Choi Hyun-seok's nitrogen cooking vs. Son Jong-won's precision knife skills in battle for Oh Sang-uk

Two professional chefs clashed over the refrigerator ingredients of fencing champion Oh Sang-uk. On the JTBC show 'Chef & My Fridge', 190 Club chef Choi Hyun-seok and 180 Club chef Son Jong-won engaged in a cooking battle for Oh Sang-uk.

Choi Hyun-seok counters Ahn Jung-hwan's "outdated" remark with molecular gastronomy weapon

For this battle, chef Choi Hyun-seok prepared a "nitrogen set" as his secret weapon, including liquid nitrogen, a Erlenmeyer flask, a nitrogen gas tank, and a spray gun for holding nitrogen gas. He planned to showcase molecular gastronomy techniques that use gas to completely transform the texture of ingredients. However, upon seeing this, Ahn Jung-hwan jokingly responded that it was "very outdated," to which Choi Hyun-seok countered that it was his signature technique.

Choi emphasized that he would deliver the best dishes with entirely different textures using nitrogen. He prepared two dishes—a cold scallop appetizer and braised hairtail—attempting to vary the textures of the ingredients using nitrogen gas. He stated he would properly demonstrate nitrogen cooking to show dishes with completely different textures through the use of gas.

Son Jong-won's choice: precise knife work using 'Chef Woo Do-hee'

In response to Choi Hyun-seok's nitrogen offensive, chef Son Jong-won revealed his secret weapon in a unique way. He brought a large large suitcase and pulled out a cooking tool called 'Chef Woo Do-hee' from within. Son established a strategy to increase the perfection of his dishes by demonstrating precise knife work through Chef Woo Do-hee, showing his determination to perform accurate cutting.

The menu prepared by Son Jong-won is 'Yusang Jeonwon Apsio.' It was composed with a royal table concept, as if served to a king, for the fencing champion Oh Sang-uk. Utilizing autumn ingredients such as blue crab and gizzard shad, the gizzard shad was prepared in two ways: grilled and seasoned. In particular, he captured traditional flavors by including 'Ge Gamjeong' (a stew containing red pepper paste), a dish appearing in the records of Jeongjo from 1795. Son explained that since Oh Sang-uk is a fencing champion, he prepared the most delicious gizzard shad dish among the royal meals served to kings.

A 15-minute battle considering shape and color

As the main battle began, the two chefs engaged in a race against time using their respective weapons. Chef Son Jong-won focused on knife work for the visual perfection of the dish. When preparing eggplant, he continued precise cutting to make the dish look beautiful and to maintain its purple color. He emphasized that the shape of the dish must never be compromised.

The 15-minute battle continued to see whether Choi Hyun-seok, who shakes the texture of ingredients with nitrogen, or Son Jong-won, who shapes ingredients with skilled knife work, would capture the palate of Oh Sang-uk.

Source: JTBC Entertainment (YouTube)