So I recently participated in an cooking contest held in the cooking section of an internet forum. Previous incarnations of this contest were based on the cult TV cooking competition show “Iron Chef,” the round I competed in, however, added the twist of having elements of the Food Network show “Chopped.” The rules were as follows:
There are six secret ingredients in the basket, and you must use at least four of them. This round’s ingredients are:
Gin (or any number of gin spices)
Horseradish
Mint
Miso
Rhubarb
Scallop
You may also use any other ingredients you deem necessary.
Moreover, your entry must feature at least one raw component. Raw components are elements of a course that have not been heated to a core temperature above 45C (113F) or seared. A component must have its own recipe. Meats that have been cooked chemically (with acids) are not raw, but quick pickled vegetables are. Other foods, such as nuts, cannot be used as the main raw component. No “I made a raw quenelle of butter!” please
Each entry may contain up to 2 courses, including drinks but not including sides. If it requires its own serviceware, it’s a course. If you include a second course, it must be a single component which compliments the other course, such as a drink or sorbet as a palate cleanser. One course must contain 4 of the secret ingredients. Both regular entries and video entries are welcome! Videos entries should be accompanied with a brief explanation of the components of the courses and pictures of the final dishes. Joint entries are also welcome.
Contestants may enter all three rounds, but are not obligated to do so; there are prizes for each round. This round’s prizes are still to be determined, but will be sorted by the time this round’s voting thread goes up! There will probably be something special for everyone who enters all three rounds.
My entry:
Ingredients chosen: Scallops, Miso, Mint, Horseradish, Rhubarb
Seared scallops, rhubarb chips, mint-horseradish caviar, miso sesame dashi
Mise en place (forgetting a few things when I took the pic, but I’ll mention them as I go)
Ingredients:
Horseradish
Sea Scallops
Mint
Awase Miso
Rhubarb
Katsuobushi
Unflavored Gelatin
Canola Oil
Moscato (not pictured)
Juice from a lemon (not pictured)
Toasted Sesame Oil
Scallions (not pictured)
Sesame Seeds (not pictured)
Making the Caviar:
Put some oil in a spill proof lidded container and put in the freezer. Go shopping for the rest of your ingredients, come home and soak the gelatin in cold water:
Wonder why use water as a base when you can use wine, then realize you have some moscato vacuvin-ed in the fridge. Decide to use that instead:
Heat moscato to 110 F, add to gelatin, stir to dissolve. Add some grated horseradish:
and some rough chopped mint, and salt. Puree in a blender and taste. Realize that it needs an acid. Add the juice of one lemon:
strain:
Put into a syringe or a dropper or even a squeeze bottle and drip slowly into the cold oil. 
Let the caviar sit in the oil for a bit to assure that it has set. Strain out the caviar 
Making the rhubarb chips
Slice some rhubarb thinly:
fry in oil at 350 F:
Remove, season with salt, and drain on a paper towel.
Making the broth
To some boiling water, add katsuobushi, stir and simmer for a few minutes, skimming foam. Strain and return to pot. Add a heaping tbsp of miso. Stir and bring to a boil. Shut off heat and add some toasted sesame oil.
Searing the scallops
Season the scallops on both sides with salt. Heat cast iron griddle. Add some oil. Sear the scallops on both sides until cooked about medium, medium well.
Assembly
Place three scallops on the bottom of a shallow bowl. Pour in broth. Top with rhubarb chips, and a scoop of caviar. Garnish with some sliced scallions, a bit more toasted sesame oil, and some toasted sesame seeds.
Impressions:
So the inspiration of the dish is to play on timing of flavors in addition to overall flavor profile. The first things that hit you: the very familiar smell of miso and dashi with a tinge of sesame oil. Upon tasting you first get the nutty, savory taste of the broth, then the sharp tart almost lemon-like rhubarb chips with a delicate crunch (very cool I may do this with seafood again). The horseradish and mint are actually very subdued until you pop a few spheres and small bursts of pungent horseradish hits your sinus with each pop backed up with the refreshing aromatics of the mint. All with the background of the clean shellfish flavors from the seared scallops.
