Sweet & Sour Chicken

Squeezing the lemon juice

Mixing the vegetables for the fried rice

The final meal :) 

Rosa and I had a cooking session a few weeks ago where we cooked fried rice and sweet and sour chicken. It was a major task, it took a lot of work and help from Rosa's mom. It was a risk because neither of us have cooked either of these things before but I'm really glad we did it because I learned a lot. The chicken we made was excellent, however we failed in making the fried rice. But I think that was important for us because we learned what not to do for next time. We burnt the rice because we left it unattended and stopped stirring it. I think next time, before frying the rice we'll boil it because the rice wouldn't cook by just frying, which is why we burned it. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/sweet-and-sour_chicken_03829

Ingredients

For the sauce

• 50g/2oz caster sugar
• 1 garlic clove , crushed
• 50g/2oz canned pineapple, diced
• 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 1 tsp cornflour mixed to a paste with 1 tsp cold water
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 lime, juice only

For the chicken

• 4 tbsp flour
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• pinch baking powder
• pinch sugar
• 1 free-range egg
• 2 chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
• vegetable oil, for deep-frying

For the fried rice

• 2 tbsp groundnut oil, for frying
• 2 free-range eggs, lightly beaten
• 2.5cm/1in piece ginger, peeled and finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
• ½ red pepper, seeds removed, diced
• 100g/4oz peas
• 300g/11oz cooked long-grain rice
• 50g/2oz cooked ham, cubed
• 3 spring onions, finely chopped
• soy sauce, to taste
• sesame oil, to taste
• ground white pepper, to taste
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander, to garnish

Preparation method

1. For the sauce, mix all the ingredients, apart from the lime juice, together in a small saucepan and simmer for five minutes until thickened, adding a splash of water if it thickens too much. Add lime juice to taste. Set aside.
2. For the chicken, mix the flour, cornflour, baking powder and sugar in a large bowl then gradually mix in the egg to form a paste. Stir in enough water to make a thick batter the consistency of double cream and whisk until smooth.
3. Half-fill a deep, heavy-based pan with the vegetable oil and heat until a cube of bread dropped in sizzles and turns golden-brown in 30 seconds (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended). Coat the chicken pieces in the batter then fry for 4-5 minutes, turning two or three times, or until golden-brown and crisp and completely cooked through. (You may need to do this in batches.) Remove the chicken from the oil with a slotted spoon and set aside to drain on kitchen paper.
4. For the rice, heat half the groundnut oil in a wok over a high heat then add the beaten egg and stir as it cooks to break it into small chunks. When cooked, remove from the pan and add a little more oil then add the ginger and garlic and fry for 30 seconds. Add the red pepper and peas and fry for a further minute. Add the rice, ham, and spring onions and season generously with soy sauce. Stir until well combined, then season, to taste, with sesame oil and white pepper.
5. To serve, spoon the fried rice onto serving plates, top with the deep-fried chicken, pour over the sauce and garnish with the coriander.
   
   
   We used the recipe above to create our meal! 
   
   
   
   
   
   

Varsity Soccer

I tried out for the soccer team the week after the play ended. I wasn't happy about starting a new activity right after I'd finally finished such a time consuming one but I really wanted to be on a Varsity sport before I graduated from ISK. In choosing to participate in soccer along with continuing to balance drama as the Fringe Festival comes up, I've demonstrated qualities of perseverance. These qualities are further highlighted as I continue with a sport I played in 10th grade and was unable to play last year due to my move. Anyway, I made the soccer team and am excited/nervous to begin the upcoming season. I want to get in shape and I like having a sport to play and a team to belong to, however I am nervous about playing in soccer games at this school. It's a risk for me because I've never played Varsity here and the season is really important so there's a lot of pressure.