Asparagus (アスパラガス)
Asparagus is delicious, especially grilled with olive oil and salt and with a healthy squeeze of lemon.
Asparagus was a theme ingredient in 3 battles:
February 24, 1995
Iron Chef French Hiroyuki Sakai (坂井宏行) vs Toshihiro Komine (小峰敏宏)
May 15, 1998
Iron Chef Japanese Masaharu Morimoto (森本正治) vs Yasuhiko Habuchi (羽渕康彦)
August 6, 1999
Iron Chef Chinese Kenichi Chen (陳建一) vs Dominique Corby
Avocado (アボカド)
Avocado was a theme ingredient in 1 battle:
June 30, 1995
Iron Chef French Yukata Ishinabe (石鍋裕) vs Takayoshi Kamatani (釜谷孝義)
Bamboo Shoot (筍)
Bamboo Shoot was a theme ingredient in 3 battles:
April 15, 1994
Iron Chef Chinese Kenichi Chen (陳建一) vs Munetaka Takahashi (高橋宗孝)
April 18, 1997
Iron Chef French Hiroyuki Sakai (坂井宏行) vs Shinzō Okunuma (奥村眞三)
May 1, 1998
Iron Chef Japanese Masaharu Morimoto (森本正治) vs Tetsuo Hagiwara (萩原哲雄)
Bell Pepper (ピーマン)
The Japanese word for bell pepper (piman) comes from the French word piment, which means chili pepper.
Bell Pepper was a theme ingredient in 4 battles:
September 9, 1994
Iron Chef Japanese Rokusaburō Michiba (道場六三郎) vs Artur Rütter
March 22, 1996
Iron Chef Japanese Kōmei Nakamura (中村孝明) vs Kunbi Lin (林訓美)
January 22, 1999
Iron Chef Italian Masahiko Kobe (神戸勝彦) vs Constantino Gemmoli
September 17, 1999
Iron Chef French Hiroyuki Sakai (坂井宏行) vs Iron Chef Japanese Masaharu Morimoto (森本正治)
Broccoli (ブロッコリー)
Broccoli was a theme ingredient in 2 battles:
May 26, 1995
Iron Chef Japanese Rokusaburō Michiba (道場六三郎) vs Etsuo Jō (城悦男)
March 13, 1998
Iron Chef Italian Masahiko Kobe (神戸勝彦) vs Mario Frittoli
Cabbage (キャベツ)
Cabbage was a theme ingredient in 2 battles:
May 6, 1994
Iron Chef Chinese Kenichi Chen (陳建一) vs Hiromi Yamada (山田宏巳)
July 25, 1997
Iron Chef Italian Masahiko Kobe (神戸勝彦) vs Stephano Tabacchi
Carrot (にんじん)
Carrot was a theme ingredient in 1 battle:
May 27, 1994
Iron Chef Chinese Kenichi Chen (陳建一) vs Kiyoshi Takahashi (高橋高橋)
Chinese Cabbage (白菜)
Chinese Cabbage was a theme ingredient in 3 battles:
January 20, 1995
Iron Chef Chinese Kenichi Chen (陳建一) vs Hisao Oidate (追立久夫)
November 8, 1996
Iron Chef French Hiroyuki Sakai (坂井宏行) vs Hiroshi Yamaoka (山岡洋)
April 2, 1999
Iron Chef Chinese Kenichi Chen (陳建一) vs Yufen Cui (崔玉芬)
Corn (とうもろこし)
Corn comes from Mexico and was believed to be cultivated starting around 8,000 BC. So it seems odd that the Japanese word for corn is not a loanword from English or Spanish but the interesting word tōmorokoshi. The Japanese thought that corn greatly resembled sorghum, so they called it tō- (foreign) morokoshi (sorghum, or millet).
