Iron Chef #16 - Conger Eel Battle

Kazuyoshi Masaki vs Iron Chef Rokusaburo Michiba
Iron Chef 1994 Episode 6 - Overall episode #016 - February 13th, 1994

We cold open with Boss Kandagawa continuing to examine two bowls. If he selects dinnerware like he selects challengers, last battle was a styrofoam container and this battle is Arita porcelain.

Last episode we saw the youthful Challenger Koichi Taniguchi fall without much resistance to Iron Chef Chinese Chen Kenichi. This time Boss Kandagawa will select Kazuyoshi Masaki, who will bring his decades of experience, lofty laurels, and potent ninjutsu to face the most similar Iron Chef to his skillset.

Meet the Challenger:

Kazuyoshi Masaki

Challenger Masaki enters kitchen stadium with a resume like none other before him, and very few after him. He is well versed in sushi, kaiseke, and upholds the ingredient-focused philosophy of the Kandagawa school, perhaps better than Boss Kandagawa himself. Let's touch on some of the highlights of his well respected career:
Japanese Culinary Federation Instructor
Director of the Japanese Culinary Association
Secretary of the Osaka Prefecture Culinary Association
Presided over the Ise Jingu shrine rebuild ceremony.
Chef of the Ninja Museum-adjacent Iga Ueno Kanko Hotel at age 27.
Chef of Teru Sushi and Arima Onsen Choraku in the Gran Resort Princess Arima in Kobe.
Has never smiled.

Boss Kandagawa brought an actual ninja to a knife fight.

Challenger Masaki’s Sizzle Reel:

This is quite the platter of... *checks notes* ... a lot of stuff in a lot of stuff in a lot of suff.

Okay, I know this one... *checks notes* ... a lot of stuff in a bowl. I should get paid for this analysis.

Tai snapper playfully plated with a scored shiitake mushroom cap. Iron Chef Michiba and Challenger Masaki are the same person. Michiba was sent from the future in a convoluted Looper-like scenario to defeat Masaki in order to protect seafood sustainability.

Showdown:

Boss Kandagawa leads Koichi Taniguchi and Taniguchi's avenger, Kazuyoshi Masaki, into Kitchen Stadium looking like a No Limit album cover.

Iron Chef Japanese Michiba is the selection! This is going to be a good matchup. Each chef shares similar approaches to cuisine.

Despite the challenger's experience, Iron Chef Michiba is 18 years older and has a wealth of tricks (and at least two more facial expressions). Though the solemn and methodical Iron Chef often has the personality of a cardboard cutout, challenger Masaki's emotional austerity is on a whole different level. This may be the only silent battle. My prediction is that the first chef to stuff a yuzu will have the psychological advantage that will carry him to victory.

Title Card:

Challenger Kazuyoshi Masaki vs Iron Chef Japanese Rukusaburo Michiba!

The Chairman’s Fit:

Speaking of the Chairman's fit, I'm glad you asked

Today the Chairman is a Templar Knight about to ride into battle on the mighty steed from Beyonce's Renaissance Tour.

The Reveal:

The Chairman can't help to chuckle at this tank of live eels, as it reminds him of happier times as a youth bobbing for live eels during the Mid-Autumn Festival. The Conger Eel is also known as Anago, the less fatty cousin of sushi-bar and donburi favorite unagi (freshwater eel). This particular anago is "kuro-anago" or the whitespotted conger eel.

Warning. There are two fascinating but graphic techniques that we'll get to see today in the preparation of live eel by these Japanese cuisine masters.
1. Literally nailing the live eel to a cutting board through its eye-socket to secure it..
2. Using an unagisaki (eel knife) to delicately mince the brittle rib bones without tearing the fillet to become easier to eat.

Neither is easy to do, nor easy to watch, but these are professionals and I'll respect the craft.

Allez! Cuisine!:

In a test of wills, neither chef advances to the podium. A classic ninjutsu tactic. You can't be stabbed in the back if you go last.

In the Booth:

Play-by-Play Kenji Fukui (right) and Color Commentator Dr. Yukio Hattori (left).

Dr. Hattori: Eel blood is poisonous to humans, causing anaphylaxis unless cooked.
Fukui: Crazy how nature do dat.

The Battle:

Both Chefs bare-hand grab the slippery conger eels, which have been known to sever a thumb. They each make it look easy, which it is not, as can be evidenced by the fish mongers grappling with the eel tanks at your local Asian grocer. The tip jar is there for a reason.

