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CHAIRMAN: The time has come to once again answer
life's most savory question.
Guys, everybody's good?
CHAIRMAN: Whose cuisine reigns supreme?
Oh, here we go!
This is "Iron Chef America."
WOMAN: 3...
...2...
We need to start making this happen.
Whoo-whee!
Oh, what a girl would do.
BROWN: A delectable Japanese tradition
has taken root in American soil.
We have been graced with the establishment
of our very own Kitchen Stadium,
where our nimble Chairman has brought together
the pungent flavors of East and West.
It is here where the best of the best from around the world
meet and face the ultimate gourmet challenge.
I'm in the zone, man!
[ Laughs ]
Hello, one and all. Welcome to "Iron Chef America."
Hey, check out some of these obscure, unusual food laws
that I looked up.
In Maryland, it is illegal
to eat while swimming in the ocean.
In Marion, Ohio --
illegal to eat a doughnut while walking backwards.
In parts of California, illegal to eat an orange in a bathtub.
I don't know what that's about.
As for here in Kitchen Stadium, well, crying for your mama
while getting your keister kicked
by an Iron Chef -- completely prohibited,
and I sure hope I don't have to write any tickets today.
Let's get to business.
In mere moments,
one Iron Chef will be pitted against our challenger,
who thirsts to discover our secret ingredient
and enter the heat of battle here in Kitchen Stadium.
The Chariman welcomes...
My name is Hong Thaimee.
I own a restaurant called Ngam
in the East Village of New York City.
BROWN: "Ngam" is the Thai word for "beautiful" --
fitting for the restaurant of a former fashion model
whose modern Thai comfort food
has crowned her the ambassador of Thai cuisine.
I'm just a girl from Chiang Mai,
and now I'm cooking in Kitchen Stadium.
It's such an honor.
BROWN: Now our challenger must make the ultimate choice.
Because he represents American culture
and I'm here to show the best of my Thai cooking,
I want to battle...
...Iron Chef Bobby Flay.
Let's go. Let's go. Let's go.
Chef Thaimee, welcome...
...and sawatdee kha.
Sawatdee kha.
You are a former fashion model.
So, will you make it down the Kitchen Stadium runway
without a hitch...
...or slip and fall,
leaving a trail of spilled food and overturned pots?!
I would not let that happen.
Very good.
Iron Chef Flay...
...I trust you are, as always, good to go.
I'm ready, Mr. Chariman.
I'm glad to hear that.
But there is one more ingredient to this battle --
our secret ingredient...
...the theme on which our chefs
will offer their succulent variations.
Today's secret ingredient is...
...tamarind!
[ Audience "Oohs" ]
Wow.
THAIMEE: Tamarind is so dear to my heart.
I love it.
FLAY: A very tough ingredient to use.
It can be overpowering, overwhelming,
but it's got wonderful flavor.
Chefs, can you perform culinary magic
with this ingredient?
Absolutely.
Definitely.
Very good.
Chefs, your initial dish featuring tamarind
must be served to the judges
during the first 20 minutes of the battle.
Then, later in the battle,
I will unveil my culinary curveball,
an unexpected turn
to test your culinary resourcefulness,
but that is all I will say at this time.
So now, America,
with an open heart and empty stomach,
I say unto you in the words of my uncle...
...allez cuisine!
BROWN: And Battle Tamarindus Indica is on
here in Kitchen Stadium.
You know, Iron Chef Flay knows better.
The Chairman's supposed to be the one
throwing the culinary curveball.
Ooh!
All right, tamarind is, of course, considered a fruit.
It has a complex flavor that's sour,
but, you know, it gets sweeter as it ripens.
That shows how strong I am.
We have it here today in three distinct forms --
whole pods, blocks of the pulp --
it's kind of a hard cake-like substance --
and then the concentrate, which is rendered from the pulp.
All right, I'm gonna go with the first course
Yep.
Tamarind paste.
We got this.
We going to do it?
Yeah.
This menu is quite ambitious for me.
I'm very competitive, so he better watch out.
FLAY: My challenger's culture is definitely an advantage for her.
She's gonna have a great command of an ingredient like tamarind.
All right, so, what are you gonna do?
I got the oysters, and I got the eggplant.
The oysters -- we have to go quickly 'cause there's only 20 minutes,
Yes, chef.
Okay, I'm gonna do a tamarind pastry cream tart.
And the cherries and the tamarind --
To me, it's a great combination.
All right, cool.
FLAY: I don't really have an overall theme.
I see lots of spices working.
[ Blender whirring ]
BROWN: Ah, it wouldn't be an Iron Chef Flay battle
without blenders whirling
with his green herb and red chili oils
over with sous-chef Ryan,
and I believe I spy Kevin Brauch down on the floor.
Looks like he's searching for an Iron Chef
who's got a pot full of spices.
BRAUCH: This is what I love to see --
Bobby Flay stealing from the supermarket.
How are you doing, Iron Chef?
I'm good. I'm making a tamarind barbecue sauce.
We're gonna do some tamarind oysters to get going, hopefully,
Very focused, very aggressive.
I'm gonna let you get back to the sauce.
