Journeying into the sacred culinary world of sumo, the Fallow channel documented a chef's intensive effort to master chankonabe, the high-calorie traditional soup that fuels Japan's elite wrestlers, for the sport's World Championship in London. The ambitious assignment was to create this complex dish for four elite Japanese wrestlers competing in the 1,500-year-old sport, making it the second time the Grand Sumo tournament has been held outside of Japan.
The mission, according to Fallow, was to spend a day working out the difference between what sumo wrestlers eat while preparing for a fight and how to recreate it. Chankonabe is fundamentally a dashi stock seasoned with ingredients like soy or miso. The recipe is widely "open to interpretation", changing based on what is in season and varying even across different sumo wrestling communities. The chef realized this flexibility meant he "can't totally screw it up 'cuz I can always just blame interpretation".
Initial research led the chef to the Japan Center, a major importer of Japanese produce, and later to Eat Tokyo, the restaurant catering the event. The head chef at Eat Tokyo offered crucial guidance: the stock should be "clean" and "fresh". Specifically, the chef learned to use "Only bone"—chicken bone—for the broth. This choice adheres to sumo tradition, as using the two legs means the fighter "doesn't want to fall over", reinforcing that it is a "bad look or a bad omen to have or consume a four-legged animal" during fight week. While the chef's instinct was to add collagen-rich things like feet or wings, the focus remained on making it clean and fresh.
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The preparation involved meticulous steps. To make the dashi stock, filtered water, kombu sheets (seaweed), and katsuobushi (shaved dried tuna) were used. To ensure the final broth was clean and fresh, the chicken bones were blanched in boiling water for about three or four minutes to "draw out some of those impurities". The broth also included roasted carcasses to give "a bit more depth to the broth and just for a bit more of a golden color". After simmering for about an hour and a half, the stock was reduced to intensify the flavor.
The accompanying chicken balls were made from a mixture of thigh meat (for its fat content) and breast to ensure a "luxurious soft texture". Ingredients included spring onions, garlic, pepper, egg, toasted sesame oil, a tablespoon of corn flour, and ginger juice. The final broth was a soy-based chankonabe due to the "beautiful clear stock". For the final composition, the chef used traditional ingredients like Nappa cabbage, daikon (white radish), and tofu.
However, the chef incorporated British seasonal ingredients, taking "artistic license". The chef felt it would be "a shame if you don't put any sort of interpretation into the broth" since the wrestlers were "kind of in London once". These additions included chanterelle mushrooms and dulse (a red kelp or British seaweed). The chef confessed to being "a little bit rogue" by adding shallots and soy sauce into the chicken balls for flavor.
The chef, acknowledging the intense pressure, felt that "500 years of sumo history is on my shoulders". The soup was delivered to the wrestlers, who were described as "absolutely massive". Sumo wrestlers typically eat chankonabe as a mixture between their breakfast and lunch after training for about three hours first thing in the morning.
When asked if the interpretation of chankonabe would receive a "thumbs up or a thumbs down" in the stable, one wrestler diplomatically replied, "We will practice and when you come back to London, we will be ready". This exchange confirmed the soup, which the chef considered "delicious light fragrant umami packed", was an appreciated effort in bridging culinary traditions.
