Tournament of Champions ™
Baker:
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Fried Striped Bass with Vietnamese Salsa
Lightly Fried Striped Bass with Vietnamese Salsa and Whipped Tofu
Chef Viet Pham on his plan: "Something along the line of a fish fry. I fry chicken every day. We don't have a lot of time, so the quickest and easiest way is to fry the fish. I want to use the skin in a different way."
On using the muffin pan: "I'm looking around and I see the muffin pan calling out to me. I get this idea. I'm going to throw the skin into the fryer, and then after it's fried, I gently push it into the muffin pan so that it forms around the bottom of the pan, so the judges will at least know that I used the muffin pan."
On whipped tofu: "I'm whipping tofu with some tomato. I'm gonna make a dipping sauce for the fish. Not a lot of people use tofu, but I feel like it's gonna be a great vehicle to carry some additional flavors."
On the whipping method: "Blending isn't necessarily whipping because it's not incorporating air. The whipping part goes into the cream whipper, and then you charge it with the nitrous oxide charger. This is a first. So this is also a very big risk."
On the vine tomatoes and Vietnamese flavours: "I want to further enhance the randomizer option, which is the tomato. In Vietnamese cooking, there are actually a lot of tomatoes, so it is something that I'm very familiar with. I'm going to make a relish with this using just traditional Vietnamese nuoc cham." Seasoning detail: star anise, smoked paprika, garlic powder, oyster sauce.
On the double fry: "I fry the fish, let it rest, and right before I'm running to plate, I'm going to drop it in the fryer one more time as a double fry."
On the muffin tin moment: "I pulled my muffin tin from the oven. It is absolutely perfect. I'm so proud of myself."
On the siphon drama: "First I place my fish with the tomato salsa and the herb salad. I go ahead and siphon the sauce, and what do you know, it's not coming out. This is the moment of panic. I have to get this on the plate." On the battle: "I just literally cooked against a legend. This matchup, it's definitely a David and Goliath. To take down one of the forefathers of cuisine would be absolutely amazing."
Voiceover (Justin Warner): "Judges, this is lightly fried striped bass with a Vietnamese inspired salsa and whipped tofu with vine tomatoes. The striped bass was butchered, skinned, and seasoned. From there, it was treated to a bath of buttermilk and twice fried. The skin was lightly fried before being fully cooked in the muffin tin. The vine tomatoes you will find in this whipped tofu, which was done with fish sauce and most notably star anise and smoked paprika."
Marcus Samuelsson: "The sound food can be sonic when you eat the skin. So freaking delicious. The little foam here with the salsa, just elegant on the side. Incredible. This is very good cooking at the highest level. Very successful. There is only one tiny thing I would say: the fish eats a tad dry. Just a little bit dry, but that's nitpicking."
Scott Conant: "I agree that the fish is a little bit dry, but that skin is just naughty. It's so crunchy and delicious. The usage of the fish sauce and the other ingredients from a Vietnamese perspective is fantastic, but it's not overwhelming."
Nancy Silverton: "Using the muffin tin to hold the skin was really smart. Love the texture. Overall, a talented chef." Score: 80 or 82. Winner unknown, result not captured in transcript.
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