September 14, 2009 | Yvonne Lim Wilson
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The clock was ticking. Five minutes remaining. Chef Chad Pritchard, the 2008 defending Iron Chef, was working hard to complete his dishes.
On the other side, Chef Cheng Lin of Hayashi Grill was already done, sitting cool as one of his signature cucumbers.
The two chefs had just one hour to create three dishes, each utilizing the secret ingredient: nori seaweed.
Chef Lin created scallop cerviche with tempura-fried seaweed; cucumber seaweed roll with shrimp, side of two sauces: mango sauce and Siracha-miso sauce; tempura-fried nori-wrapped banana with strawberry sauce.
Chef Pritchard created creamy nori soup with shrimp; seared medium-rare duck medallions with penne pasta, Asian-inspired tomato and nori sauce on a bed of nori; coconut milk rice pudding with nori.
It turned out that Chef Lin had every reason to keep cool. Lin defeated the defending champion and was anointed Iron Chef 2009.
"This was extremely competitive -- it was sort of back and forth between the two chefs," said judge Pat Sharpe of Texas Monthly, speaking for the panel of celebrity judges, which also included Addie Broyles of the Statesman, Ronald Cheng of Chinatown restaurant and Kevin Quinn of the Texas Culinary Academy. "In terms of showcasing the secret ingredient, the nod goes to Chef Lin."
Lin said he was surprised by his win, saying that seaweed can be very difficult to work with. The toughest part, he said, was formulating a plan for the three dishes once the secret ingredient was unveiled.
The two chefs competed at the fourth annual Asia Food Fest, Sept. 11 and 12 at the Texas Culinary Academy. The event was sponsored by the Texas Asian Chamber of Commerce, the Texas Culinary Academy and Satay Restaurant.
The Iron Chef battle was just one element of the action-packed festival, which also included cooking classes for kids and adults, an Asia Market, Meet the Chefs reception and sake tastings.
More than 1,000 people -- a record number -- braved the wet weather to join the fun.
Ajay Chandna and his son Amit said they really enjoyed the great food, combined with the excitement of the live dragon/lion dance.
"I thought it was really nice to get a sample of everything, and the dragon dance was high energy," Ajay said.
Amit said he was excited to learn how to make sushi from the Asia Food Fest cooking class for kids and was eager to get home and start rolling. But the Iron Chef competition was definitely his favorite part of the festival.
Another festival goer agreed that the combination of flavorful Asian food and exciting competition makes for a great event.
"It's a great chance to spotlight Asian culture and cuisine, to see the diversity of it," said Richard Hall. "There's a lot of excitement to it to see the competition."
A portion of the proceeds will go towards a scholarship to a culinary student studying Asian cuisine.
In a related story, Fox News reporter Nik Ciccone competed in a mini-Iron Chef battle against Chef Chad Pritchard the day before the festival. Ciccone created an "Asian breakfast taco" made with eggs and ... nori seaweed. Coincidence or foreshadowing? Watch the clip to see this creative concoction http://www.myfoxaustin.com/dpp/good_day/091009_3rd_Annual_Asia_Food_Fest_Hits_Austin
With additional reporting from Lisa HoLung.
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