Good luck, Iron Chef Bobby Flay.
Thank you very much.
BROWN: Behold --
another feat of strength from Chef Thaimee --
breaking down lobster.
Going into a pot --
some lemongrass and some lobster.
Lemongrass, kind of like tamarind,
is a very popular ingredient in Thailand.
Chef Thaimee is smiling, looking very relaxed...
I'm happy to be here.
...doing some stretching by breaking down a lobster.
Do you see how muscle I have?
I see how much muscle you have.
I'm a strong woman, right? [ Laughs ]
Talk to us about the first dish.
It is a sour and spicy soup --
tamarind base with soft-shell crab.
Thank you.
Now, Chef Thaimee will get sour flavor from the tamarind,
which tastes like -- kind of like lemon plus prune almost,
and like lemon, tamarind can be sweetened
and used in any number of sweet applications or desserts.
Hiya!
Right over on the Iron Chef side,
Dungeness crabs hit the hot water.
FLAY: How are you on the oysters?
CALVO: About to crack 'em.
BROWN: Sous-chef Ryan's got oyster-shucking duty
and sous-chef Josephine deals with a mixture
of dairy and spices,
also herbs, cream, black pepper, actually.
They're gonna have ice cream, I think, but with pepper?
Very interesting. More spices over on that side.
Now, The Iron Chef's got a barbecue sauce --
looks like maybe some cayenne, some ketchup,
little bit of molasses, and I think some cider vinegar,
and, of course, some tamarind.
How are you on the oysters?
Right there, chef, on your station.
FLAY: I'm gonna cook the oysters on the shell
and let it cook in its own juices from the grill
and then paint it with a little bit of tamarind barbecue sauce.
BROWN: Ah, grilled oysters -- nice starter
and a quick first dish to prepare.
The first course has got to be up to the judges
within the first 20 minutes of the battle,
and if the chefs don't get those dishes up in time,
they forfeit those points -- five points per judge.
They can be the make or break here in a battle.
Some soft-shell crabs harvested by Nin over by the fryer
on Chef Thaimee's side.
This is a famous dish in Thailand.
It is a crispy fish,
but I am a fan of soft-shell, so I just do them soft-shell.
BROWN: The soft-shell crabs went into a little bit of tempura batter.
Those are down now and turning bright red in the fryer.
With that soft-shell crab, they are gonna be serving
a hot-and-sour-style soup as their first course.
THAIMEE: My strategy is in one sip
of that soup with the tamarind base,
you get the sour, you get the spicy,
and it will open your senses.
BROWN: Sous-chef Leona --
She's got a wok over there, and in that wok,
I think there's just some sugar and water in there.
I have to admit to a certain level of ignorance
about this level of Thai cuisine.
I'll certainly try to keep up with the action,
but I'm gonna be relying on my spies on the floor
even more than usual.
Kevin Brauch down on the floor.
Kevin, can you lift the lid on that device right there?
Let's get a look down into that.
If you put one of those recoiling snakes in there --
No, I didn't, but that's a good idea.
Can I get chef to explain it very quickly?
I wish you would.
Chef, could you just tell us a little bit
about what you're doing and what this device is?
So, this thing is called imlot, okay?
And you find it at any market in Thailand,
and what we do is we fill up with ice and then some salt
to keep everything chilled.
Ah, so basically they're taking advantage
of the endothermic reaction that takes place
when salt and ice come into contact with each other.
I was tripping on those words.
Endothermic's a tough one, yeah.
And she can basically make her own Popsicles there if she wants to.
I will, sir.
BROWN: Over on the Iron Chef side, going into a pressure cooker --
pork shoulder, some chicken stock,
some shallots in there,
and a head of garlic that has been split --
We can see that -- tamarind paste.
FLAY: I decided to make a tamarind carnitas --
you know, pork shoulder that I do a quick braise in tamarind
to really make the pork nice and tender.
BROWN: All right, over on the challenger's side,
we've got some short ribs, I see,
in a bowl being tossed with something.
THAIMEE: This one is short rib hung le --
short rib and tamarind --
pretty straightforward Thai flavor.
BROWN: Also some oyster and fish sauce in there.
She's gonna use a pressure cooker on those
to get them tender in the time she's got.
More spices over on the Iron Chef side --
green cardamom pods, star anise, some fennel, I think,
and some pink peppercorns toasting in a pot.
He promised spices and we've seen plenty so far.
Now, the Iron Chef --
trouble getting the lid onto that pressure cooker --
a crucial but fickle tool here in Kitchen Stadium.
FLAY: Is this on?
Even Iron Chefs are not immune to Kitchen Stadium stress,
but with less than five minutes left
to get their first plates up,
both chefs need to hurry
as our Thai challenger, Chef Hong Thaimee...
I cannot find anything.
...attempts to out-cook Iron Chef Bobby Flay...
What the [bleep] am I doing here?
Am I doing this wrong?
...with this tricky secret ingredient -- tamarind.
The heat is on here in Kitchen Stadium.
We'll get back to the action
when "Iron Chef America" returns.
Hi, food fans. Welcome back to Kitchen Stadium.
