MasterChef Challenges

What does a busy uni student who just got back to her dorm room after attending (and catering) for a 150 person event on a cold Wednesday night do? Turn on Masterchef, join the Masterchef chat hosted by Chocolatesuze on http://www.lhcw.net/chocolatesuze, and take on a challenge posed by one of the chatters.

Cook a student meal for $4 in less than 10 minutes.

(Without resorting to mee goreng.)

The result?

Oyakodon.

Just to prove it was less than $4, here's a breakdown of the costs:

1 chicken thigh, $1.80

1/2 onion, around 50c

1 egg, 50c

Water, sugar, soy sauce, 50c (max).

If anyone is as pedantic as I am, the declaration was made at 8:06pm, I was back on the chat at 8:17pm (allow me a minute to travel to and from the computer to the kitchen!).

Oyakodon (serves 1)

1 chicken thigh, cut into bite sized pieces

1/2 onion (any variety), sliced

1 egg, lightly beaten

4 tbsp hot water

1 tbsp light soy

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 cup cooked rice (white, brown or combination of both)

In the smallest frypan or saucepan you can find, place the water, sugar and soy and boil over high heat. Slice the onion, and place in the sauce. Cut the chicken thigh into bite-sized pieces, and put it in the pan. Turn over the chicken after it 3 minutes (it should have cooked on one side), and allow to cook for 3 more minutes. In the meantime, heat up the cooked rice in a bowl. Beat up the egg lightly, and drizzle over the meat and sauce. Allow to cook for 30 secs to a minute. Serve the lot over rice. Feeds one hungry (and picky) uni student.