadium," as he puts it, after his minions defeated his Iron Chefs before, then marched into the Stadium himself anyway and blew Chen Kenichi out of the water--even after he vowed he would only do so if his men lost.
Kandagawa's designated hit man this time, Katsumi Hanato, desperately wants to take on Iron Chef Michiba--he's been preparing for this battle with over 40 possible different theme ingredients in rehearsal battles. Kaga speculates whether this is Kandagawa's plan to take down Michiba himself...
It's pretty obvious that they're using an applause track here, as the challenger's Royal Box is completely empty and applause can be heard. But no matter, Chairman Kaga enters...with a rather nasty scowl, might I add.
Kandagawa's right-hand man is led in by the man himself, a contingent of followers tailing him in.
"Each time you march in, the troops have grown," Kaga remarks.
"You look like you've been eating well, you look healthy!" Kandagawa replies. "You've got a glow." Whatever that means. Kaga definitely doesn't look pleased.
Nevertheless, he calls upon his Iron Chefs, and as if it's any surprise as to whom Hanato will choose..."MICHIBA! YOU'RE GOING DOWN!" he shouts. (I wonder if this was the battle to which Michiba was referring when he said he told the guy "Look, when a chef asks you to be impolite, it's OK to refuse...")
"I hear that the challenger prepared for this occasion for over 6 months. I wonder how effective this strategy was," Kaga says. "I'd like to tell his fortune as a chef with a particular fish. Its Chinese character can read 'a fish of prophecy.' Yes, that fish. It's in season right now."
Well, Kaga, what is it? You've lost the American viewers on this one...nevertheless, it's SWEETFISH...and Hanato looks very pleased. Michiba...well, we can never get a read on him.
And remember with sweetfish, heed the words of Rosanjin Kitaoji: "To enjoy sweetfish, go for the innards."
6 months of preparation may pay off in a matter of seconds when Kaga calls out the familiar call to battle: "ALLEZ CUISINE!"
Sweetfish, or ayu in Japanese, is similar to trout, according to Fukui's notes. Hattori says the ones they have today are half-and-half--half raised in fish farms, then released into the wild.
Michiba has innards, or uruka, written out on his menu, and a pot of kelp broth boiling away. Hanato, meanwhile, has some smaller anchovy-like fish in a pot...and it looks like Michiba has five...no, six items on his menu.
Hanato is breaking down some pumpkins as Ohta reports that he's working on five items. Michiba pours some soy sauce in a pot full of ayu, and just like that, 15 minutes are gone...Hanato is extracting the innards, which Hattori said is the key to sweetfish, so it's very important not to damage them. And Fukui supposes Hanato's being a bit of a general with his assistants...
Michiba, meanwhile, is frying some fish heads, and simmering and stewing some innards. Fukui has no idea where he's going with that, and Hanato's clean slice through the back of a fish gets an instant replay. Keeping the natural shape of the fish, apparently, is a matter of pride with Japanese chefs.
Michiba's pouring some beaten egg into the pot where the uruka (innards) are, and he looks like he's added some leeks to that. There's a lot of repeated commentary from Hattori regarding the innards being the best part of the fish...thank you, Captain Obvious! -_-
35% of the fish, according to Hattori, has to be thrown away. But Hanato will have none of that, as he's skewering whole fish through the right eye. Rule of thumb is that the fish must be facing the left side, if it's a river fish...Japanese cuisine philosophy and all that jazz. Hanato's salting that for the grill, and a thick layer is going onto the fins and tail (to prevent charring and to preserve shape).
Michiba is chopping the fried fish heads, and scooping out some rice...Fukui speculates that he'll combine the two in some way. Meanwhile, Hanato is slicing some fillets but not all the way through the skin (plowing through that, we might add). Hattori supposes some egg might go over the top of that...and we're already halfway through!
Michiba has somen noodles out on his side (one of his items on the menu), while Ohta gets an interview with Kandagawa. Of course, the big man thinks Hanato will win, giving him some brusque encouragement. Michiba's dipping the end of the noodles in hot water, gluing that part together. Then he boils the whole bundle (which will be stuck together), which can later be pulled apart.
Hanato has corn starch in a pot, while Michiba has the "stubborn rice" on his side (that's with the fish heads mixed in, while Hanato has his skewered fish going under the salamander oven, left side up.
One of Hanato's assistants has mixed egg yolks with...something sweetfish and wrapped it in plastic. Meantime, Michiba is making what appears to be onigiri (rice balls) with his stubborn rice...Hanato is pulling the skin off the fish fillets, and a sushi roller on his board.
