Quarter 1
Goals
My goal is to learn and practice the skills of cooking since in Grade 9, we will be learning about cooking. I hope that I will be able to manage my time wisely in cooking and be able to cooperate well with my partner. Another goal of mine is to be able to follow the recipe carefully, to use the materials wisely and to be careful when using the cooking utensils.
My goal is to learn and practice the skills of cooking since in Grade 9, we will be learning about cooking. I hope that I will be able to manage my time wisely in cooking and be able to cooperate well with my partner. Another goal of mine is to be able to follow the recipe carefully, to use the materials wisely and to be careful when using the cooking utensils.
Summary of the Method of Plating
One of the most important aspects of a dish is its plating. It is the one aspect of a dish that will attract the attention of the diner. The first step is to plan how you will plate the food. You can experiment with plates of different shapes, colors and sizes and choose which one suits your dish the most. You will also need to keep the plate simple and balance the dish so that it will not confuse the diners. Other than that, you will also need to be sure that the portion of the food is not too much or too little and also make sure that the key ingredient stands out. Even so, also pay equal attention to the garnishes and sauces of the plate.
There are various different methods of plating such as by stacking the ingredients on top of each other and by putting the starch, vegetables and main beside each other. You can also mould the ingredients to make it look interesting and also create accents of the sauces such as by lightly pouring it onto the plate. Garnishing is also important to highlight the dish. Garnishes should be applied quickly before it is served and is edible for the diner to eat. There are different types of plating such as communal, a dish that is meant to be shared that can be plated by using different types of bowls or plates; individual, a dish that is for one person that can be plated using modern Western techniques; and also one-dish meals, a dish that is one complete meal that can be plated by balancing the color and texture of it.
Sources:
"The Basics of Food Plating." Unilever Food Solutions. Unilever Food Solutions, n.d. Web. 12 Aug. 2015.
MyNSLC. "The Art of Plating Food." Online video clip. Youtube. Youtube, 12 Aug. 2010. Web. 12 Aug. 2015.
One of the most important aspects of a dish is its plating. It is the one aspect of a dish that will attract the attention of the diner. The first step is to plan how you will plate the food. You can experiment with plates of different shapes, colors and sizes and choose which one suits your dish the most. You will also need to keep the plate simple and balance the dish so that it will not confuse the diners. Other than that, you will also need to be sure that the portion of the food is not too much or too little and also make sure that the key ingredient stands out. Even so, also pay equal attention to the garnishes and sauces of the plate.
There are various different methods of plating such as by stacking the ingredients on top of each other and by putting the starch, vegetables and main beside each other. You can also mould the ingredients to make it look interesting and also create accents of the sauces such as by lightly pouring it onto the plate. Garnishing is also important to highlight the dish. Garnishes should be applied quickly before it is served and is edible for the diner to eat. There are different types of plating such as communal, a dish that is meant to be shared that can be plated by using different types of bowls or plates; individual, a dish that is for one person that can be plated using modern Western techniques; and also one-dish meals, a dish that is one complete meal that can be plated by balancing the color and texture of it.
Sources:
"The Basics of Food Plating." Unilever Food Solutions. Unilever Food Solutions, n.d. Web. 12 Aug. 2015.
MyNSLC. "The Art of Plating Food." Online video clip. Youtube. Youtube, 12 Aug. 2010. Web. 12 Aug. 2015.
Cooking Process 1 - Rawon (Albert)
- Evidences that you follow the plan
Fig. 1 - 3 Ingredients
Fig. 4 - 6 Peeling and Cutting the Spices
Fig. 7 - 9 Collecting and Blending the Spices
Fig. 10 - 11 Sauté the spices and put the beef and broth into the saucepan
Fig. 12 Final Product - Rawon
- Evaluate the cooking activity
We were able to manage our time wisely because in the end, we were able to do all the processes from the preparation to the plating. We were able to clean all the utensils and equipment cleanly and also take pictures of the processes.
What had been the struggle?
There were some errors in the process such as when we were not able to blend smoothly and there are some spices that were still whole. Another error when we were not able to sauté the blended spices until the oil and aroma came out of the spices. We were also not able to maintain a clean workspace. We also put too much broth into the saucepan that the dish became tasteless.
What could be done better/difficulties?
If we could have done it better, we will make sure that the spices are blended thoroughly and make sure that it is cooked perfectly before pouring in the broth and later the beef. We will also make sure that we do each process cleanly so that we can maintain a clean workspace. We should also make sure that we put not too much or not too little broth into the saucepan.
