I'm Bobby Flay.
Each week, one brave chef will try
to take me down in my house.
-This is my show. -Today it is. Tomorrow, who knows.
-Ooh. -Trash talking.
This culinary battle is going to shake down in two rounds.
Round one, to get to me,
two contenders have to go through each other
using an ingredient of my choice.
It's do or die, Bobby.
[Bobby] Two people that know me well
will decide who's got the skills to beat me.
Yeah!
[Bobby] Round two, I go head to head with the winning contender.
Let's go!
[Bobby] It's their turn to surprise me with their signature dish.
What?
-Ah! -Don't try this at home.
I know you did it, Bobby!
[Bobby] Bottom line?
You're going to run out of time!
Everyone's out to beat me.
All right, I don't know what's going to be tougher.
My co-host or my competition,
please welcome two talented chefs from both coasts,
Christian Petroni and Michael Voltaggio.
[audience cheering]
-This guy. -Roberto.
-What's up, boys? -How you doing, Bob?
They wanted me to announce you as the bad boys of cooking,
but I figured, like, that's so old school.
We want to be more progressive than that.
-Progressive? Right. -Yeah.
Tell me about this Yankee Stadium situation you got working.
Bobby, I'm all in on garlic bread.
I've gone full circle in my career,
and I'm going back to the things
that truly make people happy.
And the garlic bread's one of them.
I think it actually sells more at Yankee Stadium
than Bobby's booth does, right?
-I'm sure. -You were just bragging about the lines back there.
-Tell the truth. He's sitting right in front of you. -I'm not looking for trouble.
-[all laughing] -I'll take it.
-Great company. -I'm happy for your success.
-Thank you, Bobby. -It's good.
-You're in that business, too, right? -[Michael] I am.
Yeah, I do burgers.
But I'm also opening restaurants, which I knew is...
It's like a new concept for chefs these days.
-[laughs] Keep it going. -So I'm getting back in the restaurant business.
We just opened Mammoth.
-We just opened Vegas. -Fantastic.
-You guys excited to be here together? -We're like best friends.
So this is going to be, like, an easy day at work.
Couple lucky ducks over here.
All right, let's bring out some chefs.
All right, let's go.
Our first chef is taking LA by storm
with her Szechuan flavors.
Chef Wendy Zeng.
-[all cheering] -Yeah!
Oh, you don't have a chance.
-That's her energy. -You don't have a chance.
She gave you this.
Bobby, our next contender
is also a master of Chinese cuisine.
He brings Szechuan flavors to Sin City.
Lanny Chin.
-[all cheering] -Brought the dice.
[Bobby] Snake eyes.
-Seven out. -Seven out, uh-oh.
Oh, it's my face on that.
[Christian] Oh, yeah, it is.
Wendy, Lanny, how you guys doing?
-I feel great. -What's your goal this evening?
To take you down with the heat of my hometown,
Chengdu and Sichuan.
-That's where you were born? -Mmm-hmm.
Oh, wow. What's your goal this evening?
I just want to hurt your feelings.
[all laugh]
[Bobby] Let me tell you something.
You can definitely beat me,
but hurting my feelings is very hard.
Here's the way it's going to work.
I'm going to give you an ingredient of my choice,
and you must make that the star of your dish.
Lion's mane mushrooms.
[laughing]
[Michael] Good one.
What happened to that smile?
-Now I'm just thinking. -I love mushrooms.
[Bobby] Michael and Christian will taste your dishes,
and they will pick a winner
to take me on in the second round.
20 minutes on the clock.
Make sure these lion's mane roar.
[bell dings]
[audience cheering]
-[Michael] These look good. -They're very fluffy. [laughs]
[Michael] Yeah, they're known for, like, their shaggy appearance.
They're sort of meaty, earthy.
You can actually flour these.
They fry up really nice.
And then I'll toss it in, like, teriyaki glaze.
So you can treat it like a protein.
-Yeah. -You can almost trick people with these.
[Bobby] So what would you do?
-Would you make a crab cake or something? -I would.
I mean, in 20 minutes? Yeah.
Right off the bat, I think of a dish that I make a lot.
I'm making tempura-battered lion's mane mushrooms
with a sauce of honey, sambal, and lime juice.
Lanny, what are you making?
I'm making a little tempura batter
to fry these mushrooms.
Tempura batter? Okay, cool.
