Sichuan Crispy Chicken Livers
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Who made this dish?
Sichuan Crispy Chicken Livers with Pink Spaetzle and Kohlrabi Crown Melon Puree
The randomizer generated:
Protein: Chicken livers;
Produce: Kohlrabi;
Equipment: Spaetzle maker;
Style: Pink;
Wild card: Crown melon
Kenny Gilbert: "Sichuan flavored crispy chicken livers that's gonna go on a base of a kohlrabi puree that's gonna be infused with some of the crown melon, sauteed spaetzle, and Sichuan peppercorn sauce. When you look at this dish, it should scream pink. So I'm gonna use this beet puree juice for my foundation to make all these other ingredients pink."
For the dredge, he infused the flour itself with color. Kenny Gilbert: "I grated the kohlrabi, added it into the blender with my beet puree so that I can add those flavors into the flour to make my dredge."
Kenny Gilbert: "I'm doing my little buttermilk egg battery, Sichuan marinade. It's very important to marinate the chicken livers to kind of take away from some of that funk." Kenny leaned on a personal memory for the flavor profile.
Kenny Gilbert: "When I think about Sichuan, I think about the time that I was working in the restaurant at the Ritz Carlton Osaka. Working in that kitchen, I learned a lot about the culture and the cuisine."
Kenny Gilbert: "I'm going to start working on my pink kohlrabi puree, the kohlrabi crown melon puree, and put some of this melon in there to sweeten it up. I want the sweetness to kind of come through to offset some of the earthiness from the kohlrabi."
For the sauce, Kenny built a layered umami base. Kenny Gilbert: "I'm making the Sichuan sauce. I'm taking some of the Sichuan spices, some fish sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin, black bean paste, chili crisp. Do a little black garlic as well."
On plating: Kenny Gilbert: "The first thing I put down is my kohlrabi beet puree. Then I put down my sauteed pink spaetzle and the greens sauteed in butter. Then I went ahead and topped it with my fried chicken liver. Then I drizzled my Sichuan peppercorn sauce. Then I went ahead and put my torched crown melon pieces. This is gonna balance out the spice. And then I took my candy striped beets and put that on top as, like, a lid."
Voiceover: "Judges, you will notice some flavors of Sichuan. The chicken livers were fried. A sauce was crafted of black garlic, oyster sauce, orange juice blended with some chili crisp. You'll see that crowning the chicken livers. The kohlrabi was pureed with crown melon. You'll find that puree at the bottom. The spaetzle maker was employed to make spaetzle. The crown melon has been used to crown the dish."
Cat Cora: "I think it's a really good dish that is hitting spice for me. It's hitting the crispness and texture for me. They used a spaetzle maker in a great way, making a beet spaetzle. And I love that melon. So the chef has done a great job."
Mei Lin: "There's a lot of different ingredients in here that you wouldn't necessarily put together, but this chef has put it together really expertly. The flavors of that glaze over the fried chicken livers is delicious. It's literally an umami bomb."
Brooke Williamson: "I like the usage of the kohlrabi tops in there. Kohlrabi is such an underutilized vegetable. These chicken livers are beautifully fried. They're slightly overcooked on my plate, so I feel like they've gotten a little bit mealy in the center."
David Chang: "Let me start off by saying sometimes too much is too much. This is something where, weirdly, everything's balanced. Everything is very flavorful, including the pickled beets. Everything was intentional. The nitpicking bits to me were the knife cuts. A little too rustico. But overall, this is one of the crazier dishes I've ever had and worked."
Score: 88.