What did you learn? (Knowledge & skills)
We learned how to make a rawon dish and we also learned how to peel spices. We also learned to maintain our time and the importance of keeping a clean workspace. We also learned that if we do not sauté the spices until it is cooked perfectly, there will still be some taste of raw spices. We also learned that by putting excess broth, the dish could be tasteless.
Cooking Process 2 - Pempek (Meshach)
- Evidences that you follow the plan
Fig. 4-6 Mixing the Ingredients Together
Fig. 7-8 Adding Soy Sauce, Salt, Pepper and Mixing It Together
Fig. 12 Final Product - Pempek and Sauce
- Evaluate the cooking activity
The success of this cooking activity is that we were able to manage our time wisely as we finished cooking on time. This was a success as we were able to do every process from preparation until plating correctly by following the guidelines. The guidelines stated that we needed to mix the ingredients together, then boil the pempek, fry the pempek and lastly plate the pempek. We were also able to clean the utensils cleanly because cleaning the utensils was a bit challenging due to the fact that some of the pempek dough sticks onto the utensils. We were also able to take pictures of each step to prove that we followed the instructions.
What has been the struggle?
The struggle is that the pempek was a bit tasteless. When we tasted the pempek, we knew that there was a certain taste that was not in it and we decided that it did not have enough salt. The pempek was also a bit hard and not smooth. This is because we struggled in shaping the pempek as we needed to shape the pempek a long time to make it smooth. The pempek's sizes were also not equally the same. This happened because we found some difficulty in making the shape, as said before, thus causing the pempeks to have different sizes. The reason why these struggles happened is because we were a bit rushed in the cooking process as we had limited time. We also found some struggles in plating the pempek. This can be seen in our final product in which it did not look appealing and attractive. Lastly, cleaning the utensils was also a struggle because some of the pempek dough was stuck onto the utensils but we were able to solve this problem in the end.
What could be done better/differently?
We could improve the taste of the pempek by adding more salt because that was one of the main problems that affected the outcome of the cooking process. We should also make sure that we shape the pempek until it is smooth and there are no hard parts in it. When shaping the pempek, we should also be a bit more careful to make sure that the sizes of each pempek is that same. We should also make sure that we do not rush when cooking because that was the one that caused the main problems to our pempek. Lastly, we should be careful when plating the pempek and make sure that we are following the host's design so that it will look as expected.
What did you learn?
We learned that even one small mistake could affect the outcome of the cooking process. This is seen when we did not put enough salt into the pempek thus causing it to become a bit tasteless. We also learned the skill of boiling. We learned that when boiling, we can make sure that we cook the pempek perfectly by seeing if it has floated to the surface of the water. This is a sign in which the pempek is already cooked. Another skill we learned is frying. We learned that when frying, we can make sure that the oil is ready by putting bits of flour onto the oil and see if the flour sizzles and bubbles come out of it. This is to make sure that if when put the pempek into the oil, the pempek will not become oily as it will sizzle perfectly. We can also know when the pempek is already fried perfectly when its color turns into golden brown. Other than that, we also learned how to shape a dough. We learned that if we do not shape the dough perfectly until it is smooth, the result will be that the pempek is hard.
Cooking Process 3 - Es Lidah Buaya (Albert)
- Evidences that you follow the plan
- Evaluate the cooking activity
We have been able to manage our time wisely and maintain a clean workspace because we were able to finish all the cooking and cleaning on-time and no time is wasted. We are also to follow all process needed from preparing until plating and serving.
What had been the struggle?
The struggle is that the soup for the drink sometimes tasted tasteless, too acidic, or sometimes too sweet. Then sometimes when we added the sugar, it never reach the level that we were hoping. The final product somehow tasteless and more sugar or syrup needed. Its tasteless because we have struggle in cooking the soup because when we tried the original recipe which is 4 tbsp of sugar, we couldn't taste the sweetness.
What could be done better/differently?
If we are to redo it, we want to make the soup sweeter by adding more sugar because if we don't do that, it will be tasteless and it won't taste good.
What did you learn?
During this session of cooking, we have learned how to cut the lemons and limes. I need to cut it horizontally so that the lemon or limes will look good and it will taste better. We could also get the water and pulp if we cut horizontally. If we cut vertically, we won't get the water and the orange will still be covered by the skin.
Cooking Process 4 - Es Pisang Ijo (Albert)
- Evidences that you follow the plan
Fig. 1 & 2 Steaming the Banana
Fig. 6 & 7 Straining and Steaming the Dough
Fig. 10 Final Product - Es Pisang Ijo
What had been the success?