This is "Iron Chef America,"
and the clock is ticking away on Battle Tamarind,
raging on between Iron Chef Bobby Flay on this side...
Ryan, how you doing?
Good, chef.
...and Chef Thaimee over on this side.
These chefs have got some pretty great culinary minds,
but so do our judges,
and to introduce them, we got to go up to Kevin Brauch.
Kevin?
Good evening, Alton Brown.
Konban wa, ladies and gentlemen.
Here come the judges.
Leading off, he's the host
of Food Network'*** show "Crave."
This is his maiden voyage here in Kitchen Stadium.
He's Troy Johnson.
Next, her award-winning blog chronicles her life
on a ranch near Pawhuska, Oklahoma,
and she has written two very popular cookbooks.
They call her the Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond.
Taking us home is an award-winning food critic
with a soft spot for meat-driven dishes.
Making his debut here in Kitchen Stadium,
Josh Ozersky.
BROWN: Kevin Brauch, ladies and gentlemen.
All right, back down onto the floor.
These big, beautiful Dungeness crabs
coming out of the pot over on the Iron Chef side.
FLAY: I decided to make a Dungeness crab salad
with some of the tamarind, of course,
to flavor the vinaigrette.
BROWN: So, crab will be served
in both sides of Kitchen Stadium today.
On Chef Thaimee's side,
they fried soft-shell crabs in a tamarind tempura batter.
You can see Chef Thaimee's using this --
almost looks like a really big muddler --
to kind of smash and break up the lemongrass,
releasing some of those flavors.
That's tamarind concentrate in the lobster stock
that we saw cooking at the beginning of the battle --
lime juice, fish sauce,
shallots, some garlic, some Thai basil.
Get me the soft-shell crab now!
All right, her crabs are done, just waiting for the soup --
this beautiful Thai soup server, hot pot.
20 minutes goes fast, so I have to make a first good impression.
BROWN: Chef, you've got two minutes
to get that up to the judges if you want the points.
Iron Chef Bobby Flay plating that first crucial course.
Japanese eggplant being peeled by his sous-chef Ryan.
FLAY: Is that relish done?
Yes, chef.
All right.
Yes.
Spicy?
Spicy, no.
Mint?
Yes, mint, black pepper, anise.
It's not seasoned?
Just put salt on it, chef.
Ryan -- This is his first go-around in Kitchen Stadium.
He seems a little nervous, but he's very skilled.
BROWN: Those toasted spices are going with the tamarind oysters --
probably just an aromatic garnish.
The dish should be a full sensory experience.
All right, Kevin, can you catch me up
on this dough that I'm looking down on?
BRAUCH: What was in the dough?
Thank you.
All right, I think it's gonna be a crust,
FLAY: Done.
And Iron Chef Bobby Flay serves his first course.
Chef Thaimee, you've only got 45 seconds to finish, ma'am.
[ Speaks Thai ]
And the Iron Chef Bobby Flay delivers.
FLAY: You have a grilled oyster,
tamarind barbecue sauce on top,
and then I toasted some of these Asian-like spices, I would say,
just to give you some of that aroma
as you eat the tamarind with the oyster.
Enjoy it.
I think the key to tamarind is using it
so that it is definitely apparent on the plate
but use it with some restraint.
I'm afraid that the barbecue sauce
really overwhelmed the oyster,
but it was totally beautiful to look at it
and it smells great, too.
The smell was better than the taste.
But, I mean, that is a beautiful dish.
BROWN: Sorry, Kevin. I've got to interrupt.
Chef Thaimee, you've got to get that up to the judges,
just so you know, ma'am.
And Chef Thaimee
takes up her soup with soft-shell crab
to the judges with seconds to spare.
Nicely played, ma'am.
Wow.
So, in Thailand, we love to share,
and this is the tom goong,
which is tamarind-based spicy and sour soup,
and I put in some soft-shell crab
in a tamarind batter.
Thank you.
JOHNSON: That's like dinner meets antiquing.
Enjoy.
Thank you.
THAIMEE: I want to just wow, wow, wow the judges
because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
This broth of Chef Thaimee's is out of this world.
The soft-shell crab is splendid.
Really taste the tamarind in this broth,
but there are lots of things around it.
The oyster -- you know, I had a slightly different experience from Josh.
I really tasted the oyster
and the tamarind was just all around the edges,
and after the oyster was finished, it was there.
I disagree with Ree 'cause the tamarind overwhelmed the oyster.
In terms of the broth --
I think the broth's a little bit overpowering.
You just have the crab, I think it works, but the broth itself is too much.
At the same time, it's a harder thing to do
fast and well, a soft-shell crab --
have it be crispy and go into a hot broth
I think, of the two dishes,
this, for me, is a much stronger effort.
BROWN: Thank you, Kevin, and thank you, judges.
Now, please put your efforts into awarding up to five points
to each of our chef's first courses.
All right, now back down on the floor,
over on Iron Chef Flay's side, sous-chef Josephine
stashes those hard doughs with the pistachio
where they belong -- in the oven.
Chef, I see pops are ready.
Do you want me to fill the molds or not yet?
