Battle of the Chefs 3 - Scallop Sushi Stack
- Keyla DeHoyos
- Nov 28, 2022
- 4 min read
Two weeks ago, I participated in an event put on by my good friend, Tarik, called Battle of the Chefs. This was the 3rd installment of the event, and I went up against a fellow friend/chef named Chris (although everyone calls him Diggums). The rules of the battle went like this: Both Chris and I had to present a dish prepared in 50 minutes to a pannel of 3 judges using all of the ingredients we picked. A week before the battle, both Diggums and I had to present a list of ingredients to Tarik that we wanted to us including starches, vegetables and proteins. We then blindly picked the ingredients... We each got one starch, two veggies, and one protein. I picked out rice, asparagus, carrot, and scallops. Diggums got bread, onions, corn, and clams.
We also had a secret ingredient, which we picked up 2 days before the battle, that we needed to incorporate into out dishes. I ended up getting blue cheese and Diggums got sardines.
As soon as I picked my ingredients, I started brainstorming about what I wanted to do. The most basic dish I could do was something like risotto with glazed veggies and seared scallops, but that was too basic for me, I wanted to wow the judges not only with flavor but with technique and presentation. I love Asian food and immediately though of sushi. I had already made sushi a few months ago on Mixin' It Up with Chef Tarik, so I browsed Pinterest for another idea and stumbled upon a "Sushi Stack." The idea worked perfect!
It took me a couple of tries to get the recipe down right where the flavors and components all complimented each other and most importantly, I could get it done before 50 minutes. This was a picture of my first trial run:
The components of the dish were as follows: the main portion of the plate was obviously the sushi "stack." It had a layer of crispy rice at the bottom, a thin layer of fresh mango, a layer of dijon dressed asparagus ribbons and a layer of seared, soy marinated scallops. The stack was pared with a carrot cream as well as an asparagus top and few pieces of carrot. The stack was garnished with a dollop of spicy mayo, white and black sesame seeds as well as a sprinkle of nori flakes.
The idea was there but execution, components, technique and plating still needed some work... The rice layer was too thin, the asparagus just kind of blended into the scallops, the scallop pieces were too big, the veg on the plate was skimpy... It definitely needed more work.
The second time around was definitely wayyyyyy better. The rice was thicker and more proportional to the rest of the ingredients. I didn't cook the ribbons with the dressing, instead I just lightly tossed them in the warm dressing before plating which allowed them to keep their bright green color while becoming pliable enough to put in the ring mold, I added a bit more cream and veg to the plates and kept these components on one side vs. on both sides:
...granted, I did forget garnish on this plate up before I took the picture, I remembered after when I had already dug in... LOL. But nonetheless I was VERY happy with how this plate up had come out. At this point I was ready to get my secret ingredient. I was hoping and praying it wouldn't mess up the flow of my dish TOO much.
When Tarik picked my secret ingredient as blue cheese I thought "Oh god how the hell am I going to make this work!" I brainstormed with a friend and bounced a couple ideas back and forth. At first I thought about incorporating the blue cheese into the carrot cream but I didnt want to take away from the cream and overpower the dish, my friend and I both agreed that I would probably be best served if I substituted the soy glazed cooked veg into a raw slaw instead. I grated together carrots, asparagus and Asian pear, seasoned the veg with a bit of rice vinegar, salt and sesame oil, and right before plating, folded in some blue cheese crumbles... it worked PERFECTLY. I actually liked the raw slaw on the plate better than the cooked veg because it added extra to the dish. Warm, spicy, cool, fatty, acidic, all in one... Here's a short clip of my final plate up during the battle:
Even though I didn't win, I am so damn proud of how this dish came out!! It was the first time I ever presented my SAVORY skills to my peers - Everyone knows about my baking, but people rarely know about my cooking! No one was expecting me to present something so intricate and layered, literally. I think the only reason why I didn't win was because my dish was a bit too complex for some of the judges to comprehend... how unfortunate... LOL. Regardless, I'm was so excited that everything turned out so smoothly and I cant wait for the next one!
- Chef K
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