We were able to follow all the instructions and explain all steps thoroughly to the class. We were able to host and lead the class and successfully finish making the Es Pisang Ijo. We were able to host the class and everybody did the cooking successfully. We were able to lead sucessfully because we were able to give detailed informations and answer questions of the audiences resulting them getting a good result.
What had been the struggle?
The struggle is that we were not able to make the banana stick to the dough resulting the banana to separate from the dough. Cooking it makes the Es Pisang Ijo doesn't look as it supposed to be.
What could be done better/difficulties?
If we were to do the cooking again, we want to improve the hosting so that we can explain more then give a better example resulting the food to look like how it's supposed to be. Which is the banana sticks with the dough.
What did you learned?
During the session of cooking we have to learn how to mix the dough thoroughly and steam it not until thoroughly cooked resulting a good dough. When it cooked thoroughly before covering the banana with the dough, the dough won't stick to the banana.
We were able to follow all the instructions and explain all steps thoroughly to the class. We were able to host and lead the class and successfully finish making the Es Pisang Ijo. We were able to host the class and everybody did the cooking successfully. We were able to lead sucessfully because we were able to give detailed informations and answer questions of the audiences resulting them getting a good result.
What had been the struggle?
The struggle is that we were not able to make the banana stick to the dough resulting the banana to separate from the dough. Cooking it makes the Es Pisang Ijo doesn't look as it supposed to be.
What could be done better/difficulties?
If we were to do the cooking again, we want to improve the hosting so that we can explain more then give a better example resulting the food to look like how it's supposed to be. Which is the banana sticks with the dough.
What did you learned?
During the session of cooking we have to learn how to mix the dough thoroughly and steam it not until thoroughly cooked resulting a good dough. When it cooked thoroughly before covering the banana with the dough, the dough won't stick to the banana.
Cooking Process 5 - Ayam Taliwang (Meshach)
- Evidences that you follow the plan
Fig. 1 - 3 Cleaning and Cutting the Chicken
Fig. 4 - 9 Cutting, Peeling and Blending the Spices
Fig. 10 - 12 Blending the Spices, Stir Frying it with the Chicken and Grilling it
Fig. 13 Final Product - Ayam Taliwang
- Evaluate the cooking activity
The successes of this cooking activity was that we were able to finish it on the appropriate time. We were able to follow the guidelines from the the very first process until the very last process and almost all of the processes went well. We followed it as we cleaned and cut the chicken, cut and blended the spices, stir fried the spices with the chicken, grilled the chicken, and lastly plated the chicken. We were also able to clean the utensils cleanly until there was no trace of oil left on it and also clean the table because some of the blended spices spilled onto the table. We also took pictures of the process to prove that we followed the instructions.
What has been the struggle?
The struggles of this cooking activity was that there were some of the chicken that were not cooked perfectly and this caused it to become hard and difficult to be eaten. This is shown because when we were eating the thighs of the chicken, the texture was so hard and it was difficult to take off the meat from the chicken. This happened because the time when stir frying the chicken was not enough for the meat to become cooked perfectly. Another struggle is that the sauce became too sweet because we put too much brown sugar into it. This was shown because when we tasted the sauce, the only mistake we found in its taste was that it was too sweet, which thus made it not that good. The reason why this happened was because we directly put all the brown sugar into the sauce without realizing that it was too much and when we tasted it, it was already too late. The sauce also did not absorb into the chicken. This is shown because when we tasted it, the flavor was only on the surface of the chicken and the meat itself did not really have any flavor. This happened because we did not really cut the chicken deeply so that the flavor will be able to go in the chicken and the time when stir frying the chicken was not enough. Other than that, we also found some difficulty in plating the dish. This was shown as our final product did not look attractive and appealing to the diner's eyes. This happened because we did not really have much time left in plating the chicken and we were rushing to finish it in the appropriate time.
What could be done better/differently?
We could improve the texture of the chicken so that it will become soft by stir frying it on a saucepan for a longer time and also add more water to it so that the heat will transfer into the chicken easily. This should be done because the texture of the chicken is one of the most important points in the dish. We can improve the taste of the sauce by adding less brown sugar into it. We should be careful when putting the brown sugar and put it into the sauce slowly. We should taste the sauce everytime we add a portion of the brown sugar to make sure if it is enough already. We could improve the overall taste of the chicken by cutting deeper into the chicken and allotting more time when stir frying the chicken so that the flavor will go into the meat of the chicken. We could improve the plating of the dish by allotting more time and effort into it. We should already be thinking about the way we will plate it since we start cooking so that we can make it look beautiful and appealing to the diner's eyes.
What did you learn?