I toss the mushrooms in a little bit of flour,
and then I make a batter of egg, all-purpose flour,
and soda water.
All right, guys, let's give it up for Lanny.
[audience applauds]
I was born in Aurora, Ohio, to a Chinese-American family.
My grandfather was a chef.
I spent a lot of time in the kitchen with him
and fell in love immediately.
I got my first restaurant job flipping pizzas,
and I've pretty much worked in kitchens since.
In 2013, I found myself working
at the three Michelin star Alinea in Chicago.
It was difficult, but it was the most
I've learned in a year of my life.
Now I'm the corporate executive chef for the 8182.
in Las Vegas, Nevada.
I'm here to compete for my grandfather.
He's the reason that I'm a chef,
and I'm going to take home the win.
I know I want to do something different and not Asian,
so I can show the range of my cooking.
Hey, Wendy, what are you making?
-Faux crab cake. -Smart.
If you look at this and you start peeling this apart,
-it looks like lump crab meat. -Right. It does.
I'm making a lion's mane mushroom faux crab cake
with chorizo, scallions,
and aji amarillo crema.
Lion's mane is a bit bland,
so you really need to pair it with big, bold, beautiful flavors.
We're cheering on Wendy.
[cheering]
My grandpa was a restaurant owner in China,
and he taught me how to cook when I was six years old.
When I was 10, my family moved to Memphis, Tennessee,
where we continued to cook traditional Sichuan recipes
just to stay close to our heritage.
I'm not classically trained.
My cooking style is very eclectic
because I draw influences from a lot of different cultures.
I want to win this for my family in China,
especially my grandpa Lee.
Bobby, I know you can handle your spice,
but I'm here to bring the heat.
15 minutes, chefs.
[audience applauding]
What's up, Lanny? So what do you got?
[Lanny] A little bit of sambal, honey, and lime juice.
It's kind of my rip on General Tso's chicken.
I call it General Chin's chicken.
So you're going to batter this like you would
a General Tso's chicken.
-Yep. -Toss it in the glaze.
-Yep. Thank you. -Nice. Good luck, chef.
[Michael] Wendy, what do you got in there?
Chorizo, some scallions.
I'm going to put some capers.
After you assemble this, what's your plan?
Oh, I think I'm just going to fry it.
I kind of like that idea. What do you guys think?
[all applaud] Yeah.
Good luck, chef.
Thank you.
I'm making sure that I get all the flavors
that you would expect in a crab cake,
panko, eggs, mayo, Calabrian peppers,
and some seafood seasoning.
So Lanny's got his take on General Tso's chicken.
Uh, Wendy is actually making a crab cake.
She still needs to assemble it
and get that done in less than 12 minutes.
Now it's time to drop my mushrooms in the fryer.
You got to make sure that temperature is over 400
or else that batter can act like a spud
-and suck in that oil. -Exactly.
We are under 10 minute, chefs.
[audience cheering]
I want to make sure that my crab cake has a nice crust
when I throw it in the fryer.
So I dip the cakes in cornstarch.
-[Christian] Are these spicy, Wendy? -Oh, yeah.
Chorizo, what else you got in there?
I got some Calabrian.
So I love that you're throwing Bobby for a loop,
not showing him any of your Szechuan tricks.
[Wendy] Yeah, I figured I'd do something different.
[Christian] Beautiful.
Now I'm mixing creme fraiche cream,
aji amarillo chili paste, lemon juice, and honey.
It's going to balance the spice of the crab cake.
-[Christian] Lanny. -Yo, yo.
This is actually a version that I would actually make for my family.
It lends itself to so many flavors. Did you try that sauce?
-Oh, yeah, bro. -How is it?
Nice and spicy. Beautiful.
[Lanny] Thank you, chef.
Coming up on five minutes.
[audience cheering]
[Lanny] I chuck in my mushrooms.
They're looking nice and crispy.
And then I toss them in the sauce.
-Look at that glaze on that. -Delicious crab cake. Yeah.
I top them with peanuts for a little bit of crunch
and green onions.
I pull my crab cakes out of the fryer,
and they got a really nice crunchy crust on them.
I start plating the aji amarillo crema,
a simple Dijon citrusy salad to bring brightness.
-[all] Ten, nine... -And then a faux crab cake.
...seven, six, five, four,
three, two, one.
