Chen Kenmin

In this Chinese name, the family name is Chen.

Chen Kenmin^[a] (June 27, 1912 – May 12, 1990), also known as Azuma Kenmin (Japanese: 東 建民) after naturalization, was a Chinese-Japanese chef. He is often credited with introducing Sichuan cuisine to Japan. He was the father of Chen Kenichi, the Iron Chef Chinese on the television show Iron Chef.^[1]

Chen Kenmin
Born	Chen Jianmin (1912-06-27)June 27, 1912 Yibin, Sichuan Province, Republic of China
Died	May 12, 1990(1990-05-12) (aged 77) Japan
Children	Chen Kenichi (son)
Relatives	Chen Kentarō (grandson)
Culinary career
Cooking style	Chinese Imperial cuisine, Sichuan
Current restaurant(s) Shisen Hanten group of restaurants found in Akasaka, Ikebukuro, Roppongi, Tokushima, Kure (Hiroshima Prefecture), Matsuyama and Hakata
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	陳建民
Simplified Chinese	陈建民
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Chén Jiànmín
Japanese name
Kanji	陳 建民
Transcriptions Romanization Chin Kenmin
Japanese name
Kanji	東 建民
Kana	あずま けんみん
Transcriptions Romanization Azuma Kenmin

Early life

Chen was born in Yibin, Sichuan Province in 1912. He learned cooking from his mother, and worked in various restaurants in Wuhan, Nanjing and Shanghai. He emigrated to Taiwan in 1947 after the Chinese Civil War, and to Hong Kong in 1948, where he opened a Sichuanese restaurant.

In Japan

Chen emigrated to Japan in 1952 and became a Japanese citizen in 1954. Chen had originally specialized in Chinese imperial cuisine. However, in 1957, upon opening the Shisen Hanten (四川飯店) restaurant in Japan, Chen arranged his dishes to cater to the tastes of his Japanese clients. Chen introduced Shanghai-style Sichuan cuisine to Japan through the Shisen Hanten Restaurant as well as through nationwide TV shows, particularly NHK's TV show, Kyō no ryōri ("Today's Cuisine" in English).^[2] Chen came to be known as the "father of Chinese Sichuan cooking" in Japan.^[2]

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

Chen Kenmin's popular dishes

Among the many Shanghai-style and Sichuan-style Japanese Chinese dishes Chen popularized in Japan are:

• "Prawns in Chili Sauce" (simplified Chinese: 干烧虾仁; traditional Chinese: 乾燒蝦仁; pinyin: gān shāo xiā rén), which Chen renamed to Ebi Chili Sauce (エビチリソース, ebi chiri sōsu) for the Japanese.
• Mapo doufu (Chinese: 麻婆豆腐; pinyin: má pó dòu fu).
• Mābō-nasu (麻婆茄子): a stir-fried dish of ground pork with eggplant (mābō-chezu) in a slightly spicy sauce.