The most important things we learned is that we must always remember to allott enough time for each process because if we rush on one process, it could lead to several consequences. This is seen when we rushed in stir frying the chicken and it turned out that some of the chicken were not cooked perfectly and became difficult to be eaten. This also caused the flavor of the sauce to not go into the meat of the chicken itself. We also rushed when plating the dish and it caused the dish to be not really attractive. I also learned that we should be careful when adding the ingredients because if we put too much of something, it will affect the overall taste of the dish and it will be difficult to get back the original taste. One of the skills we learned is the skill in stir frying. We must make sure that when stir frying, we allott enough time to it because if we rush when doing it, the chicken will not be cooked perfectly. This will make it difficult to be eaten. The last skill we learned is grilling. We must make sure that when grilling, we do not grill the chicken too long on one side that it becomes burnt.
Reflection
In product design this quarter, I learned about cooking. The first topic I learned was about food technology, plating and also cooking utensils. My group, which includes Albert and I, was appointed to the island of Sulawesi and we decided to choose Es Pisang Ijo from Makassar as our main dish. After that, I started doing the first assignment, which was regarding the plating of the dish. I had to develop a design specification, create four plating designs, evaluate the designs based on the specifications and lastly display the final design and justify why I chose that design. The next assignment was to plan for the cooking activity. Since there were five groups, there were five cooking activities as each group had to choose one dish from their appointed area. Each of the groups had to host a cooking activity and each had to prepare for their turn. Each of the groups had to plan the cooking activity from the job descriptions, the planning for before and during the cooking process, the ingredients and materials needed until the method of the cooking process. Other than that, we also had to evaluate each cooking activity in our digital portfolio. I was interested in these topics because I learned how to cook since before, I had no skill or experience in cooking.
In product design this quarter, I learned about cooking. The first topic I learned was about food technology, plating and also cooking utensils. My group, which includes Albert and I, was appointed to the island of Sulawesi and we decided to choose Es Pisang Ijo from Makassar as our main dish. After that, I started doing the first assignment, which was regarding the plating of the dish. I had to develop a design specification, create four plating designs, evaluate the designs based on the specifications and lastly display the final design and justify why I chose that design. The next assignment was to plan for the cooking activity. Since there were five groups, there were five cooking activities as each group had to choose one dish from their appointed area. Each of the groups had to host a cooking activity and each had to prepare for their turn. Each of the groups had to plan the cooking activity from the job descriptions, the planning for before and during the cooking process, the ingredients and materials needed until the method of the cooking process. Other than that, we also had to evaluate each cooking activity in our digital portfolio. I was interested in these topics because I learned how to cook since before, I had no skill or experience in cooking.
Sample Work - Criterion B
Teacher's Assessment
Final Score = 8/8
This is my best sample work because I was able to achieve a perfect score. I was able to explain everything in detail and I was able to create beautiful and artistic designs that is appealing to the diner's eyes.
I think I did well in developing the ideas of the plating design as I provided colors, labeled each part and also provided annotation on the design. I also did well in evaluating the four designs and deciding which design is the best. I also drew and colored the final design with detail and also provided an explanation on the requirements, such as parts and size, for it. I even provided additional information, which was the planning for the ingredients and recipe.
I can improve this by developing a better design specifications that is based on the analysis of research and also provide descriptions and in-text citation for the information I got from a specific source (internet, book, etc.).
This sample work develops my understanding of the global context Identities and Relationships because traditional food, in this case Es Pisang Ijo, is related to the identity of the people, which is the people of Makassar. As the a part of the population of Makassar works as farmers, they will plant the resources needed to make this dish such as bananas, pandan leaves and also suji leaves. This is the reason why the identity of some of Makassar people, which are farmers, will relate to their traditional dish of Es Pisang Ijo. This dish becomes known to other people because the dish spreads throughout the area and eventually other areas. This will then cause other people to think about Makassar when they eat or think about Es Pisang Ijo because it becomes a part of its identity.
I think I did well in developing the ideas of the plating design as I provided colors, labeled each part and also provided annotation on the design. I also did well in evaluating the four designs and deciding which design is the best. I also drew and colored the final design with detail and also provided an explanation on the requirements, such as parts and size, for it. I even provided additional information, which was the planning for the ingredients and recipe.
I can improve this by developing a better design specifications that is based on the analysis of research and also provide descriptions and in-text citation for the information I got from a specific source (internet, book, etc.).