20 minutes left, and Michiba is doing some deep frying of fish skins (harako, Michiba says--fish roe, so everyone's wrong.) Hanato, meanwhile, is boiling the eggs wrapped in plastic, but we still don't know where he's going with that. He's making kimi-zushi as well, which is essentially sushi but with vinegared egg yolk instead of rice. Kandagawa's now spying on Michiba! And all he has to say about that: "Interesting."
Michiba's stewed ayu is done, and he's pouring that out into a small pan. It's the only one of his that has the whole fish involved...
15 minutes left now, and Hanato has tofu paste along with some small pieces of ayu (camera's straining to get that in focus), and his steamer is open, but we have no clue as to where he's going with things. Sounds like an hors d'oeuvre, says Hattori. And Michiba's rice balls are under the salamander!
Speaking of which, they're applying a miso paste over Hanato's grilled fish. Hanato himself is beginning to pick up the pace a little bit--Kandagawa, usually the loudmouth in the Stadium, is oddly relegated to kind mediator between Hanato and his assistants!
5 minutes left, and Michiba's taken out his egg yolks with sweetfish.
"Hey, what do you guys think you're doing?!" Hanato shouts at his assistants. He's sounding just a *little* cross here...
The egg yolks wrapped in broth (and plastic) are in bowls, possibly a soup. Michiba has uni and prawns on his side, and as Kohno wonders where the fish is, Fukui jokes, "Don't worry, it'll be swimming along shortly."
Meantime, on the other side, the fish has swam along in Hanato's soup, boiled and situated right on top of the egg mixture. And with three minutes left, Michiba's harako goes next to the uni and prawns.
Hanato has a very artistic presentation as he fogs up the camera with the soup, while Michiba adds grated daikon to his stewed fish.
Hanato can still heard over the rabble of the battle, while Michiba is garnishing one of his dishes with a water pepper leaf or two--that goes on top of the grated daikon he just plated.
1 minute to go, and Michiba is still slicing into some fish...Hattori notes that the challenger has been more orthodox, while Michiba has been sticking to his guns and being more adventurous, something that will work heavily in his favor in the long run. But Hanato could still very well pull it out in the end, you never know around here...
Michiba enters hurry-up-offense mode while Hanato puts the finishing touches on his dishes as the clock runs out...
"And THAT'S IT! The cooking's done, the Ayu Battle is OVAH!"
Hanato expresses that, despite preparing for this for a long time, it was a lot shorter than he thought it would be. Michiba rates his performance today on a 93/100, although I thought I heard him say "kyu-jyu-hachi" underneath the dub...that would be 98!
Challenger Hanato's four dishes:
--Sweetfish Hors d'oeuvre
--Sweetfish on Egg Tofu
--Sweetfish, Five Styles
--Miso-flavored Grilled Sweetfish
Iron Chef Michiba's six dishes:
--Stewed Sweetfish Innards
--Chilled Sweetfish Sashimi
--Sweetfish Noodles
--Poached Sweetfish
--Fried Sweetfish Roe
--Sweetfish Rice Ball (his "stubborn rice")
On the panel today for the Sweetfish Battle are:
--Copy writer, Shigesato Itoi (yes, he of Earthbound fame)
--TV talent, Keiko Kohno
--Rosanjin Scholar, Masaaki Hirano
Challenger, as usual, is up first...Hanato serves his hors d'oeuvre to open.
"I didn't know what the theme was, so I had several ideas in mind. Had to pick one pattern to match the ingredient."
Itoi thinks it's very clever, but he questions whether he needed the uni. Hirano says it could've been for visual effect, but it wasn't the best move.
Kohno really likes the soup. Itoi was surprised by the dried sardines Hanato used for the broth, saying it created a really powerful aroma. Combining two strong elements really paid off, it appears. A pleasant surprise, he says.
Hirano doesn't like the strong vinegar in the five-ways ayu. But Kohno likes the one-bite size of each of the preparations. Itoi thinks the sushi was overpowering in flavor.
And the grilled fish--Itoi thinks Hanato's idea was to conquer the sweetfish by overpowering it. A little tough for him to swallow, he says.
Well, mind over matter for now, as Michiba now faces the panel.
"It's a popular ingredient in summer, so we have a lot of recipes to choose from. Deciding on which one to use was the key to this battle."
Hirano thinks the identity of the sweetfish is in Michiba's opening course of innards. Itoi was proved wrong by the egg flavor...
...and he likes the match with plum in the next, but says it was almost too sweet for him because of the last dish.
The noodles are generally well-received...Itoi really likes the skin of the fish in that dish.
Kohno doesn't want to ruin the picture of the whole fish...but we don't get any comments on taste! (I think we're in hurry-up-offense mode ourselves, as we jump straight to the uni and prawn salad...and Itoi.)
