If you have not already been converted to the cult of Kaga, by all means tune your television to Channel 26 at 8PM on Saturday nights to find out why alt.tv.iron-chef is buzzing on a weekly basis with news of the latest fashion outrages and culinary bizzaritudes committed in an atmosphere ranging from high drama to completely camp.
Narrated by a host who looks like a transvestite Liberace and dresses in outrageous sequined outfits apparently made from couch upholstery and ruffles, Iron Chef is a Japanese cooking game show reminiscent of Julia Child meets American Gladiators. Quite a few web pages have already been put up by fans of the show, and you can get a good start surfing them at www.ironchef.com. Some of the great features here include Kaga's Closet, a sight best left unseen for the fashion conscious, an excellent Iron Chef FAQ and a comprehensive page of links to other Iron Chef fan pages.
I was absolutely floored the first time I watched Iron Chef, which happened to be the episode that the Japanese chef Nakamura made oyster ice cream. It must have been pretty awful – he lost that battle, one of his rare defeats by a challenger. But he keeps on having the courage to try again and to make frozen sauces that are somewhere between a savory ice cream and a cold condiment. I love the sheer chutzpah he has for flavor and texture combinations. Sometimes, watching from the sidelines, I have to make a face – is that really good? Is that really going to work? So I had to start experienting on my own.
The boundaries between savory and sweet are mostly cultural - to the Japanese palate, beans belong in a dessert, but rice is eaten with savory foods. The Western palate reverses the equation, and Japanese sugared bean desserts are nearly as disgusting a concept to most Westerners as the notion of rice pudding is to a Japanese.
I remember inviting a Caucasian guest for a sleepover when I was about eight years old. The sight of her putting butter and sugar on my mother's beautifully fragrant, fluffy, perfectly steamed go-han absolutely horrified me. It was like watching someone put maple syrup on their hamburger bun instead of mustard.
When I started doing serious cooking, there was no way I could keep the provincial palate of my childhood. I finally got around to tasting the dreaded rice pudding, and from there all manner of fascinating dishes from around the world. And I learned something about food, and about culture. Specifically, that the rules of savory and sweet can be broken, particularly if you look carefully at ingredient combinations from other cuisines and cultures.
It was the show "Iron Chef" that inspired me the most to experiment with applying the flavor palette of one cuisine to the ingredients of another. Watching classic French techniques interpreted by skilled Japanese chefs using their own native ingredients is a study in fusion cusine that actually works.
In particular, the show is an education in pushing the boundaries of texture and temperature combinations as well as challenging the traditonal interpretations of savory and sweet. A recent culinary creation inspired by the show is a warm mushroom soufflé tart with a savory rosemary-walnut shortbread crust served with a Roquefort-Sauternes ice cream and peppered pears in a wine vinegar reduction. Its structure is clearly that of a rich, buttery dessert, but it is savory rather than sweet. Consuming it can be an experience in "phantom taste" – it looks and feels like a dessert in the mouth, and your palate is constantly being surprised that it isn't one.
Here's my recipe for Wild Mushroom Souffle Tart with Roquefort-Sauternes Ice Cream, a la Iron Chef. Allez cuisine!
Extensive links to Iron Chef resources on the Web can be found at Ironchef.com, an excellent site maintained by Stephanie Masumura.
Are you ready to challenge the California Iron Chef? If you are, go ahead and enter the Cyber Kitchen Stadium! The gong of fate will sound! Special thanks and credit to John Burkhart for the gong.
Meet another "Iron Chef" in our virtual Kitchen Stadium, Iron English!
The newest Virtual Iron Chef, Iron South, issues an infamous challenge to Andrew John Conway-san. Can Iron English respond to save his honor?
In the mood for some Iron Chef humor? Read about the Top Ten Iron Chef Crossover Episodes you never, ever want to see.
Here are the rules for the Iron Chef Drinking Game, courtesy of Jen Berktold and Chris Zammarelli.
You know you're Too Into Iron Chef When....