Corn was a theme ingredient in 2 battles:
August 26, 1994
Iron Chef Japanese Rokusaburō Michiba (道場六三郎) vs Keiji Nakazawa (中澤敬二)
August 23, 1996
Iron Chef French Hiroyuki Sakai (坂井宏行) vs Kenji Sugawara (菅原健二)
Cucumber (キュウリ)
Cucumber was a theme ingredient in 1 battle:
September 26, 1997
Iron Chef Chinese Kenichi Chen (陳建一) vs Miyuki Igarashi (五十嵐美幸)
Daikon Radish (大根)
Daikon Radish was a theme ingredient in 2 battles:
November 28, 1993
Iron Chef French Yukata Ishinabe (石鍋裕) vs Masato Mutō (武藤正人)
February 6, 1998
Iron Chef French Hiroyuki Sakai (坂井宏行) vs Fumiaki Satō (佐藤文昭)
Eggplant (ナス)
Eggplant was a theme ingredient in 3 battles:
July 1, 1994
Iron Chef Chinese Kenichi Chen (陳建一) vs Kōichi Tabata (田畑孝一)
July 28, 1995
Iron Chef French Hiroyuki Sakai (坂井宏行) vs Shinichi Nagamatsu (永松信一)
August 15, 1997
Iron Chef Chinese Kenichi Chen (陳建一) vs Sōsei Kawaguchi (川口宗清)
Garlic (ニンニク)
Garlic was a theme ingredient in 1 battle:
December 6, 1996
Iron Chef Chinese Kenichi Chen (陳建一) vs Sachio Ishizaki (石崎幸雄)
Kamo Eggplant (賀茂ナス)
Kamo Eggplant was a theme ingredient in 1 battle:
June 26, 1998
Iron Chef Italian Masahiko Kobe (神戸勝彦) vs Yashiro Sasajima (笹島保弘)
Leek (ねぎ)
Leek was a theme ingredient in 1 battle:
February 16, 1996
Iron Chef French Hiroyuki Sakai (坂井宏行) vs Jinichi Tateyama (舘山仁一)
Lettuce (レタス)
Lettuce was a theme ingredient in 1 battle:
April 26, 1996
Iron Chef Chinese Kenichi Chen (陳建一) vs Yewen He (何業文)
Lotus Root (蓮根)
Lotus Root was a theme ingredient in 1 battle:
November 17, 1995
Iron Chef French Hiroyuki Sakai (坂井宏行) vs Toshirō Kandagawa (神田川俊郎)
Maitake Mushroom (舞茸)
Maitake Mushroom was a theme ingredient in 1 battle:
November 20, 1998
Iron Chef Italian Masahiko Kobe (神戸勝彦) vs Takatsugu Sasaoka (笹岡隆次)
New Potato (新ジャガイモ)
New Potato was a theme ingredient in 1 battle:
June 19, 1998
Iron Chef Chinese Kenichi Chen (陳建一) vs Kentaro Kobayashi (ケンタロウ)
Onion ( 玉ねぎ)
Onion was a theme ingredient in 1 battle:
June 2, 1995
Iron Chef French Hiroyuki Sakai (坂井宏行) vs Katsuo Ōmiya (大宮勝雄)
Potato (馬鈴薯)
Potatoes are originally from South America, but were introduced to Japan via Indonesia. The Japanese word for potato (jagaimo) comes from the words jaga- which is short for Jakarta, and -imo, which means root.
Potato was a theme ingredient in 4 battles:
August 19, 1994
Iron Chef Chinese Kenichi Chen (陳建一) vs Katsuyo Kobayashi (小林カツ代)
October 20, 1995
Iron Chef Japanese Rokusaburō Michiba (道場六三郎) vs Kunbi Lin (林訓美)
August 29, 1997
Iron Chef Japanese Kōmei Nakamura (中村孝明) vs Yoshinori Kojima (小島孔典)
July 2, 1999
Iron Chef Japanese Masaharu Morimoto (森本正治) vs Michael Noble
Pumpkin (かぼちゃ)
Pumpkin was a theme ingredient in 2 battles:
October 28, 1994
Iron Chef Chinese Kenichi Chen (陳建一) vs Kōji Kobayashi (小林幸司)
October 30, 1998
Iron Chef Italian Masahiko Kobe (神戸勝彦) vs Kensuke Sakai (坂井謙介)
Scallion (長ネギ)
Scallion was a theme ingredient in 1 battle:
April 30, 1999
Iron Chef Japanese Masaharu Morimoto (森本正治) vs Yūsuke Yamashita (山下裕輔)
Shanghai Cabbage (青梗菜)
Shanghai Cabbage was a theme ingredient in 1 battle:
November 13, 1998
Iron Chef Chinese Kenichi Chen (陳建一) vs Hisao Yaginuma (八木沼久男)
Spinach (菠)
Spinach was a theme ingredient in 1 battle:
March 29, 1996
Iron Chef Chinese Kenichi Chen (陳建一) vs Katsuaki Mori (森克明)
Sweet Potato (薩摩芋)
Sweet Potato was a theme ingredient in 2 battles:
October 27, 1995
Iron Chef Japanese Rokusaburō Michiba (道場六三郎) vs Kunbi Lin (林訓美)
December 31, 1996
Iron Chef Japanese Kōmei Nakamura (中村孝明) vs Iron Chef Japanese Rokusaburō Michiba (道場六三郎)
Taro (里芋)
Taro was a theme ingredient in 1 battle:
February 17, 1995
Iron Chef Chinese Kenichi Chen (陳建一) vs Kunihiko Hashimoto (橋本邦彦)
Tomato (トマト)
Tomato was a theme ingredient in 4 battles:
March 13, 1994
Iron Chef French Hiroyuki Sakai (坂井宏行) vs Hiroyuki Kitami (北見博幸)
August 18, 1995
Iron Chef Japanese Rokusaburō Michiba (道場六三郎), Iron Chef French Hiroyuki Sakai (坂井宏行) vs Raffaele Cuomo, Salvatore Cuomo
April 25, 1997
Iron Chef Chinese Kenichi Chen (陳建一) vs Chihiro Ōtsuki (おおつきちひろ)
April 16, 1999
Iron Chef Italian Masahiko Kobe (神戸勝彦) vs Franco Canzoniere
Turnip (カブ)
Turnip was a theme ingredient in 1 battle:
January 13, 1995
Iron Chef French Hiroyuki Sakai (坂井宏行) vs Kōji Yamada (山田康司)
Wakame Seaweed (若布)
Wakame Seaweed was a theme ingredient in 1 battle:
March 21, 1997
Iron Chef Japanese Kōmei Nakamura (中村孝明) vs Takashi Mera (米良隆)
Yam (とろろいも)
Yam was a theme ingredient in 1 battle:
September 23, 1994
Iron Chef French Hiroyuki Sakai (坂井宏行) vs Sotetsu Fujii (藤井宗哲)