Dylan James
The dish I prepared was Canned Mackerel Nigiri with a side spinach salad and green tea spinach smoothie. I really love the taste of canned mackerel, and I didn't want to do anything to it because I thought its integrity and flavor would be lost. So from there, I thought sushi because the fish would just be taken from the can and left to shine atop a rice roll.
I made a bet with my mom and grandma that there would be canned fish in the next basket, which I was right! So not only was I several dollars richer but I was also confident because I had been preparing for fish.
I think my high points were committing to making a creative dish like sushi, and then using the tomato juice from the peeled plum tomatoes in the rice. Usually one would use rice wine vinegar, but I knew tomato juice would act as a sweet substitute. Ironically enough since I used it two ways, the spinach set me at a low point for a while. I wanted to incorporate it on the sushi roll somehow, and I tried steaming, blanching, and pureeing until I gave up on the idea.
I decided to make a spinach salad because I was committed to the idea of using the mackerel can in my presentation. And the spinach salad ended up fitting into the can perfectly!
Testers, he said were blown away by the balance of flavors, creativity, and especially the presentation. They did think that I let the rice sit too long in the fridge before assembling it, so that's something to make a note of.
I was surprised by how long it took to assemble the dish, as well as the mess that I made in the kitchen. When you have so many components to a recipe, it requires extreme organization, and I lacked there. I was also pretty shocked that I didn't use the tomatoes in other parts of the dish other than the sauce. Tomatoes are something I eat every day and no one, not even myself, would have suspected I would leave off the tomato.
I'm ecstatic that I reached a high point in my creative cooking mind. Most of the mystery ingredients either came from a can or a container, so I know that none of my other competitors would have thought up a traditionally fresh dish like sushi.
I loved using the can and the sushi boat as a vessel for my dish. It was very cute and inviting.