Black Bean Sauce Ming says: As a teenager in Dayton, Ohio, I had to seek out Chinatowns away from home

to have black beans and clams, a dish I'd dream about-literally. The combo is classic Chinese, like its main savory seasoning, the black beans and garlic. This version gives you all the great pungent taste of that immortal pairing wit hout the bother of having to chop and blend every time you want it. At Blue Ging er we use this sauce all the time to make the delicious Wok-Stirred Clams and Bl ack Beans on page 35- and you will too, once you have it on hand. Be sure not to seal the jar in which you store the sauce until it's completely c ool, and stir it well before using. Ingredients All ingredients A-Z 1 cup grapeseed oil or canola oil 1/3 cup fermented black beans, roughly chopped 1/2 cup minced garlic 1/2 cup peeled and minced fresh ginger 2 bunches of scallions, white and green parts, sliced 1/8 inch thick 1 tablespoon sambal oelek or hot red pepper sauce 1/2 cup Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry 2 teaspoons kosher salt 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Directions Heat a wok or large saut pan over high heat. Add 1/4 cup of the oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the beans, garlic, ginger, and scallions, and stir-fry until t he mixture has softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the sambal oelek and wine, decrease the heat to medium, and cook until the m ixture is reduced by three quarters, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the salt and pepper. Remove the mixture from the heat and allow it to cool. Transfer half of the mixt ure to a blender and pure it at high speed while adding the remaining 3/4 cup of oil. Stir the pure back into the remaining mixture and cool completely. Use or st ore. Lasts 2 weeks, refrigerated Uzuki-style Stew created by Challenger Munetaka Takahashi Battle Bamboo Shoots reverse-engineered by David J Rust Ingredients: 6 Cups 3 Cups 1/2 Cup 36 oz 12 3 sheets 9 to taste Steps bonito shavings water fish sauce bamboo shoots softened by boiling and thinly sliced prawns cleaned and shelled Wakame seaweed rehydrated and sliced into bite-size pieces eggs beaten salt and white pepper

1. Over medium heat, bring the water to a simmer and slowly add the bonito shavi ngs. The resulting mix should be thick enough so that a chop stick, inserted int o the middle, stands on its own. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. 2. Strain the bonito broth and set the liquid aside. Discard the used bonito sha vings. 3. Return the broth to a simmer and add the fish sauce. Stir to incorporate and

return to a simmer. Taste and season -as needed- with salt and white pepper. 4. Add the thinly sliced bamboo shoots, stir and cover, simmering over low heat for 15 - 20 minutes. 5. Add the peeled and shelled prawns and cover, still simmering, for 2 minutes. Remove the lid and remove the prawns. Slice each prawn into thirds and set aside . 6. In each bowl to be served, place an equal amount of the bamboo shoots. Layer equal amounts of Wakame seaweed on each. Add equal amounts of the prawn slices o n top of the Wakame. Pour equal amounts of the bonito broth over all the ingredi ents. 7. Pour equal amounts of the beaten eggs into the broth, allowing the heat to co ok it. Do not stir or break up the eggs. Serve each bowl, hot. Serves 6 as a medium soup. Iron Chef Notes: The challenger used 2-part, clay or entire dish in the top portion and om of the lower portion of the clay top portions over the bottom as he r while the dish finished cooking. Cooking Notes: In America, most people use canned bamboo shoots in their recipes; only a few st ores will actually carry this ingredient fresh. As such, I have never had the op portunity to cook with them aside from the canned version. There are a few notes I would add, however, based upon comments made in the show. Dr. Hattori mention ed that whole bamboo shoots take a long time to prepare so that they are soft en ough to eat. Boiling or simmering them for an hour is not uncommon. Also, the ou ter husk is inedible (save as a young plant) and should be peeled and discarded. ceramic bowls for this dish. He prepared the then placed extremely hot stones in the bott bowls. In this way, he was able to place the added the eggs and -thus- maintain the simme