Yeah, you can do that.
Over on the challenger's side of the world,
I am looking at coriander root,
a very, very common ingredient in Thai cuisine.
Ooh, ooh, ooh, and here we've got
an even more common Thai ingredient.
Of course, that's rice, and this is a rice steamer,
a Thai-style rice steamer,
and I think that is some Thai medium-grain rice --
medium sticky rice -- going into the steam.
I bet that's gonna be for the short ribs.
Time flies in Kitchen Stadium.
Chef, you better put some pressure to those ribs.
Right, and now we can see that Leona
is sticking these kind of long metal molds
down through this plate in the pop shaker.
She's been handling most of the desserts.
She made a very curious batter --
tamarind, chocolate, malted milk powder,
chocolate mix kind of thing.
The mixture that she is now pouring into those tubs --
cola, tamarind concentrate, and water.
She's gonna push that down into that brine mixture
and super-chill it.
THAIMEE: The icy pop machine,
which my mother sent to me from Thailand,
make tamarind into a frozen, sweet note.
Take whatever you need.
BROWN: On Iron Chef Flay's side, I admit, it doesn't look pretty,
this mixture that Josephine's bringing together
with that tamarind concentrate --
some muscovado sugar with some eggs,
but I bet that's gonna be a lovely filling for those tart shells.
WOMAN: 30 minutes have elapsed.
How's the eggplant situation?
In the oven, ready to go to glaze.
BROWN: Uh-oh.
Not the first and not the last time
a convection oven door has attacked at Kitchen Stadium.
[Bleep]
Jo.
What?
Your tarts fell.
[ Groans ] Dropped my tarts.
This is not good.
Forget it. Just forget it.
[ Sighs ]
Do them again.
Sorry, Jo.
BROWN: Tough break.
They're gonna have to remake their dessert quickly.
Time is not on their side.
You're not kidding when the time flies, huh?
Oh, and keep in mind,
soon the Chariman's gonna throw a little culinary curveball
to mix up the action.
We'll watch for that.
The tension, high -- pressure mounting,
and we'll review the judges' scores for the first dish
when "Iron Chef America" returns.
Hey, welcome back to "Iron Chef America."
Battle Tamarind rages on between Iron Chef Bobby Flay...
Yeah.
BROWN: ...and Chef Thaimee over on this side.
[ Speaking Thai ]
Yeah, are you working on the papaya, Leona?
SAGER: Yes.
I have here the judges' scores for the first dish --
15 possible points, 5 from each judge.
Wow, the challenger, Thaimee scoring 13 out of 15 points
for her first dish.
Iron Chef Bobby Flay -- 8.
I got 8?
I'm not really sure that I'm gonna have a chance to win.
I mean, there's only four dishes left to really make a comeback.
I only smile.
I think culinary god is on my side today.
[ Laughs ]
Iron Chef Bobby Flay looked a little nervous.
I'm so happy. At least I push a little button.
[ Chuckles ]
FLAY: That was surprising.
I mean, I thought it was a really nice dish,
but, obviously, the judges weren't in agreement.
BROWN: Tough battle for the Iron Chef thus far.
Sous-chef Josephine's trying to regain her footing
after that tart dough mishap.
FLAY: It is what it is.
I mean, you have 60 minutes no matter what.
You're fine. You got time.
You're good. Just do your thing, okay?
If you burn something three times,
as long as you get it down within 60 minutes, it's okay.
[ Chuckles ]
BROWN: The Iron Chef doesn't need any more surprises today.
Oh, no. Ah, the Chairman.
Chairman has brought forth the cart of culinary chaos.
Could it be an ingredient?
Could it be hardware? I don't know.
Chefs, the time has come to unveil my culinary curveball.
Right now? Oh, my God. [ Chuckles ]
[ Dramatic music plays ]
I would like you to incorporate these almonds
into at least one of your four remaining dishes.
BROWN: Almonds.
The Chairman has brought raw whole almonds
and blanched slivered almonds to the party.
THAIMEE: It's just a big gift for me
'cause I can incorporate into so many dishes.
Here, use these.
I like almonds.
I think almonds is a really good ingredient.
Ryan's gonna top, like, an almond relish
with almonds, of course, and chives and some cumin
and put it on our crispy eggplant.
BROWN: All right, looking at the glaze
that Iron Chef Bobby Flay was brushing over the eggplant,
I think that that's another barbecue sauce.
No, this is a tamarind ponzu glaze for eggplant.
The eggplant -- we cooked it first in the oven
to make it nice and soft and then glazed the tamarind glaze,
and then it's gonna get fried in rice flour.
BROWN: I thought I saw sous-chef Ryan making up a tempura batter.
Hey, Kevin, what's Chef Thaimee's plan
for the culinary curveball?
Chef Thaimee, you are slightly ahead in points.
Yep.
Pomelo salad.
Good luck. Keep doing the good work.
Thank you. Thank you.
BROWN: On the Iron Chef side of the planet,
sous-chef Josephine has finished a new batch of dough.
She's working very quickly.
Well, of course, she did have practice.
Now, take a look at this over on the board of Chef Thaimee.