-[bell dings] -[cheering]
I'm just really happy that I have a fully composed dish.
I just hope it tastes better than chef Lanny's.
[Lanny] The flavors are there.
The textures are there.
You know, Wendy's dish looks great,
but I think I've got her beat.
Oh, we did it.
Bobby, if this round was any indication of what's to come,
you're in trouble.
But it's all going to come down to what
each of you chefs did with the actual lion's mane.
Chef Lanny, tell us what you made, chef.
It's a play on General Tso's chicken,
I call it General Chin's.
A little bit of toasted peanuts and green onions.
The overall flavor profile, the look, the feel,
it really does feel like you're eating General Tso's chicken.
But the oil wasn't hot enough,
and so it soaked up a lot of that grease.
And so it kind of has that donut quality to it
when it's mixed with the glaze.
The spice, the glaze, I mean, the crunchiness,
it really hits home for me.
My biggest issue is actually the vessel.
Give me a big bowl or a flat plate,
but we want to be able to get in there
-and just really enjoy this. -Thank you.
Wendy, talk to me.
What did you make with the lion's mane mushroom?
Today I have a faux crab cake with a aji amarillo crema.
The crab cake itself is incredible.
You put the right ingredients in there
to bind that lion's mane together,
and you really nailed the texture of it.
The greens are nice,
although the sauce on the bottom
and the way the greens are dressed,
everything is sort of like getting saturated.
Wendy, you showed no restraint on seasoning.
It's a flavor bomb from the capers to the chorizo.
And I know there's Calabrian chili in here,
but I'd love some more heat.
Yes, Chef.
[Lanny] I think my chances at this point are 51 to 49.
It's that close.
And the chef moving on to beat Bobby tonight is...
-Chef Wendy. -[all cheering]
I'm really, really bummed,
but her dish was just a little bit better.
[Michael] Wendy, honestly,
it just came down to execution.
You really showed us your range in round one,
and that range is going to be hard for Bobby to keep up with
-in round two for sure. -For sure.
Wendy, how do you feel about winning round one?
Uh, I feel great.
What are we cooking tonight? What's your signature dish?
My signature dish is...
Szechuan braised eggplant.
-[all] Ooh. -[Michael] Uh-oh.
Bob, tell America what you truly know
about Szechuan cooking.
A little Szechuan, a little braised, a little eggplant.
-We're good. -[all laugh]
45 minutes on the clock. Go get it.
[audience cheering]
I like this dish because these flavors
are actually traditionally for fish cookery.
Yep, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, scallions.
[Michael] Not to mention the Szechuan pepper corn.
[Christian] You really need to know what you're doing specifically
-with an eggplant, right? -You got to salt it.
Get some of that moisture out.
Maybe dredge it a little bit and fry it and then braise it.
Add some shrimp to it, ground pork,
-tofu is very popular. -Chinese sausage.
Oh, my God, right?
My signature dish is Yu Xiang Qiezi,
which is a Szechuan braised eggplant.
And it goes amazing on a bed of rice
because of all that delicious gravy.
In my rice, I'm adding chicken broth, sesame oil,
ginger, scallions, and garlic.
Why did you choose this dish?
My grandpa actually taught me how to make it
before we immigrated to America.
Now you're making it against our grandpa.
-[audience] Oh! -[Wendy laughs]
Remember when Michael
used to be on that show, Triple Threat?
[all laugh]
Remember those days? That was so fun.
What's Bobby doing with the water and the eggplant?
I'm going to just soak it in some salt and some water
just to get some of the bitterness out.
My dish is Szechuan braised eggplants
with some shiitake mushrooms.
Bobby, what are you serving the eggplant with?
[Bobby] Like, anything? It's eggplant.
I heard her say Szechuan braised eggplant,
so that's what I'm doing.
I mean, I've made versions of Asian-style eggplants before,
but this is not going to be easy for me,
because I don't really have command of
all these ingredients, so we'll see.
Now it's time to work on my eggplants.
I toss them in a colander and soak them in salt.
-37 minutes, chefs. -[audience applauds]
This draws out the excess water
so that they get that nice supple texture.
Are you keeping this traditional
the way grandpa used to do it?
I'm doing a little bit more texture.
Where's the texture going to come from?
We're going to fry it, and we're going to just
lay it with the sauce on top.
Not gonna be soggy like his.
Thank you, chef.