This sample work develops my understanding of the global context Identities and Relationships because traditional food, in this case Es Pisang Ijo, is related to the identity of the people, which is the people of Makassar. As the a part of the population of Makassar works as farmers, they will plant the resources needed to make this dish such as bananas, pandan leaves and also suji leaves. This is the reason why the identity of some of Makassar people, which are farmers, will relate to their traditional dish of Es Pisang Ijo. This dish becomes known to other people because the dish spreads throughout the area and eventually other areas. This will then cause other people to think about Makassar when they eat or think about Es Pisang Ijo because it becomes a part of its identity.
Quarter 2
Goals
I hope that I can improve my cooking skills this quarter since I did not really get a good score in the 1st quarter. I also hope that I can be more independent in cooking and learn from the mistakes that I did before. Other than that, I hope that I can improve my skills in plating and also be more careful when cooking to ensure that I did not make any mistakes.
I hope that I can improve my cooking skills this quarter since I did not really get a good score in the 1st quarter. I also hope that I can be more independent in cooking and learn from the mistakes that I did before. Other than that, I hope that I can improve my skills in plating and also be more careful when cooking to ensure that I did not make any mistakes.
Reflection
Data Collection
1. Self-Assessment
1. Self-Assessment
- 3 Challenges: I think I did well in solving the three challenges which were cutting the chicken successfully, grinding the spices using an ulekan, and also making sure that the taste of the spices seeps into the chicken. I did well in cutting the chicken successfully because I was able to cut a whole chicken into smaller pieces. Even so, I think I should have cut the chicken based on the parts of the chicken, such as thigh or breast, so that when eating the dish, the diner will know which part they are eating and also so that it will be more organised. I also think I did well in grinding the spices using an ulekan because the spices were smooth and there were no small chunks or parts that were still ungrinded. I do not think there are any errors regarding this challenge because I was able to do it perfectly. Lastly, I think that I did well in making sure that the taste of the spices seeps into the chicken because I was able to marinate the chicken on the previous day and when I tasted the chicken, I can taste the spices. Even so, I could have been able to make the taste seep more into the chicken by using a low heat when cooking it. This was because I was running out of time and I had to rush so I used a high heat. This affected the taste of the dish because the chicken would have tasted better if I used a low heat.
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Fig. 1 Plating of My Dish
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- Time Management: I think that I did pretty well in managing the time of cooking the dish because in the planning, I was able to allot time to each process of the cooking that were reasonable and based on the difficulty of the process. I was able to finish my hosting in time and also demonstrate every step in creating my dish, from explaining the background information and the three challenges of the dish until displaying the plating of the dish, in detail because of this. I was also able to prepare some of the parts of the dish on the day before so that I would not need to do everything in 15 minutes. Even so, there were some steps that took longer than expected and this affected my plan. I had to rush when doing some of the steps in cooking such as when I was putting the chicken in the saucepan with the spices, I had to turn up to heat because I was running out of time. I needed to do this because if I did not turn up the heat, the chicken will not be tender and cooked perfectly. This affected the results of the dish because if I used a lower heat, the spices would have seeped more into the chicken because I cooked it slowly. Even though some of the spices have already seeped into the chicken, I think it could have been better if I used a lower heat.
- Results (8 Responses)
- Analysis
- Taste: Based on the responses of 8 people, the mean of the results is 1.25 and the mode is 1. This means that the taste of my dish is pretty good because 1 means that the dish has a standout taste and 4 means that the dish has an unexpected taste. This means that the taste was like the real Ayam Woku Belanga dish. Even though this was my first time to cook this dish alone, I was able to make it taste pretty good.
- Texture: Based on the responses of 8 people, the mean of the results is 1.125 and the mode is 1. This means that the dish has a pretty good texture because 1 means that the dish has a standout texture and 3 means that the dish is undercooked, unfinished or overcooked. This means that my dish is cooked perfectly, the chicken is tender and the spices are grinded smoothly.
- Colour: The mean of the results is 1.625 and the mode is 2 based on the responses of 8 people. This means that the dish has a satisfactory colour because 1 means that the dish has a standout colour and 3 means that the dish has an unexpected colour. Some of the respondents state that the dish does not really have a vivid colour. This means that the colour of my dish is not very good because it does not standout. I think I should make the dish have a brighter colour the next time I cook this dish.
- Plating: The mean of the results is 1.625 and the mode is 2 based on the responses of 8 people. This means that the plating of the dish is good but not excellent because 1 means that the plating has a combination of at least 3 techniques and 4 means that the food is displayed without any plating technique. The respondents state that the dish needs to be cleaner and also add more garnish. I think that I should incorporate more techniques into the plating of the dish and also be more creative in plating.
- Overcoming 3 challenges: The teacher stated that I was able to solve all of the challenges.
