A Filipino-Japanese fusion dish has been crowned the winner of an online cooking competition recently launched by the Embassy of Japan in Manila.
The “Shirashi in Tempura Taco Nori” prepared by Ana Liezl Quibrantar bested other food entries to win the "Food and Friendship: The Japan-Philippines 65th Anniversary Online Cooking Contest."
Blown away by the creativity of Filipino cooks and food enthusiasts, Japanese Ambassador Kazuhiko Koshikawa sent his congratulations to winner and other finalists of the cooking competition via Twitter.
"Congratulations to the winner and finalists of the Food and Friendship: The JP-PH 65th Anniversary Online Cooking Contest! Chef Suzuki and I are really impressed with your creative recipes, especially the winning dish, Shirashi in Tempura Taco Nori!" the ambassador tweeted on July 29.
The contest winner will be invited to dine with the Japanese ambassador subject to safety and health protocols. The winning dish will be served as part of the dinner menu.
The Japanese embassy has released the list of the winning entry and other finalists of the online cookfest. The online food entries were judged based on presentation, recipe and photo or video quality. The winning dish was chosen by Chef Daisuke Suzuki.
"The selected entries impressed Chef SUZUKI Daisuke for their innovative combination of Filipino and Japanese recipes, ingredients, and cooking techniques," the embassy said in a press statement.
"The dish 'Shirashi in Tempura Taco Nori” by Ana Liezl Quibrantar was lauded by Chef Suzuki for its skillful presentation and unique preparation style and was chosen as the winner of the contest," it said.
According to the embassy, the winning dish is derived from the classic Japanese dish shirashi.
Quibrantar's version is prepared with marinated fish, mango, avocado, cucumber, and spring onion. It is served in a deep-fried nori shell with sushi rice topped with mayo and wasabi tobiko.
The online cooking contest was launched by the Japanese embassy last April.
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