Introduction to The Activity

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Recreating the typical Chinese breakfast recipe - "tea eggs".

Focus

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Addressed Learning Outcomes:

1. Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance
2. Identify your own strengths and develop areas for personal growth.
3. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process.
4. Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively
5. Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience.
6. Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions.

CAS Hours

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CAS Stages

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Investigation

• A few days ago, my friend mentioned that they missed the Chinese "tea egg" taste when they were starving while lining up for lunch. Hence I came up with the idea of implementing the recipe at home and bringing the completed product to school for them to access a recipe that appears to be relatively less common in Spain.
• By looking through online tutorials, I will select the most appropriate procedures and integrate my own creativity to cook "tea eggs" for the first time.

Preparation

Gathering the necessary ingredients:

• 20 grams of crystal sugar
• 10 grams of red tea
• 35 grams of soy sauce
• 15 grams of salt
• some appropriately small amount of cinnamon, cinnamon, bay leaves, star anise, and pepper
• 10 eggs

Scrolling through the Internet to find tutorials:

Chosen tutorial's ingredient outline:

Evaluating comments to determine suitability:

Action

• Clean the eggs
• Boil the eggs for 8 minutes first
• Gently break the eggshell
• Prepare a pot of water whose level just reaches above the ten eggs
• Add in all of the ingredients
• Boil for 15 more minutes with constant stirring required
• Allow the eggs to remain in the pot and keep track of the loss of moisture; when needed, more water is required. This process lasts about two hours until they are finally taken out.
• Leave overnight to make sure the flavor sneaks into the eggs.

More evidence here

Reflections

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Taking time away from my studies to engage in cooking activities to enrich my extracurricular experiences was worth the effort. It was my first attempt at cooking the typical Chinese breakfast recipe, and I faced challenges such as controlling and optimizing the timing of every little sub-process. I had to keep my eye on the clock to make sure the eggs were not overcooked and this gave me a better understanding of the importance of time management and manipulation in cooking.

Having only a year and a half until university life, being well-prepared with survival skills is crucial; having to independently resolve hunger issues is a key ability outside of academics. By gradually becoming more aware and capable of different subtle areas within the broader subject of cooking, I feel more confident having to live away from my parents and take care of myself.

Observing the needs of my friend and providing targeted service was a satisfactory feeling; they appreciated my effort and the taste of the finished product.

This experience will be repeated in the future, as good feedback may directly induce demand. For the next time, I will be more careful with controlling the masses of the ingredients and the timing of egg-boiling to enhance the quality.

Energy saving was a secondary aim of the experience; during the boiling process, I attempted to use as little electricity as I could by constantly adjusting the power output to the right level and also by keeping the lights off when not needed. Being environmentally friendly is an irreplaceable part of any action we conduct.

During the process, I had to inquire my parents about the details of the cooking process that I did not anticipate to exist nor plan for. It was a valuable lesson to learn from my parents, who are certainly more skilled and experienced, which I believe will also help me to better survive independently in the future.

Moreover, it was also a great chance to familiarize myself with a traditional Chinese recipe, which I had never tried before, allowing me to better appreciate the ingenuity that lies at the core Chinese cuisine and how, using simple ingredients, one can handcraft a delicious dish. This links reminds me of the issue that the Chinese cuisine, or the Chinese culture more generally, is gradually fading out of the lives of those having lived a long time abroad. To address this potential challenge of cultural dilution, I believe that it is important to actively preserve and promote traditional Chinese recipes, which form part of the essence of the Chinese culture.