Chen Kenmin ( zh, s=陈建民, t=陳建民, p=Chén Jiànmín; ja, 陳建民, ''Chin Kenmin''; June 27, 1912 – May 12, 1990) was a Chinese-born Japanese chef known as the father of

Chen Kenichi , whose name is often romanized Chin Kenichi in Japanese sources, is a chef best known for his role as the Iron Chef Chinese on the television series ''Iron Chef'' (料理の鉄人). Nicknamed The Szechuan Sage, he wears a yellow outfit and rise ...

, the Iron Chef Chinese on the television show ''

Iron Chef is a Japanese television cooking show produced by Fuji Television. The series, which premiered on October 10, 1993, was a stylized cook-off featuring guest chefs challenging one of the show's resident "Iron Chefs" in a timed cooking battle bu ...

''. Born in

Yibin Yibin (; Sichuanese Pinyin: nyi2bin1; Sichuanese pronunciation: ) is a prefecture-level city in the southeastern part of Sichuan province, China, located at the junction of the Min and Yangtze Rivers. Its population was 4,588,804 inhabitants, a ...

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of t ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, Chen emigrated to Japan in 1952 and became a Japanese citizen in 1954. Chen had originally specialized in Chinese imperial cuisine. However, in 1958, upon opening the restaurant in Japan, Chen arranged his dishes to cater to the tastes of his Japanese clients. Chen introduced Shanghai-style

Sichuan cuisine Sichuan cuisine, alternatively romanized as Szechwan cuisine or Szechuan cuisine (, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), is a style of Chinese cuisine originating from Sichuan Province. It has bold flavours, particularly the pungency and spici ...

to Japan through the ''Shisen Hanten'' Restaurant as well as through nationwide TV shows, particularly

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

's TV show, ''Kyō no ryōri'' ("Today's Cuisine" in English). Chen came to be known as the "father of Chinese Sichuan cooking" in Japan. In 1998, Masuyoshi Kimura, a chef who had been personally trained by Chen Kenmin, appeared as a challenger on ''Iron Chef'', but rather than competing against Chen Kenmin's son, Iron Chef Chen Kenichi, Masuyoshi chose

Masaharu Morimoto is a Japanese chef, best known as an Iron Chef on the Japanese TV cooking show ''Iron Chef'' and its spinoff ''Iron Chef America''. He is also known for his unique style of presenting food. Career Morimoto received practical training in sush ...

to be his opponent. Chen Kenichi was present for and watched the battle.

Chen Kenmin's popular dishes

Among the many Shanghai-style Japanese Chinese dishes Chen popularized in Japan include: * "Prawns in Chili Sauce" ( zh, s=干烧虾仁, t=乾燒蝦仁, p=gān shāo xiā rén), which Chen renamed to for the Japanese. * Mapo doufu ( zh, s=麻婆豆腐, t=麻婆豆腐, p=má pó dòu fu).

References

* A large portion of this article was translated from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia, retrieved on February 5, 2007. 1912 births 1990 deaths Chinese chefs Chinese Civil War refugees Chinese emigrants to Japan Japanese chefs Naturalized citizens of Japan People from Yibin Sichuan cuisine {{food-bio-stub