Itoi thinks that dish is a very compelling story, knowing which order to serve the ingredients. Kohno was put off by the greasiness at first, but later relented when she tried everything else.
And Itoi likes Michiba's rice ball as well, although Hirano thinks it's a little too much for him to handle. Almost too perfect, too manipulative, he says. (He's been rather quiet today, oddly enough...)
But now, it is time to know...victory as sweet the fish, defeat as bitter as the innards. Who takes it? Is it the Iron Chef or Kandagawa's designated hit man? Whose cuisine reigns supreme?!
"Tetsujin, Michiba Rokusaburo!"
And Kandagawa isn't happy about this one...even though Hanato shakes hands with Michiba, Kandagawa stays right where he is! I think this means war...
Sweetfish, or ayu in Japanese, is similar to trout, according to Fukui's notes. Hattori says the ones they have today are half-and-half--half raised in fish farms, then released into the wild.
Michiba has innards, or uruka, written out on his menu, and a pot of kelp broth boiling away. Hanato, meanwhile, has some smaller anchovy-like fish in a pot...and it looks like Michiba has five...no, six items on his menu.
Hanato is breaking down some pumpkins as Ohta reports that he's working on five items. Michiba pours some soy sauce in a pot full of ayu, and just like that, 15 minutes are gone...Hanato is extracting the innards, which Hattori said is the key to sweetfish, so it's very important not to damage them. And Fukui supposes Hanato's being a bit of a general with his assistants...
Michiba, meanwhile, is frying some fish heads, and simmering and stewing some innards. Fukui has no idea where he's going with that, and Hanato's clean slice through the back of a fish gets an instant replay. Keeping the natural shape of the fish, apparently, is a matter of pride with Japanese chefs.
Michiba's pouring some beaten egg into the pot where the uruka (innards) are, and he looks like he's added some leeks to that. There's a lot of repeated commentary from Hattori regarding the innards being the best part of the fish...thank you, Captain Obvious! -_-
35% of the fish, according to Hattori, has to be thrown away. But Hanato will have none of that, as he's skewering whole fish through the right eye. Rule of thumb is that the fish must be facing the left side, if it's a river fish...Japanese cuisine philosophy and all that jazz. Hanato's salting that for the grill, and a thick layer is going onto the fins and tail (to prevent charring and to preserve shape).
Michiba is chopping the fried fish heads, and scooping out some rice...Fukui speculates that he'll combine the two in some way. Meanwhile, Hanato is slicing some fillets but not all the way through the skin (plowing through that, we might add). Hattori supposes some egg might go over the top of that...and we're already halfway through!
Michiba has somen noodles out on his side (one of his items on the menu), while Ohta gets an interview with Kandagawa. Of course, the big man thinks Hanato will win, giving him some brusque encouragement. Michiba's dipping the end of the noodles in hot water, gluing that part together. Then he boils the whole bundle (which will be stuck together), which can later be pulled apart.
Hanato has corn starch in a pot, while Michiba has the "stubborn rice" on his side (that's with the fish heads mixed in, while Hanato has his skewered fish going under the salamander oven, left side up.
One of Hanato's assistants has mixed egg yolks with...something sweetfish and wrapped it in plastic. Meantime, Michiba is making what appears to be onigiri (rice balls) with his stubborn rice...Hanato is pulling the skin off the fish fillets, and a sushi roller on his board.
20 minutes left, and Michiba is doing some deep frying of fish skins (harako, Michiba says--fish roe, so everyone's wrong.) Hanato, meanwhile, is boiling the eggs wrapped in plastic, but we still don't know where he's going with that. He's making kimi-zushi as well, which is essentially sushi but with vinegared egg yolk instead of rice. Kandagawa's now spying on Michiba! And all he has to say about that: "Interesting."
Michiba's stewed ayu is done, and he's pouring that out into a small pan. It's the only one of his that has the whole fish involved...
15 minutes left now, and Hanato has tofu paste along with some small pieces of ayu (camera's straining to get that in focus), and his steamer is open, but we have no clue as to where he's going with things. Sounds like an hors d'oeuvre, says Hattori. And Michiba's rice balls are under the salamander!
Speaking of which, they're applying a miso paste over Hanato's grilled fish. Hanato himself is beginning to pick up the pace a little bit--Kandagawa, usually the loudmouth in the Stadium, is oddly relegated to kind mediator between Hanato and his assistants!
5 minutes left, and Michiba's taken out his egg yolks with sweetfish.
"Hey, what do you guys think you're doing?!" Hanato shouts at his assistants. He's sounding just a *little* cross here...