Salt Crust Grill created by Iron Chef Chinese I, Chen Kenichi Battle Veal reverse-engineered by David J Rust Ingredients: 6 6 Tbsp 6 Tbsp to wrap 3/4 Cup 3/4 Cup 3/4 Cup 3/4 Cup 1 tsp 2 tsp 1 tsp 6 Tbsp 6 oz. veal cutlets basil pesto Chinese bean paste soy sauce fat netting bananna chopped mango chopped pear chopped pineapple chopped rosemary minced mint minced oregano minced corn starch

2 Cups 8 Cups 8 16 Steps

high-heat deep frying oil rock salt egg whites salt-cured grape leaves

1. Pound the veal cutlets flat and spread each one with the pesto and bean paste soy sauce. 2. Create a layer from half of the veal cutlets over a third of the fat netting with the remaining two-thirds of netting laid out to wrap around the veal when i t's done being stuffed. 3. Mix the fruits and herbs in a bowl and then layer them on top of the bottom l ayer of veal. Place the remaining veal cutlets over the fruit, sandwiching it be tween the veal. Pack it tightly and roll it up in the fat netting. 4. Coat the fat netting-wrapped veal and fruit in corn starch. 5. In a hot wok, heat the oil and deep-fry the fat-netted veal until the corn st arch coating browns lightly. 6. In a large bowl, mix the rock salt and egg whites to make a paste. Spread abo ut a quarter of this paste on the bottom of a cookie sheet. 7. Spread half of the grape leaves on the salt base and lay the browned veal pac kage on top of it. Layer the remaining grape leaves over the top, completely cov ering it. Take the remaining salt paste and cover the grape-leaf-wrapped-veal fo rming a dome. 8. Roast the salt-crust dome in a 325 degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove and pla ce the dome on a serving platter. 9. Serve the dish by cracking the dome and discarding the salt and leaves. Slice veal pieces and serve with the fruit filling to each diner. Serves 6 as a medium entree. Iron Chef Notes: The tasting panel all noted how salty the dish tasted, but remarked that the fru it filling counter-balanced that perfectly. I suppose this is a side-effect of t he salt-crust-dome that was used, so seasoning the meat, pesto or fruits probabl y is not needed. Cooking Notes: I find cooking with veal to be problematical. The conditions that the animals ar e raised in are usually quite cruel and inhumane. However, if you can find -as I did- a rancher or farmer who raises free-range veal, this will alleviate most o f these problems. Sleepy Cat Farms in Minnesota is one of these places. Now, the meat will not be as tender if it is raised free-range. The best way to infuse t he tenderness into the meat, is to soak it, in the refrigerator, for 4-6 hours i n heavy cream. Make sure that the veal is completely covered in the cream. When it is done, simply pat it dry and discard the liquid.

Tuna Stewed in Red Wine created by created by Challenger Shinya Tasaki (1995 World Champion Sommelier)

Battle Tuna reverse-engineered by David J Rust Ingredients: 2 Tbsp 2 Cups 12 3 1 Tbsp to taste 6 oz 36 oz Steps soy sauce red wine white mushrooms long green onions olive oil salt dark chocolate tuna steak cubed

(champignon - cleaned and peeled) chopped into 3"-long pieces

1. In a saucepan, simmer the red wine and soy sauce together and reduce it to ab out half volume. 2. Meanwhile, in a skillet, lightly fry the mushrooms and onions in the olive oi l. Season with salt to taste. Cook until the onions have a slight brown color on their edges. 3. Add the mushrooms and onions into the red wine sauce and stir in. Then, add t he chocolate and dissolve it into the liquid. 4. Once the chocolate has been dissolved and the liquid returns to a simmer, add the tuna and stew it until the sauce has thickend to a glaze consistency. 5. Place equal amounts of the tuna, mushrooms and onion on 6 serving plates and drizzle each with some of the sauce. Serve. Serves 6 as a small entree.