Pomelo [puh-melo] pomelo [pah-melo] --
the largest of the citrus fruits -- a lot of pith.
She's got to get that skin off.
It's a little sweeter,
a little bit drier, also, than a grapefruit,
although if you're a grapefruit fan,
odds are you will like a pomelo.
That's gonna be for a salad
incorporating the Chairman's almond curveball.
Almonds -- I will bring tamarind and the pomelo
and make it a refreshing, crunchy flavor in the mouth.
With the pomelo salad,
I serve tamarind-glazed, grilled pork shoulder.
BROWN: Nice-looking, thinly sliced pieces of pork shoulder.
All right, they're marinating in some Thai soy,
little bit of tamarind concentrate.
and then in this mortar and pestle,
some pepper, cilantro, some garlic in there,
and some other liquid that my spies tell me is Thai whiskey.
Sounds good to me.
Okay, plates in process over on the Iron Chef side --
We can see some of that Dungeness meat,
the carapaces,
the top shells of those Dungeness crabs
have been reserved.
I used the shell of the crab as the plating, basically,
and I used some of the crab fat and then I cooked --
To actually flavor the vinaigrette,
I used ponzu, which is a Japanese citrus soy sauce,
and some of the tamarind, of course.
BROWN: So, it's a crab salad going into the shell.
All right, over on the challenger's side in the fryer,
what is that bubbling away?
This is green papaya.
All right, it's a green papaya, which, of course,
is used very often in salads in southeast Asia.
Pad Thai!
Well, of course, she's serving a pad Thai.
Instead of serve the regular rice noodle pad Thai,
I make it into a crispy papaya pad Thai.
BROWN: Pad Thai's probably the most popular Thai dish
in America, certainly --
basically stir-fried noodles with eggs, a fish sauce,
tamarind juice, and any number of other elements.
Now, she's subbing fried papaya for noodles
and bringing fried tofu and tamarind-marinated prawns
along for the ride --
these beautiful large prawns
that are now down over on the grill
next to those thinly sliced pieces of pork shoulder
that were marinating.
We got pork shoulder
on both sides of Kitchen Stadium.
Iron Chef Bobby Flay adding some of the sauces that he made
in the pan with his pork -- almost carnitas-style.
FLAY: The tamarind pork shoulder, I cooked in a pressure cooker
and then I made a glaze out of hoisin and tamarind.
I'm gonna use some butter lettuce with some slaw,
some queso fresco, and some avocado.
BROWN: Okay. Here it is over on Chef Thaimee's side.
Now, remember, in this Thai wok early in the battle,
we saw them create a syrup.
This is just water and sugar.
BRAUCH: What are we seeing happening?
That's the royal cuisine of Thailand --
Really? Royal?
I want to present the best of Thai cuisine.
BROWN: All right, now, eggs have been beaten
and literally just strained in a big string
right down onto boiling sugar syrup,
and there's the result.
I'm going to confess I've never had it.
Fascinating stuff.
So, this is obviously gonna be a dessert of some type.
And her dessert is all over the place.
We know that she's making
almost like a Thai version of a Popsicle.
Chef Thaimee's getting her exercise for the day.
That, of course, is almost like churning ice cream.
It moves the bottom part of that metal tube
through that super-chilled brine.
Looking at sous-chef Leona --
wipes that tamarind batter onto silicone-impregnated mats.
That's that malted milk mixture
that she made earlier in the battle.
I'm gonna hazard a guess here.
I believe that this is a type of baked crêpe
that is often done in Thai cuisine.
THAIMEE: We're going to put in the Thai crêpe
egg thread meringue and the tamarind candy.
BROWN: Over on Iron Chef Flay's side --
Oh, he's already now plating his third course, which is the pork.
His tamarind Dungeness crab -- That's down.
The tamarind-glazed eggplant has been plated
and his tamarind carnitas -- That's coming together.
No bonus points for finishing early, Iron Chef.
Now, keep in mind that Iron Chef Bobby Flay
is five points behind in the scoring thus far.
He's gonna have to catch that up.
He's in good shape...
CALVO: Yes, chef.
...as long as they get the dessert
that they had to remake done in time.
Whereas Chef Thaimee, who's working with a kitchen
full of strange and exotic equipment,
has yet to plate anything.
All right, looking at the lobster tails
being split over on Chef Thaimee's side,
I'm kind of surprised.
I thought they were only gonna use that lobster
as a flavoring for the stock,
'cause as it cooked for quite a while.
I'd be afraid that that was overdone.
Speaking of which, the stadium fills with the fragrance of...
mistake.
Getting a nice shot of burned rice.
Unfortunately, you know, it is what it is.
I have to do what I can to finish.
WOMAN: 10 minutes to go.
BROWN: Ah, the temperature's rising in Kitchen Stadium
as our challenger chef, Hong Thaimee...
...aims to smoke Iron Chef Bobby Flay...
You got herbs for me?
What? Yes, chef, right there.
...in a sticky battle -- tamarind.
The cooking continues, and the chefs, of course,
must deal with the chef's culinary curveball
which has been put into play
when "Iron Chef America" returns.