The egg yolks wrapped in broth (and plastic) are in bowls, possibly a soup. Michiba has uni and prawns on his side, and as Kohno wonders where the fish is, Fukui jokes, "Don't worry, it'll be swimming along shortly."
Meantime, on the other side, the fish has swam along in Hanato's soup, boiled and situated right on top of the egg mixture. And with three minutes left, Michiba's harako goes next to the uni and prawns.
Hanato has a very artistic presentation as he fogs up the camera with the soup, while Michiba adds grated daikon to his stewed fish.
Hanato can still heard over the rabble of the battle, while Michiba is garnishing one of his dishes with a water pepper leaf or two--that goes on top of the grated daikon he just plated.
1 minute to go, and Michiba is still slicing into some fish...Hattori notes that the challenger has been more orthodox, while Michiba has been sticking to his guns and being more adventurous, something that will work heavily in his favor in the long run. But Hanato could still very well pull it out in the end, you never know around here...
Michiba enters hurry-up-offense mode while Hanato puts the finishing touches on his dishes as the clock runs out...
"And THAT'S IT! The cooking's done, the Ayu Battle is OVAH!"
Hanato expresses that, despite preparing for this for a long time, it was a lot shorter than he thought it would be. Michiba rates his performance today on a 93/100, although I thought I heard him say "kyu-jyu-hachi" underneath the dub...that would be 98!
Challenger Hanato's four dishes:
--Sweetfish Hors d'oeuvre
--Sweetfish on Egg Tofu
--Sweetfish, Five Styles
--Miso-flavored Grilled Sweetfish
Iron Chef Michiba's six dishes:
--Stewed Sweetfish Innards
--Chilled Sweetfish Sashimi
--Sweetfish Noodles
--Poached Sweetfish
--Fried Sweetfish Roe
--Sweetfish Rice Ball (his "stubborn rice")
On the panel today for the Sweetfish Battle are:
--Copy writer, Shigesato Itoi (yes, he of Earthbound fame)
--TV talent, Keiko Kohno
--Rosanjin Scholar, Masaaki Hirano
Challenger, as usual, is up first...Hanato serves his hors d'oeuvre to open.
"I didn't know what the theme was, so I had several ideas in mind. Had to pick one pattern to match the ingredient."
Itoi thinks it's very clever, but he questions whether he needed the uni. Hirano says it could've been for visual effect, but it wasn't the best move.
Kohno really likes the soup. Itoi was surprised by the dried sardines Hanato used for the broth, saying it created a really powerful aroma. Combining two strong elements really paid off, it appears. A pleasant surprise, he says.
Hirano doesn't like the strong vinegar in the five-ways ayu. But Kohno likes the one-bite size of each of the preparations. Itoi thinks the sushi was overpowering in flavor.
And the grilled fish--Itoi thinks Hanato's idea was to conquer the sweetfish by overpowering it. A little tough for him to swallow, he says.
Well, mind over matter for now, as Michiba now faces the panel.
"It's a popular ingredient in summer, so we have a lot of recipes to choose from. Deciding on which one to use was the key to this battle."
Hirano thinks the identity of the sweetfish is in Michiba's opening course of innards. Itoi was proved wrong by the egg flavor...
...and he likes the match with plum in the next, but says it was almost too sweet for him because of the last dish.
The noodles are generally well-received...Itoi really likes the skin of the fish in that dish.
Kohno doesn't want to ruin the picture of the whole fish...but we don't get any comments on taste! (I think we're in hurry-up-offense mode ourselves, as we jump straight to the uni and prawn salad...and Itoi.)
Itoi thinks that dish is a very compelling story, knowing which order to serve the ingredients. Kohno was put off by the greasiness at first, but later relented when she tried everything else.
And Itoi likes Michiba's rice ball as well, although Hirano thinks it's a little too much for him to handle. Almost too perfect, too manipulative, he says. (He's been rather quiet today, oddly enough...)
But now, it is time to know...victory as sweet the fish, defeat as bitter as the innards. Who takes it? Is it the Iron Chef or Kandagawa's designated hit man? Whose cuisine reigns supreme?!
"Tetsujin, Michiba Rokusaburo!"
And Kandagawa isn't happy about this one...even though Hanato shakes hands with Michiba, Kandagawa stays right where he is! I think this means war...
My take: Usually, if Michiba's involved, it's bad news for the challenger. While this proved no different today, I think Hanato could've given Michiba a run for his money...but if he were a little more adventurous in his approach. Then again, maybe because he's trying to uphold the tradition that Kandagawa does...maybe they were all screwed from the start.
Watch this battle at the Iron Chef Collection here.