Iron Chef Michiba is first to nail the eel to his cutting board. I think he's done this once or twice before.

The Iron Chef quickly filets the eel. Thank goodness it was quickly.

Kazuyoshi Masaki is next up on the carpentry challenge, and is having a more difficult time with it. It is only a matter of time before this becomes a challenge on an amateur reality cooking competition. Slay with Flay, on Food Network this fall.

Challenger Masaki is bit slower on the filet as well. I expected better from a ninja. The good news is that this should conclude the live butchery of today's battle, until Flay with Flay, on Food Network next spring.

Iron Chef's second eel is not happy with its front row seat to these proceedings.

Iron Chef Michiba gives his eel filet a quick blanch. As Doc reminded us, eel needs to be cooked, even for sushi or sashimi applications.

Challenger Masaki breaks down the ribs delicately and uniformly into edible bits while preserving the filet. Fortunately, if you purchase unagi or anago from the frozen section, this step is already done for you in addition to the application of the eel barbecue sauce. Worth the $10.

The Iron Chef does the same while portioning out his fillet into inch long pieces. The cuts are spaced out a bit wider, which will give a flower-like appearance once curled by boiling.

The challenger has eel rolled around gobo (burdock root) and dusted in flour in preperation for a deep fry. Don't worry, the gobo will soften with cooking. Otherwise it would be like eating a flounder-wrapped pencil, coincidentally, a dish Judge Hirano credits to maintaining his wits.

Challenger Masaki's deep fried eel rolls are placed into a soy based dashi. The purpose of the deep fry appears to have been to set the rolls. While Iron Chef Michiba is going to use blanching in water, Ninja Fry-den is going to deep fry the eel for almost all his dishes first.

The Iron Chef has been quietly blanching eel for the past few minutes, but then pulls out this neon yellow battered eel concoction. We're going to have to wait to find out where that hue is coming from. A ladle of Japanese mustard or Uranium-235? I'm not sure which would be deadlier.

Peer-pressured into deep frying, the Iron Chef's yellow eel is dunked along with crispy eel back bones. I saw a rice cooker on, so hopefully we get a sushi showdown to complement this deep fry duel.

Iron Chef Michiba the Rebel is feeling playful as he makes a balsamic reduction to appear like eel barbecue sauce. I think he'll go with a not-so-traditional kabayaki. We'll know more if we see him fire up the grill or broiler.

Challenger Masaki has coated eel fillets with Dippin’ Dots in preparation for another deep fry.

Iron Chef Michiba finally gets to calligraphy his courses with just 30-minutes remaining in the battle. This is usually his first order of business. Today it reads "Sureal Eel, Eel-egal Roll, and Eel on Muscat."

The Challenger's deep fried eel Dippin’ Dots are placed in steamer. That's two different dishes that got set in the fryer and finished cooking elsewhere (the eel rolls in the braise was the other). If he's committed to taking this technique to its nadir, he will deep fry eel fillets and then poach them in the dishwasher.

Ten minutes later, Iron Chef Michiba has completed his magnum opus "Harder, Better, Faster, Conger."

Challenger Maska's plating uzaku (grilled eel and cucumber dressed with sanbaizu) into a fish bowl. This playful sunomono is actually going to be the last course.

Now it's a nigiri battle! The challenger raises the stakes by doing it mostly one-handed!

The Kandagawa Clan watches intently from the gallery. If they lose again, Boss Kandagawa will not give them a ride back to HQ in the KandagaWagon (Mitsubishi Delica).

The Judges’ Table(s):

Lower House member, writer Shinichiro Kurimoto (109 battles).
Judge Kurimoto's 1990's website, homopants.com, is a treasure of a time capsule of web design (and domain name registration). Seriously. Go there immediately. I'll wait.

Actress Mai Kitajima (9 battles).
Judge Kitajima's doesn't go to websites lacking TLS encryption, and you shouldn't have either.

Rosanjin Scholar Masaaki Hirano (42 battles).
Judge Hirano only exists on the DarkWeb.

Dishes:

Challenger Masaki completes five dishes.

Challenger Masaki’s first dish:
Eel and Plum Tempura

A tasty lightly fried gold nugget of eel, plum, and herbs. Quality start. No complaints here. The judges approve.