- Quality of the Food: The teacher scored my quality of food, including the taste, texture, colour and plating, 8/8 which means that the quality is very good but she stated that I should improve my plating.
- Time Management: The teacher scored my time management on hosting and finalising the cooking in the 5-6 achievement level and my cleaning up skills and time management in the 7-8 achievement level.
Conclusion
Overall, I think that I did a pretty good job in making my Ayam Woku Belanga dish because I was able to complete the 3 challenges, have a pretty good quality of food and also manage my time pretty well even though there were some errors. I was able to complete the 3 challenges successfully based on my self assessment and also the teacher's assessment. I was able to cut the chicken into smaller pieces, grind the spices manually using an ulekan and also make sure that the taste seeps into the chicken. Even though I was able to accomplish it, I think I could have cut the chicken based on its parts, such as thigh or breast, and also use a low heat when cooking the chicken so that more of the taste of the spices will seep into the chicken. The overall quality of the food was also good based on my self assessment, the survey and the teacher's assessment. The taste of the dish was very good because I was able to use the right amount of each ingredient and the taste seeped into the chicken. The texture of the dish was very good because I was able to cook the chicken perfectly so that it is tender and I was also able to grind the spices until it was smooth. The colour of the dish was satisfactory but could have been improved. This is because the colour should have be more vibrant so that it will standout to the diner. The plating of the dish was good because I used two techniques, which were the choice of the plate and also the lay-out of the dish, but it could have also been improved by using another technique, such as garnishing, and also making the layout more neater/cleaner. Lastly, my time management was average because even though I have allotted time to each process of the cooking, I took a longer time when completing some steps and this affected the remaining time I had to cook the dish. This is why I was a bit rushed in the last processes of cooking.
Overall, I think that I did a pretty good job in making my Ayam Woku Belanga dish because I was able to complete the 3 challenges, have a pretty good quality of food and also manage my time pretty well even though there were some errors. I was able to complete the 3 challenges successfully based on my self assessment and also the teacher's assessment. I was able to cut the chicken into smaller pieces, grind the spices manually using an ulekan and also make sure that the taste seeps into the chicken. Even though I was able to accomplish it, I think I could have cut the chicken based on its parts, such as thigh or breast, and also use a low heat when cooking the chicken so that more of the taste of the spices will seep into the chicken. The overall quality of the food was also good based on my self assessment, the survey and the teacher's assessment. The taste of the dish was very good because I was able to use the right amount of each ingredient and the taste seeped into the chicken. The texture of the dish was very good because I was able to cook the chicken perfectly so that it is tender and I was also able to grind the spices until it was smooth. The colour of the dish was satisfactory but could have been improved. This is because the colour should have be more vibrant so that it will standout to the diner. The plating of the dish was good because I used two techniques, which were the choice of the plate and also the lay-out of the dish, but it could have also been improved by using another technique, such as garnishing, and also making the layout more neater/cleaner. Lastly, my time management was average because even though I have allotted time to each process of the cooking, I took a longer time when completing some steps and this affected the remaining time I had to cook the dish. This is why I was a bit rushed in the last processes of cooking.
Improvements (Explain 3 things that could be improved or done differently!)
- One of the improvements is regarding the 3 challenges. I think that when cooking the chicken, I should use a low heat because in that way, the taste of the spices will seep more into the chicken thus making the dish taste better. This is because before, I was running out of time and I had to rush which is why I used a very high heat. This affected the outcome of my dish. I also need to cut the chicken based on its parts, such as its upper/lower thigh, its wing, and its breast. I think that by doing this, the dish will look better and the proportion of the part of the chicken is not too little or not too much for the diner. Another thing is that the diners will be able to classify which part of the chicken they are eating. This is because when I was cutting the chicken, I was not careful of what parts I am cutting and it caused some of the slices to be too small or too large.
- Another improvement I can make is regarding the quality of the food. I think that I should improve the colour of the dish, because it is not that attractive, and also the plating of my dish, because I only used 2 methods which were the choice of the plate and the lay-out of the dish. I need to make the colour of the dish more vibrant because in my previous dish, its colour was not that eye-catching to the diners. I also should add another technique to make the plating of the dish look more interesting, such as garnish, and also make the dish more neater and cleaner. I should be more creative when plating the dish so that it may appeal to the diners.
- Other than that, I can improve my dish by managing my time better. Even though I was able to allot time for each step of the cooking process logically based on the difficulty of the step, I took a longer time on some of the steps because I was not paying attention to how much time I was taking. This is the reason why I was a bit rushed in the last steps in creating the dish, which was when I was cooking the chicken with the grinded spices. I had to turn up the heat to a higher temperature so that I can finish the dish in time. This affected the final dish because more of the taste of the spices could have seeped into the chicken if I used a lower heat. This is why I need to be better in time management by paying more attention to the time so that I will not rush at the last steps.