Hey, kids. Welcome back to "Iron Chef America."
This is Battle Tamarind,
reaching the boiling point between Iron Chef Bobby Flay...
You can plate?
[ Groans ]
...and our challenger, Chef Hong Thaimee,
on this side...
I hope I can make it!
...but if you can't stand the heat,
you're in the wrong Kitchen Stadium
'cause the competition
is definitely heating up around here.
How much time is left?
WOMAN: Five minutes to go.
BROWN: That'd be five minutes to go.
Iron Chef Bobby Flay's got three plates pretty much done.
His dessert's coming together. He's going to make it just fine.
I'm looking with some fascination
at the way that Chef Thaimee's dishes are coming together.
A lot of cooking still going on
with the amount of time that we have left.
Hey, Kevin. Are those Popsicles done yet?
When do you think they're coming?
No.
Well, Chef Thaimee's got one plate done --
pad Thai with tamarind-glazed prawn.
Now we've got this little stack -- bowl carrier --
that you see so often in Asia.
It's basically an Asian lunch box --
a pinto box, I believe, is the Thai name for it.
Obviously, Chef Thaimee is going to be using that
to plate one of her dishes that has multiple components.
Iron Chef Morimoto style -- dishes within dishes.
This is fascinating -- This kind of muslin fabric
stretched tight over boiling water.
That was the rice flour and tapioca flour and water --
That's all that's in that batter.
Let it quickly steam,
add the filling -- lobster, tamarind leaf,
and a little bit of tamarind sauce.
We did lobster meat
and make into a dumpling with the tamarind.
BROWN: I bet that's going into the lunch box,
these leaf packets.
They're making these little packets now.
That is tamarind and what else, chef?
Thanks, chef.
So, in that lunch box, she'll serve the dumpling,
the tamarind ginger amuse-bouche device,
and probably the short ribs,
which are in the pressure cooker,
which is being cooled down.
Obviously, it can't be opened until it's cool.
It's not something you want to see with 2:19 left!
Yeah.
Okay.
BROWN: Over on Iron Chef Flay's side,
we can see the rest of that tart coming together.
FLAY: The dessert was totally my pastry chef Josephine.
It was a pistachio crust.
It had a coconut and tamarind pastry cream
with macerated cherries on top
and a cherry and tamarind ice cream.
Bobby.
Gorgeous.
[ Sighs ]
Don't you --
Stay away from the tarts, I know. [ Chuckles ]
BROWN: All right, over on the challenger's side --
Uh, Kevin, what's with the plastic bag?
BRAUCH: In southeast Asia, you'll buy juice on the street.
I mean, that's a juice box.
BROWN: So, that's basically a tamarind iced tea.
Thai iced tea can just make you smile.
It can make someone's day.
BROWN: Looking at the plating
that Chef Thaimee's putting up for her pork,
that's got the pomelo salad and almonds --
the Chairman's culinary curveball.
Iron Chef Bobby Flay --
They're looking pretty much done over on his side of the planet.
FLAY: I finished a little early,
but you don't get points for finishing early...
I need the ginger and sugar and salt.
...so I decided to make a tamarind cocktail.
I made a tamarind margarita.
BROWN: So, there's liquid refreshment
coming from both sides of Kitchen Stadium.
All right, here are these crêpe things
being folded over on Chef Thaimee's side.
That egg bread and meringue, I believe, has gone inside there.
WOMAN: One minute to go.
BROWN: We're down to the 60-second mark here in Kitchen Stadium,
and plating is happening fast and furious
over on Chef Thaimee's side.
Do you want me to plate dessert?
Yes! Quick, quick, quick!
BROWN: Iron Chef Bobby Flay's done -- really pretty dishes.
There's the Dungeness salad.
Then they're gonna serve
that eggplant with the tamarind glaze.
Then they're gonna go with their pork carnitas,
and then their dessert, which is gonna be the cherry tart,
tamarind coconut custard.
I've come close so many times to not finishing
that, like, finishing a few minutes early
is totally okay with me.
Okay, I need it. I need the beef.
Bobby Flay is such an icon, and he is watching me plating?
Could you open that, please?
I hope I'm not going to embarrass myself.
Spoon, please.
BROWN: This is a lot of components.
BRAUCH: It is.
Her courses -- the tamarind-glazed pork shoulder,
the Thai kind of lunch box with assorted tamarind bites,
her green papaya pad Thai
with tamarind-glazed prawns -- nice --
and her tamarind, Thai crêpe for dessert.
Could somebody check icy pop, please?
The pops.
Chef.
Sorry. Next time.
The icy pop machine is being naughty today.
Next time.
Hopefully they will invite me back,
and I can do it next time.
FLAY: Sometimes the challengers overthink it...
Ch-ch-ch-ch.
...but more power to her.
I love that she used
a lot of different pieces of equipment and techniques,
which is very common,
especially for the first time in Kitchen Stadium.
They want to bring all their tricks of the trade.
BROWN: 15 seconds...
and it must be on the plate or it cannot be served.
9...8...7...6...
What else?
Garnish? Flowers?
3...
Oh, my God!
1.
