Food Tech - Burgers

Making burgers with my partner was interesting, I think I'll be making burgers at home one day. 

Ingredients : 

• 500g beef mince 

• ½ finely chopped red onions

• 2 tsp tomato sauce

• 1 cup breadcrumbs 

• A handful, chopped mixed herbs 

• 2 tsp wholegrain mustard

Suggest filling

• Wholegrain mustard 

• Mustard

• Tomato sauce 

• Gherkin 

• Pineapple 

• Beetroot 

• Fruit-style chutney 

• Cheese, cheddar 

• Coleslaw 

• Lettuce 

• Tomato 

Method : 

• In a large bowl, gently mix together the ingredients for your chosen burger.

• Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

• Shape into patties of similar size and thickness (about 2cm thickness).

• Dust lightly with flour to prevent sticking. 

• Cook on a very hot grill for 8-10 minutes, turning one halfway through cooking time. 

• For a cheese topping, add a thin slice to the top of a patty during the last minutes of grilling. 

• Serve on toasted buns, with all your favorite fillings.

Social Studies - Migration Group ; Presentation

I think my group and I did really well presenting our migration group. 

Science - Lava Lamp Experience

Material: 

Vinegar, Sodium bicarbonate, Citric acid, Oil, Food Colouring, Water, empty Water bottle.

Method:

1.  Add colouring in 50 ml of water in a beaker.

2.  Pour the coloured water into an empty water bottle.

3.  Add vinegar and make the bottle half-filled.

4.  Add vegetable oil up to the bottleneck ( close to the top).

5. Add sodium bicarbonate and citric acid.

RESULT : 

I think my group and I did good compared to some of the other groups, but they did good as well. If I had the chance to do this experiment again, I’ll take that opportunity to do so.  

Food Tech - Dumplings

Making dumplings was something fun to do. Mixing all the ingredients together was also fun because you can smell the great aroma of the ingredients in the bowl. Making dumplings is actually great to do, this was my first time and I think I’d do this again. 

Ingredients : 

• 150g mince

• 1 tsp finely chopped lemongrass

• ½ tsp finely grated ginger 

• 1 cup finely chopped cabbage

• 1 spring onion finely chopped

• A handful of fresh coriander leaves, chopped 

• 1 tsp chicken stock powder 

• 2 tsp cornflour

• 1 tsp sesame oil

• 1 tbsp sweet chili sauce 

Method: 

• To make the Dumpling Filling: In a bowl, mix all ingredients together. 

• To make the dumplings:

• Wet the edge of the dumpling wrapper.

• Place a teaspoon of the filling in the middle of the wrapper. 

• Fold the wrapper in half to form a semi-circle. 

• Pinch the sides of the wrapper to seal the mixture. 

• Crimp the seal with your fingers to form pleats, or use a fork.

• Stand the dumpling, seam side up, on a tray lined with baking paper. 

• Repeat with the remaining filling with wrappers, keeping the dumplings separate on the tray to avoid them sticking together. 

Science - Tectonic Plates

What are tectonic plates?

The theory of plate tectonics states that the Earth’s solid outer crust, the lithosphere, is separated into plates that move over the asthenosphere, the molten upper portion of the mantle. Oceanic and continental plates come together, spread apart, and interact at boundaries all over the planet. 

What are the 7 tectonic plates?

There are major and micro tectonic plates. There are seven major plates; African, Antarctica, Eurasian, Indo-Australian, North America, Pacific, and South America. 

Why do they move? 

The heat from radioactive processes within the planet’s interior causes the plates to move, sometimes toward and sometimes away from each other. This movement is called plate motion, or tectonic drift. 

Other info:

With this comes along three tectonic plates I’ve learned about in science. I’ve learned about divergent, convergent, and transform plate boundaries.

Divergent boundaries: 

Where two plates are moving away from each other. 

Convergent boundaries:

Where two plates are colliding.

Transform boundaries:

Where two plates slide past each other.

 

Food Tech - Butter Chicken

Today in food tech I didn’t have a partner to work with because she was absent, but I made butter chicken.

Ingredients : 

• 400 grams of chicken breast or thighs (boneless & skinless and slides into 2cm strips)

• 2 teaspoons ground coriander

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1 teaspoon paprika

• 1 teaspoon garam masala

• ½ teaspoon of salt 

• ½ teaspoon of cinnamon

• ¼ teaspoon of chili powder (optional) 

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil or butter

• 2 cloves of garlic (crushed)

• 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger (grated) 

• ¼ cup tomato paste 

• 1 - 1 & ½ cups of water (start with 1 and add extra if you want it to be saucy) 

• ½ cup of cream

• 1 tablespoon of butter 

Method : 

• Place the chicken pieces in a medium-sized bowl, add the coriander, cumin, paprika, garam masala, salt, cinnamon, and chili powder (if using) and toss to coat the chicken evenly. 

• Heat the oil or butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the chicken pieces and cook for 5 minutes until cooked through. 

• Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the garlic and ginger and cook for another 2 minutes. 

• Add tomato paste water and allow to simmer for 10 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked. Stir in the cream and butter and cook for a further 2 minutes until the sauce has thickened. 

• Serve with rice and garlic naan bread. Cover any leftovers and store them in the fridge for 2 days. 

Dear Diary....

Greetings, my name is Chen and I have migrated from China to New Zealand in the early 1990s. I love living in China because of our language and our hidden history. I came to New Zealand because the Chinese made it hard for me by charging economic penalties, also because it is a better environment here in New Zealand rather than in China. When I heard amazing facts about New Zealand and its animals and land, I for sure wanted to experience what it's like living in New Zealand. Although we people from China have animals, we don't have animals like here in New Zealand; Kea, Tuatara, Kakapo, etc. Whereas, in China, we have Giant Panda's, Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey's, Pallas cat, etc. Which are great animals too, but I want to explore and learn about some other animals. Another reason why I came to New Zealand is that I'd love to learn English and learn about New Zealand and its history. Some obstacle courses for me were; I had to say my goodbyes to my family, here in New Zealand their law is different to China's, the school system is different, and also I had to save up lots of money to meet the migration rules.