Understanding of the Global Context (Personal and Cultural Expression)
- What is personal and cultural expression? Personal and cultural expression includes the way we express and discover ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs, values, creativity, our way of thinking and also the way we reflect on things. We can express these things through arts, crafts, beauty, products, systems, organisations, philosophies, ways of life, beliefs, language, fields, disciplines, analysis and also argument.
- What activities have been developed to explore the global context? The activities that have been developed to explore the global context is that I needed to find an recipe from Sulawesi, which is a part of Indonesia. Since Indonesia is the place where I am born and lived so far, this means that it is my culture. This is why by making this dish, it is a way I express my culture. In cooking the dish, which is Ayam Woku Belanga, I followed the original methods. An example is how I used an ulekan rather than a blender because in the old times, the blender was not yet used/created in Indonesia. This is why this could be another form of cultural expression. I was also able to have my personal expression because of the way I planned my cooking test. I designed my own guidelines, which is based on the original recipe. I also added some preparation to the recipe and this also shows my personality. The way I demonstrated to other people also showed my personality. Other than that, personal expression was also shown through the design of my plating because I was the one who designed how it would look like.
- How your understanding has been developed before, during and after? Before, I had a shallow understanding of personal and cultural expression because even though I do it in almost everyday of my life, because I will always show my personality and cultural values to other people, I never really paid much attention to it. As I started to research about the recipe and also apply my own personality into designing the planning, I started to realise that cultural and personal expression is happening. I started to learn more about this global context as time passed, in which I had to apply it in the way I cooked the recipe, such as using an ulekan, the way I demonstrated my recipe to other people and also the way I plated my dish. After I finished the cooking test, I had a higher understanding of personal and cultural expression and its importance in our daily life. I learned that we do it in almost every aspect of my life and in that way, people are able to know our personality and our culture.
Quarter 3
In terms of personal and cultural expression in food:
- What is the relationship between development and adaptation? The relationship between development and adaptation is that adaptation requires development. Adaptation is a change that a product goes through and for that change to happen, there must be something that is developed. This is because in adapting a dish to suit people's needs or to show a part of our culture, we need to be able to modify the cooking methods, ingredients and others. This modification is a process of development of the product. An example of this situation is that when one of our friends are not allowed to eat pork, we need to be able to develop the food to use another ingredient instead of pork. Another situation is when we need to be able to show our type of culture through our dish. We need to develop the dish by incorporating spices/herbs from our culture.
- What is the relationship between development and perspective? The relationship between development and perspective is that in some cases, we need to develop a dish so that it may suit our perspective. Perspective is our point of view so this means that sometimes, we may disagree with the processes involved in creating the dish, its taste, and also its ingredients. There is also cultural perspective in which there are some dishes that does not follow our culture and is considered unusual. In order to be able to make the product to suit our personal and cultural perspective, we need to be able to develop it. This may be done by changing the way it is made, the materials used in creating it and also the taste of it. An example of this situation is when we do not like spicy dishes. We can modify a specific dish to be less spicy or not spicy at all by reducing the amount of chilli/pepper used or even not including it in the dish at all.
- What is the relationship between the adaptation and perspective? The relationship between adaptation and perspective is that due to the fact that we may have a different personal and cultural perspective from other people, we need to adapt a dish. Our personal perspective, which is our point of view, may cause us to disagree with how a dish is made, the ingredients that is in it or its taste. Our cultural perspective may also forbid us to eat some dishes. This is the reason why we need to be able to adapt the dish so that it will follow our perspective. We are able to do this by modifying the cooking processes, the ingredients and also the taste. An example of this situation is when we do not like to eat vegetables. We can adapt the dish by lessening the amount of vegetables that is in the dish or even removing vegetables from the dish.
- Conclusion (What is the relationship between development, adaptation and perspective?) Perspective may differ in people and cultures and in order to suit that perspective, we need to be able to adapt a certain dish. Adaptation, which is the change that the dish goes through, could only happen if the dish is developed. This development may be done by modifying the processes involved in creating the dish and also the ingredients that are used. An example of this type of situation is that in my perspective, oil is not healthy for the human body. I need to be able to adapt a certain dish to suit my demands by developing the ingredients used. This can be done by decreasing the amount of oil used or even not using oil at all. Another example is that in Surabaya's culture, a majority of its population is not allowed to eat pork due to the fact that Surabaya is dominated by Muslims. In order to solve this problem, we can replace the pork with beef, chicken or another type of protein.
