12 contenders across the whole country to fight for the national title
“Taiwan Fried Rice King” contest has entered its third annum. The high prizes and joint marketing with high-profile brands attracted chefs and restaurants to work day-in and day-out to deliver the most extraordinary fried rice. This year’s Taiwan Fried Rice King had two divisions—"Classic King” and “Creative Star”. In total, 139 contestants submitted 225 fried rice dishes to compete for the two crowns. In the classic division, the contestants can choose to make one of the four iconic fried rice varieties—egg fried rice, pork fried rice, shrimp fried rice, and vegetable fried rice, and the rice itself must account for over 80% of the overall product. The key to success is using local ingredients and mastering the characteristics of rice, frying technique, and seasoning formula. On the other hand, the creative division does not limit ingredients used in fried rice, and the rice as a proportion of the whole product has only to exceed 60%. So that division put the chef’s ability to mix up ingredients and originality to the test. This year’s contest also required the use of variety-labeled and TAP (Traceable Agricultural Products)-certified rice, which means that all rice ingredients are safe, assuring, and traceable.
The preliminary round of Taiwan Fried Rice King started in November with 4 regional contests in the north, south, east, and west. The number of contestants to qualify for each region was based on regional enrollment. Each division selected 12 fried rice contenders to advance to the final round. To complement the need for mass production, the regional competition required participants to submit pre-cooked fried rice that had been refrigerated, which was re-heated on-site for judges to evaluate. This means that chefs need to handle the degree of cooking to a finer degree so that the final fried rice will maintain its flavor and texture upon reheating. That just shows how difficult it is to advance to the top 12 in the national contest. Upon entering the national round, chefs have to prepare and recreate their fried rice dishes in a professional culinary classroom within 40 minutes. The evaluation was based on aspects like ingredient selection, heating control, seasoning, and plating. Judges made their best attempt to keep the process fair and just. This year’s evaluation panel consisted of 9 professional members (weighted to 70%) and 30 amateurs (weighted to 30%). They collectively decided the top 3 winners and honorable mentions. The winner of the classic division “Basil Pork Neck Fried Rice with Sesame Oil” presented by Yu Jen Fan restaurant perfectly fried springy and aromatic Tainken No. 9 rice with domestic black sesame oil and snowy pork neck. The aroma of sesame oil lingers in your mouth upon each bite. The Creative Division winner is “Sichuan Special Flavored Chicken Fried Rice with Pasto Sauce” by the China Spice at Four Points by Sheraton Linkou. Perfectly mixing Tainung No. 71 rice full of taro aroma, chicken meat with a texture that resembles free-range chicken, and numbing green peppercorns, this dish perfectly blends domestic rice with classic Sichuan “special flavor” and western pasta sauce to bring out a multitude of flavors. It truly embodies creativity and savoriness. Both winners have taken advantage of TAP rice ingredients to deliver remarkable fried rice dishes that are praised by judges and well deserve their title.
Highly anticipated champion fried rice to greet consumers in Q2 2022
In the previous two years, the champion fried rice went into mass production through collaboration with prominent retailers and processors. Both the frozen and chilled ready-to-eat variances are a huge success at convenience stores and wholesales. The sales amounted to over 1.3 million units in just less than one and a half years, equivalent to over 200 thousand kgs of TAP-certified rice consumed. Consumers have been leaving online posts anticipating the launch of the third iteration of fried rice king champion fried rice. This year the production and marketing approaches will build on the previous success by bringing in freezing processors and ready-to-eat chilling technology as well as wide-reaching distribution channels. At the earliest, we can see the latest TAP champion fried rice products at over 6,000 outlets of 7-ELEVEN, Carrefour, A. Mart, and RT-Mart in the second quarter of 2022. By then everyone will have their chance to experience the charm of champion fried rice in person.