I'm going to slice up some shallots, scallions,
garlic, grate up some ginger.
All right, chef. What do we got?
We have some eggplant, and then
I'm going to make a sauce with, um,
some black vinegar, soy, some chili oil,
Szechuan peppercorns.
He took all the ingredients, so if you need anything,
Chef Wendy, it's over here on Bobby's station.
Oh.
Let's hear it for Wendy.
-32 minutes. -[audience applauds]
Thank you.
Traditionally, this dish is fried and then braised in the sauce.
What Wendy's going to do is fry the eggplant,
let it keep its texture, and then glaze it in the sauce
at the last second.
[Christian] Smart move on her end.
Bobby, you really did take all my spices.
[all laugh]
I grind up some whole Szechuan peppercorns
and throw that in the oil to bloom for my sauce.
My lips are already tingling
when I see those Szechuan peppercorns.
I add my aromatics and my two bean pastes.
So the doubanjiang,
it's got a ton of fermented savory umami flavor,
but it packs the heat.
And the sweet bean paste leans more on the sweet side.
Then I add chicken stock, soy sauce,
sugar, black vinegar, and hoisin.
[Bobby] Okay.
So I'm starting on my sauce.
I have honey, soy sauce,
chili oil, Szechuan peppercorns.
Bobby, is that gochujang?
Are you making Korean braised eggplant today, chef?
Why do you have Korean ingredients on you?
I'm so confused.
He got on a plane and went to the wrong country.
Mind your business.
Gochujang, I just love it.
I know it's not traditionally used
in Szechuan style cooking, of course,
but I really like the fermentation of it.
It makes everything taste good.
Wendy, what do you think about Bobby using gochujang
in his eggplant?
Blasphemy.
-Blasphemy. -Blasphemy.
Just under 28 minutes, gang.
Pork is traditionally in the sauce.
It adds body and umami-ness.
Then I add my spicy, fermented bean paste.
I just love that you're building such depth of flavor
in the wok alone.
-Would you like to try it? -[Christian] Yes, Chef.
I mean, give me notes, Coach.
[Christian] Oh, Bob.
What do you think, Coach?
That's where Mama keeps the cookies, man.
That's good.
You are making me so proud.
Thank you, Chef.
I start my eggplant with some avocado oil,
just until they get nice and soft and a little crusty.
Bob, are you going to use a protein?
Nah, right?
You got a marathon to run.
You're going to want to weigh yourself down.
-Keeping it vegetarian. -Yeah, I like that. Very healthy.
[Christian] All right, guys, 18 minutes.
[audience cheering]
[Christian] Wendy's sauce, that can't even be allowed.
It's like too good.
You know it's going to be too good.
Listen, Bob can cook.
We know he can cook.
-But he can't cook Chinese food. -[laughs] But not this.
[Michael] Plus, where's the texture?
-You know Wendy's going to have texture -I don't want to say it.
from frying the eggplant, texture from the rice.
I'm embarrassed for Bobby right now.
This dish has a lot of very nuanced regional ingredients
that I know Bobby is not familiar with.
Wendy, what was that pepper you were just cutting up?
[Wendy] Facing heaven peppers.
I actually grow them in my garden.
They are a Sichuan varietal.
And even though they pack a heat,
they've got a really nice fruity side to them.
Hey, Bobby, what off your station
have you grown yourself?
I fermented this black vinegar in my backyard.
Nice. [laughs]
Shiitake mushrooms are going to be interspersed
with the eggplant.
So I'm going to cook them with some onions, ginger, garlic,
and some of the sauce.
13 minutes and 30 seconds, chefs.
[audience cheering]
I rinse the salt off of the eggplant.
And I dredge them with tapioca and rice flour.
Excuse me, Robert. We're busy.
Both of these are great flours for frying
because they're light.
So you get a really nice crispy edge.
-You got a second? -Sure. What's up?
We just want to take a selfie with the winner.
[Christian] Well, you know what? Let's call him here. Even better.
[Michael] Bobby, you got time?
Let's get Bobby in the background.
Just to jump in for a quick photo with the winner's circle.
All the winners wear sunglasses.
♪ I don't see no competition ♪
Can I have you try this as well?
-[Michael] You. -Yeah.
-You. -I got this one in the bag.
So I combine everything with our eggplant.
I'm just looking for a nice consistency
and then some lime juice for acidity.