Cooking Process 1 - Coffee Ice Cream (Meshach)
- Evidences that you follow the plan
Fig. 1 Mixture of Milk, Coffee Beans, Sugar, Heavy Cream and a pinch of Salt
Fig. 4 Heating and Stirring the Mixture
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Fig. 2 Whisking the Egg (Only Use the Egg Yolks)
Fig. 5 Coffee Powder and Cream
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Fig. 3 Adding the Whisked Egg Yolks to the Coffee-Infused Mixture
Fig. 6 Straining the Coffee-Infused Mixture
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Fig. 11 Final Product - Coffee Ice Cream
- Evaluate the cooking activity
The success of this cooking activity is that my group was able to finish creating the dish, which was Coffee Ice Cream, on the appropriate time. We followed the guidelines carefully in creating the dish, such as making sure that we had the correct proportion of ingredients and also following the steps in chronological order. We followed the first step, which was to separate the egg yolks from the egg whites, until the last step, which was to plate the dish. We were able to make the ice cream have a soft texture and also have the taste of the coffee stand out in the ice cream. The ice cream tasted like the ones that are sold in malls and other shopping centres. We were also able to plate the dish in a creative and artistic way as seen in the picture above. This was the reason why we were awarded the best plating by the hosts. We were also able to clean our workspace and neatly arrange the utensils on the drying rack. In addition, we were also able to take pictures of each cooking process.
What has been the struggle?
There were several struggles while we were cooking the dish. One of them was separating the egg yolks from the egg whites. This happened because my group was not that experienced with this task. Due to this, there were some eggs that splattered onto the table and we had to get more eggs to replace the wasted eggs. Our hands also became very dirty because of touching the eggs that were splattered and we wasted more time in having to wash our hands. Another struggle we faced was in mixing the mixture using the electric whisker. The mixture splattered everywhere, including the table and our clothes. This caused our workspace to be dirty and this happened because we used the wrong type of bowl. This was because the sides of the bowl was facing outwards so all of the mixture splattered out of the bowl. The last struggle that we faced was in transferring the mixtures. This was because when we did it, some of the mixture spilled onto the table. We wasted some of the mixture that could have been eaten as ice cream. This happened because we were not careful and we were impatient. This also caused us to waste our time because we had to clean our workspace.
What could be done better/differently?
We could separate the egg yolks from the egg whites successfully by being more careful. We can do this by doing it slowly and patiently. In this way, we could make sure that the egg does not splatter onto the table and they are not wasted. We will also save valuable time because we would not need to clean the table or get my hands dirty. This should be done because time management is very important and we should not waste eggs as not everyone is able to get eggs. We can also mix the mixture better by using the appropriate type of bowl, which is a bowl with sides that are vertical or facing inwards. In this way, the mixture will splatter onto the sides of the bowl and will not go out of the bowl. This is essential because I will not waste the mixture and I will not have to waste time in cleaning the table. Lastly, we can also transfer the mixture without wasting any of it by being more careful and patient. This is because we will not waste any of the mixture and we will not have the clean my table if we do it this way.
What did you learn?
The most important thing that I learned in this cooking activity is that I need to remember to be patient and also be careful when doing the processes. This is because if I do not do that, I will waste my time and also my ingredients. This is seen when my group was not careful in separating the egg yolks from the egg whites. This caused several problems because some of the eggs splattered onto the table and they were not able to be used anymore as they are already contaminated. We also wasted our time in cleaning the table. Another example is when we were transferring the mixture. Due to the fact that we were not careful, we spilled some of the mixture and this wasted the ingredients that we used. In this example, we also had to clean the table again and this wasted our time. I also learned about the difference between using a bowl with its sides faced outwards and using a bowl with vertical sides or sides that are facing inwards. I learned that it is better to use a bowl with vertical sides or sides that are facing inwards when using an electric whisker because the mixture will not splatter out of the bowl but instead only to the sides of the bowl. I also learned several skills in cooking while we were making Coffee Ice Cream. One of the skills that I learned is separating egg yolks from egg whites. I learned that I need to be careful so that none of the eggs will spill onto my workspace. The next skill that I learned is using an electric whisker. I learned that I need to use a bowl with vertical sides or sides that are facing inwards so that the mixture will not splatter everywhere.
Quarter 4
Cooking Process 1 - AerChips
Creating healthier alternatives to chips while still retaining its delicious taste.
Creating healthier alternatives to chips while still retaining its delicious taste.