Put it down and walk away.
Battle Tamarind is history here in Kitchen Stadium.
At least I made it. Thank you, chef.
THAIMEE: It is nerve-breaking, but you know what?
I bring something exciting to the table,
and the flavor the judges are going to have
is gonna blow their minds.
FLAY: I was happy with all the plates today.
You know, we'll see what happens.
Well, the cooking may be over here in Kitchen Stadium,
but don't cry, kids.
The tasty spectacle that is judgement is on its way,
but before we dive into that, we got to go to Kevin Brauch
who's going to explain the scoring.
Kevin?
Thanks, Alton.
Okay, everyone, here's how it goes down.
Each judge can award a chef up to 30 points.
10 points are possible for taste,
another 5 points for plating design,
5 points for their originality
in the use of our secret theme ingredient,
5 points for the use of the Chairman's culinary curveball,
and finally, 5 points for the dish
presented in the first 20 minutes of battle.
And, as always, may the better chef prevail.
Excellent, excellent, excellent.
Now let's go up to the Chairman and get the judging under way.
Iron Chef Flay.
Please tell us what your strategy was
for today's secret ingredient.
Actually, I wanted to ask you guys
about the first dish 'cause I got crushed.
It was like 13 to 8 or something.
Mr. Chairman, what's up?
Both first courses,
I really felt the sting of that sour tamarind.
It was very overwhelming.
Okay.
Next course is a spicy Dungeness crab salad.
I took the crab fat and ponzu and some tamarind
and made a dressing out of it.
This is just tremendously good.
It's almost like it has the Asian feeling
without necessarily traditionally Asian flavors.
Yeah.
Like, it has that brightness and the acidity
and the fresh herbs.
It's a beautiful, beautiful dish.
Thank you very much.
That's a great start.
Yeah, this is wonderful.
I have a lot of catching up to do,
so I'm glad to hear that.
Thank you, Iron Chef.
Thank you.
Iron Chef.
Crispy eggplant roasted in the oven,
then glazed with a tamarind glaze,
then fried, and underneath, a sauce made of tamarind.
Also, as the curveball that you threw us, an almond relish.
It's almonds and chives, cumin, and a little bit of brown sugar.
The crunch of the almond on top, it really finishes it nicely.
The crunch of the almond --
you need that with the eggplant because it's so soft.
I mean, if you don't have a little bit of the texture,
you'd be able to eat it without teeth.
[ Chuckles ]
This is a vegetarian course.
Josh, you okay with this?
More or less.
I thought there was a very vivid
tamarind quality in the glaze.
It's got a serious tartness to it.
But the eggplant smoothes it out.
It doesn't smooth it out completely for me.
I guess I just maybe wanted something else
to kind of balance it out.
It was a little bit too tart for me.
Thank you, Iron Chef.
Next course, please.
Iron Chef.
The next course is a tamarind and hoisin-glazed carnitas.
Also, I made a tamarind margarita.
Tamarind margarita is everywhere.
I mean, it's a classic Mexican drink.
Love it.
Really well-thought-out on both ends.
Wow, what a combination.
FLAY: Thank you.
DRUMMOND: The glaze is divine,
very, very tamarind-y.
FLAY: Thank you.
DRUMMOND: Lovely and sweet and -- Oh, this is wonderful.
The hoisin seemed to go really well with the tamarind.
It's not something I would really think about doing,
you know, until I'm presented with an ingredient like this.
Oh, I think that really works.
The sauce is deep and stormy and emotional.
I'm not in love with it.
I didn't feel like there was really a lot of balance.
It was just that taste from the sauce
and then because of the cooking, I sort of felt
that there wasn't a ton of pork flavor.
Drink half of your margarita and take another bite.
That's [scoffs] solid counsel.
Thank you.
Iron Chef.
FLAY: For your final course, we have dessert --
a study of tamarind and cherries together.
JOHNSON: Now, were you worried at all
with the cherries being tart themselves?
Yeah, but we macerated them so they're sweet.
So, we made a pistachio tart shell.
There's a coconut and tamarind pastry cream
with the macerated cherries,
a sauce with cherries and tamarind,
and the ice cream is also cherries and tamarind.
I have never eaten ice cream with black pepper added.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Mmm.
...and I think the tamarind works really well.
I am not even a massive cherries fan,
and that integrates it perfectly.
No, it's sick.
I think that of all the things
that I've tried so far,
this is the one that most masterfully
kind of nails the essence of tamarind flavor.
Thank you.
Iron Chef Flay, thank you for a wonderful meal.
Very well done.
The reaction was, I thought, for the most part,
very positive.
Although down 5 points,
it's almost impossible to catch up.
BROWN: The challenger's tamarind feast
when "Iron Chef America" continues.
Welcome back, food fans.
The judges have dined
on Iron Chef Bobby Flay's five dishes,
and now it's time for the challenger,
Chef Hong Thaimee,
to tender her outstanding tamarind treats.
Chef Thaimee.
Please tell us what your overall theme was
for today's secret ingredient.
Tamarind is, you know, the darling of Thai cooking.