Bobby, just take a break for one second.
-Yeah. -Just take one quick break.
That's good.
Yo, give me a sandwich with that, okay?
[all laugh]
Let's hear it for the winner, Wendy.
[audience cheering]
You know, the eggplant is a tiny bit slimy
in a way, you know?
So I want something crunchy when you eat it.
Bobby, what are you making with the flour?
[Bobby] Uh, some crispy shallots.
-Texture. -[Christian] Okay.
-Boring. -Pfft.
[Wendy] I check my eggplants in the fryer.
They're looking nice and crispy.
First, I plate my rice.
And then I plate my eggplant
and make sure that each piece is covered with sauce.
Then I'm adding traditional garnishes, Szechuan peppercorns,
scallion, facing heaven peppers,
fried garlic, and toasted sesame seeds.
[Michael] 30 seconds, chefs.
We got to give Bob a little bit of credit.
Those eggplant right now look glazed and sticky.
-Tender braised. -Yeah.
Wendy's serving hers with rice,
which makes perfect sense, I guess,
to kind of lap up the sauce.
But I just kept it simple.
Hopefully it doesn't kill my chances to win this.
How much cilantro and lime
do you see in Szechuan cooking?
[Christian] I don't know nothing.
I'm not trying to make any problems with my boss.
Well, I ain't ever seen it.
[all] Ten, nine, eight,
seven, six, five,
four, three, two, one.
[audience cheering]
Good job.
There's a couple of things
that aren't authentic to it, for sure.
But I think it tastes like a good eggplant dish.
[Wendy] I know that I'm bringing more authentic flavors than Bobby.
So I'm going to be Bobby.
Good job, team.
Wendy, Chef Bobby, incredible round.
Now we're going to introduce you to our judges.
Cookbook author and owner of Nom Wah, Wilson Tang.
The chef owner of Border Grill Restaurant Group,
Mary Sue Milliken.
We've got the chef, owner of East Wind Snack Shop,
Chris Cheung.
[audience applauds]
All right, judges, please try
the first Szechuan braised eggplant
in front of you.
I think this dish was really, really good.
It has the texture of the crispy shallots.
And the scallions and the cilantro
really added a lot of brightness.
But the side of rice with this would be really tasty
to kind of soak up the heat.
I love this dish. The crunch is great.
And that bright shallot and cilantro.
And I really love that the chef chose mushrooms.
I don't miss the meat.
But it might need just a little bit more spice
to really get that Szechuan kind of zing.
The crunchiness of the shallots
off the softness of the eggplant
made the dish sing.
And I did love the cilantro.
The thing I do have a problem with
is I like it a little heavy-handed with the spices.
So a little bit more Szechuan peppercorns,
a little more chili.
Now we're going to have you switch plates.
I think the dish was really well-composed.
I love the fact that it had rice
to kind of make the spiciness not as spicy.
I also enjoyed the ground pork in it.
But I wish the eggplants were mushy.
These were a little too crunchy for me.
This dish actually is fantastic.
The eggplant was fried.
And that adds some crunchy texture, which is really nice.
The rice is cooked perfectly.
I would just say that facing heaven chilies
are really strong.
It kind of blew out the flavors of the Szechuan peppercorn.
The eggplant, I thought it was cooked very well.
I love the crunchy texture.
It also had a really nice depth of flavor
from the addition of the pork.
I really liked the chili.
I really liked the Szechuan peppercorn.
So for me, the extra heat would work
because that's what you would expect from a Szechuan dish.
[Michael] Thank you for your comments.
I'm going to ask you, please pick
your favorite Szechuan braised eggplant.
Not surprisingly, everyone had different spice tolerance.
You know, in our culture, you want it to be that spicy.
This decision was not unanimous.
[Michael] And the winner is...
Somehow it's Bobby Flay.
Whoa.
I give up. I... Some...
I'm a little heartbroken,
but my family will be very proud of me
for showcasing Szechuan flavors
in America like this.
[Wilson] It was definitely the crispy shallots.
Those really did it for me.
It added the texture component that kind of blew me away.
Thank you. Thanks, Chef.
See you in LA.
I guess Bobby's like the winner here.
He'll never be as cool as me and you.
-He's not in the club. -He wishes, bro.
One day. One day you'll get your own glasses, Bobby.
I can't believe I Szech-won.
-[cheering] -[laughing]