Challenger Masaki’s second dish:
Anago Tekone Sushi Nigiri

Eel boiled in soy sauce and vinegar topping sushi rice. This is the challenger's entry into the nigiri battle. It is a strong contender, going with a boiled eel rather than the usual grilled or broiled eel lathered with barbecue sauce. It seems like a smart choice, as the anago is less fatty and rich than unagi. Unanimous effusive praise from the judges. Fabulous start by Challenger Masaki.

The Judges favorite dish from the Challenger.

Challenger Masaki’s third dish:
Braised Conger Eel Rolls

Third dish, third different technique. These eel fillets were rolled around burdock, deep fried, and then braised in a soy dashi. Two more "oishis," but Judge Hirano remains silent, lost in thought about an electric eel powered Discman.

Challenger Masaki’s fourth dish:
Deep Fried and Steamed Conger Eel

Another technique. This one coating the eel filets in some starchy balls of unknown origin, deep-frying, and then steaming. Another soy reduction was poured over the top. This seems a bit redundant after the last dish. The novelty of the steam treatment does not move the judges. This is the only misfire thus far, but that can be all it takes against an Iron Chef like Michiba.

Challenger Masaki’s Fifth Dish
Uzaku

The sunomono is served last. Grilled eel and cucumber dressed with sanbaizu (rice vinegar, soy sauce, and mirin) and served in a fishbowl with a ginger stem, of course. Modern presentation of a classic dish is right up the judges alley. Another dish, another hit. This was one of the strongest showings from any challenger thus far. Iron Chef Michiba certainly has his work cut out for him.

Iron Chef Michiba completes four dishes:

Iron Chef Michiba’s first dish:
Boiled Conger Eel

This was the flower-cut eel filets briefly blanched and served on ice with a shallot pledging its allegiance to this first course. This is about as "ingredient focused" and minimalist as conger eel could be. Iron Chef Michiba sets the tone for his meal by beating the Kandagawa Clan at their own game.

Iron Chef Michiba’s Second Dish:
Spring Snow Conger Eel

A light cloudy soup with eel broth a clumpy thickening agent (kudzu starch?) and a mysteriously yellow deep fried ball of conger eel. I guess we'll never know what made it so yellow, but perhaps Japanese mustard was involved. This dish does invoke a spring snow melt, but from a taste standpoint it too difficult to tell if it is a hit or a miss. We'll have to rely on the judge's reactions. They respond with the unanimous triple-oishi! This is going to be a close finish coming down to the sushi and fried eel bone dishes.

Iron Chef Michiba’s third dish:
Anago Nigiri

The Iron Chef's entrant in the nigiri battle. This looks more like a classic eel nigiri, whether anago or unagi. However, that glaze is a balsamic reduction rather than the traditional eel barbecue sauce. Great twist on a classic. Those raw broccoli florets can go right into the compost, where they belong.

Judge Kurimoto is going to start a GeoCities website dedicated to this dish. Will there be hit-counters and comic-sans? You better believe it.

Iron Chef Michiba’s Fourth Dish
Pepper Eels

This dish is infuriating. It demonstrates a cool technique of frying eel bones until crispy and edible, but is served atop blanched tri-color bell peppers. Were are the 1990's the peak tri-color bell pepper era? I feel like it would have been earlier, along with tri-color rotini. More importantly, would this be any fun to eat? Alas, we are going to see bell peppers and asparagus ad nauseum during this show's entire run. I should not be so jaded, because the judges are going to be amazed like we were for ube in the 2020's
The judges voice their appreciation for the dish, though none are shown actually eating it.

Whose cuisine reigns supreme?!

Iron Chef Rokusaburo Michiba! Boss Kandagaws remains gracious in back-to-back defeats, but he must be upset internally.

This was a close one. I think a legitimate argument could be made for either chef, but in those cases, the Iron Chef usually emerges victorious. There is always a little home-field advantage in Kitchen Stadium, and challengers must demonstrate a margin of victory to secure the win.

Challenger Masaki serving two soy-based eel soups where the difference was one was boiled and the other steamed may have been unnecessary and not particularly creative. Iron Chef Michiba did demonstrate more creativity utilizing the balsamic reduction as eel sauce and deep frying the eel bones.

Boss Kandagawa is down, but not out. He's done ordering his generals into battle, and is going to compete himself the next episode!

Episode notes:

My favorite dish was My favorite dish was Iron Chef Michiba's anago nigiri with balsamic reduction.
This is the first of four conger eel battles, with an additional five relatives (one freshwater eel, one giant eel, and three pike eel).
The next episode is the seventh of 1994, and 17th overall - Battle Tubot!