So, for this dish, it is grilled tamarind-glazed pork shoulder,
Thai tamarind iced tea --
When you go to Thailand, when you go to the market,
this is how we serve iced tea --
and with the pomelo salad with tamarind dressing.
The rustic food doesn't really seem quite right
on the shiny gold plate.
In fact, I'm getting kind of a disco-ball effect
on my face, I think.
Do I spy a culinary curveball in the pomelo salad?
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. [ Chuckles ]
Almond -- I can use it like the way I use peanut.
It give it a much-needed texture and bite.
Yes.
I do wish that maybe there was a little bit
of manipulation with it because I just got a full almond.
So, I don't know if it was the most creative use of it,
but it definitely does fit the dish.
The pork was delicious and the sauces were delicious.
And you're able to get so much flavor into that meat
just in the time that it was in there.
I always say when I cook with, you know, l-o-v-e
anything could happen.
[ Laughter ]
Thank you, chef. Next course, please.
Chef.
In the old days in Thailand, we used tamarind in the spa,
so here is a tamarind bath for us to wash our hands.
DRUMMOND: That's nice.
Now that our hand is nice and clean,
I have this pinto box from Thailand.
This is a very classic way of carrying food.
I love vertical lunch boxes.
THAIMEE: So, first, what I did was I made fresh dumpling,
and in the filling is the tamarind leaf with lobster.
Very intense and very delicious.
Thank you.
Next is the bed of leaf
that wrap in ginger,
some peanuts, some toasted coconut,
and the sauce that's made from tamarind.
Yes, please.
Whoa!
I hope it's good.
[ Laughs ]
Yeah, a big bite of ginger off the top
and that blew out the entire dish,
and I really almost couldn't taste anything else.
Very, very strong tamarind presence,
but the ginger was also so strong
that it was like putting the two bullies in the cell.
Yeah.
I enjoy fights going on in my mouth.
[ Laughs ]
THAIMEE: All right, so, next,
what we're gonna do is we're gonna dip the rice
into the short rib and then have it together.
Ooh! Short ribs are my favorite meat
and I cook them all the time,
but I really tasted something different.
The juices surrounding the short rib --
I very much tasted tamarind.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, baby.
I want you all to leave for a few minutes.
I need a moment with this dish...alone.
What a treat. What a treat.
Thank you.
Thank you, chef. Next course, please.
Chef.
I cannot cook tamarind without making a pad Thai,
so tamarind and pad Thai sauce
with the grilled river prawn
that is immersed in the tamarind.
Wow. This prawn is outrageous.
From the very first dish,
I've wanted more sweetness with every bite of tamarind,
and this really accomplishes that.
It's very pleasantly sweet.
Thank you.
And when I get my prawn out, though,
out of the shell -- without eating the shell,
I'm not getting a lot of tamarind.
Well, I travel far -- I cross the Pacific --
so the flavor's kind of lost.
[ Laughter ]
That was a good one.
Thank you, chef. Next course, please.
Chef.
For the last course,
we're gonna end on a sweet note --
a Thai crêpe with a meringue, egg thread.
We put a tamarind candy in it.
Hard not to like that, huh?
Oh, boy. [ Chuckles ] Oh, boy. Oh, boy.
You can really taste the tamarind in there.
Finally, right?
I was about to say that.
It's a perfect, well-thought-out,
elegant, and beautiful dessert.
Thank you.
You just complicated things immensely
because you went out on a perfect tamarind note.
Thank you.
Chef Thaimee, thank you for an excellent meal.
Thank you.
[ Applause ]
I'm a positive person.
I absolutely have a chance to beat Iron Chef Bobby Flay.
Come on. I have my 5 points ahead of him, right?
BROWN: Did Chef Thaimee hold onto her lead?
Let's get you caught up on where we stand in the scoring.
The judges awarded Iron Chef Bobby Flay 25 points
for the taste and flavor of his dishes,
and fresh from the judges' table,
Chef Thaimee has received 22 points
and now maintains a mere 2-point lead.
Can she keep it?
Final tally of scores for plating, originality,
and the innovative use
of the Chairman's culinary curveball
when "Iron Chef America" returns.
Welcome back to "Iron Chef America."
Here in Kitchen Stadium,
our final result is just about to be served.
Today, two champions met in Battle Tamarind
here in Kitchen Stadium.
Chef Thaimee.
Iron Chef Flay.
The judges have spoken...
...and the winner is...
...Iron Chef Flay.
[ Applause ]
Thank you.
FLAY: I was surprised to win
because I was down 5 points after the first dish.
As an Iron Chef, you just have to take what's given to you
and make the best of it.
Congratulations.
THAIMEE: Cooking in Kitchen Stadium was amazing.
I want to come back here again and beat Bobby Flay.
[ Chuckles ]
And so once again, culinary justice has been meted out
here in Kitchen Stadium,
where I'm very glad to say
the vanquished foes have not been immediately beheaded
since 1705.
I'm Alton Brown.
On behalf of the Chairman, Kevin Brauch,
and everyone here in Kitchen Stadium,
I bid you good eating.
[ Applause ]
Ohh!
-- Captions by VITAC --
Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.