What did you cook for your family when you were 13? Did you even know how to turn on the stove? Could you handle a sharp knife? In these times when so many of us hit the drive-thru for dinner, middle-school students are cooking after school and learning life skills along the way.
Ewa Makai Middle School just launched a culinary-arts program, and to celebrate its start the school held its first annual cooking contest March 2. The focus of the competition: fried rice.
Charlise Limjoco-Ragasa, an eighth-grader, impressed judges with her Garlic Fried Rice. Although it was the first time she ever cooked a dish by herself, the 13-year-old took the grand prize.
Charlise’s dish was colorful with yellow-hued rice, green onion and Chinese parsley (cilantro) garnishes, plus diced lup cheong (Chinese sausage). The rice was seasoned with turmeric, garlic, Japanese dashi, sesame oil, lup cheong and carrots.
"The turmeric added so much color, and you used an egg as the base to plate the fried rice," said Isaiah Badua, Roy’s Ko Olina kitchen manager. "Your creativity is endless!"
Judge Grant Sato, Kapiolani Community College chef-instructor, said Charlise’s entry was well executed. She pre-fried the lup cheong so it was crisp, not oily, and seasoned her dish well.
Badua, Sato and executive chef Darryl Shinogi of Roy’s Ko Olina judged four finalists’ entries on color and consistency, aroma, creativity, taste and aftertaste.
"Cooking teaches many things, including math and science, time management, multitasking and performing under pressure," Sato said.
Ewa Makai Principal Edward Oshiro agreed.
"We honor athletes, so why not recognize those who excel in the culinary arts? Our goal is to develop the whole child," he said.
Gale Braceros, coordinator of Ewa’s Weed and Seed Program, which provides community policing and intervention, says the culinary-arts programs at nearby Campbell High School solved a high truancy problem.
At Ewa Makai the culinary program’s after-school cooking club has already proved popular, with 50 students participating.
Charlise is familiar with fried rice thanks to her grandparents Edwin and Elisa Ragasa, who make the dish for breakfast. Their version usually includes leftovers from the night before.
They live together in Honouliuli with Charlise’s parents, Walter Ragasa and Marichelle Limjoco.
"My inspiration was to include Asian ingredients since I’m Filipino and Chinese," Charlise said.
In considering her recipe for the contest, the youth asked cafeteria cook Rowena "Miss Winnie" Supnet for advice.
Supnet said she showed Charlise her personal version of fried rice, and Charlise practiced in the cafeteria.
"Miss Winnie taught me to taste the food each step of the way," she said.
Kiana Favela, 13, won the Most Creative award for her Arancini Fried Rice. Kiana said she told her mentor, cafeteria manager Francis Santa Monica, that she had seen fried rice balls cooked Italian style on a television cooking show.
Santa Monica had cooked at Casa Donaldo at Restaurant Row in the 1990s, so he was familiar with the dish, a southern Italian food called arancini.
He helped Kiana develop her winning recipe of arancini with a local twist.
"Every Sunday morning, my mom and dad (Barbara and the late Steve Favela) would make fried rice for us," she said. "It’s a family tradition, as my mother grew up in Waipahu and her parents would make fried rice for her every Sunday."
Kiana’s version pleased judge Badua. "Wow, so creative with fried, fried rice!" he said. "Young people think out of the box and have creative minds."
Kiana’s entry showcased a ball of rice stuffed with seasoned Spam and peas, then coated in panko and deep-fried for crunch. She plated the arancini with garnishes of shallots, Spam, Japanese fish cake and her secret seasoning concocted of soy sauce, sugar, oyster sauce and sesame oil.
Seventh-graders Cora Lei Namsinh, with her Jasmine Kim Chee Fried Rice, and Cody Young, with Shrimp Fried Rice, were the other competitors.
Charlise and Kiana are also members of Ewa Makai’s Leadership Program, where students must have a 3.5 grade-point average or better. One of the program’s green initiatives is an organic, student-run garden, which is just steps away from the cafeteria. The girls remembered the garden during the contest and picked fresh greens for their entries.
It’s already evident that the new culinary program reflects the school’s slogan, "Empower, Explore, Excel Together!"
Says Charlise, "My 11-year-old sister, Jezerae, likes to bake, so now we can cook together for our parents and grandparents."
GARLIC FRIED RICE
Charlise Limjoco-Ragasa
» 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
» 5 lup cheong (Chinese sausages), diced
» 3 tablespoons minced garlic
» 2 tablespoons powdered turmeric
» 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
» 2 teaspoons salt
» 1 teaspoon powdered dashi (Japanese seasoning), without MSG
» 5 cups cooked long-grain jasmine rice
» 2 tablespoons carrot, finely diced
» 3 tablespoons green onion, chopped
» 6 eggs
» 3 tablespoons green onion, thinly slivered
» 1/2 cup Chinese parsley (cilantro), chopped
In skillet, saute 1 tablespoon oil with sausage until crisp. Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels.
Use 1 tablespoon oil to saute garlic until translucent, then add turmeric, pepper, salt and dashi, and cook a few minutes.
Remove skillet from heat and add 2 tablespoons oil, rice, carrots, green onions and cooked lup cheong, reserving 6 tablespoons of sausage for garnish.
Place skillet back on stove over medium heat and stir continuously for 5 minutes.
In a small bowl, microwave 1 beaten egg and cook until done, about 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining eggs.
To plate, place 1 portion scrambled egg, top with large scoop fried rice over the egg and garnish with slivered green onions, reserved sausage and Chinese parsley. Serve immediately. Serves 6.
Approximate nutritional information, per serving: 600 calories, 33 g fat, 10 g saturated fat, 230 mg cholesterol, 1,600 mg sodium, 50 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 1 g sugar, 23 g protein
ARANCINI FRIED RICE
Kiana Favela
» 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
» 4 shallots, minced and divided
» 1 (12-ounce) can Spam, diced
» 1 cup frozen peas, defrosted
» 1/4 cup soy sauce
» 1/4 cup sugar
» 1/3 cup oyster sauce
» Sesame oil, to taste
» 1 ounce furikake (seaweed seasoning)
» 5 cups cooked, hot rice
» 1/2 cup flour, adjusted as needed
» 2 eggs for egg wash
» 1 (12-ounce) bag panko
» Vegetable oil to deep fry
» 1 (6-ounce) roll red-and-white spiral design kamaboko (Japanese fish cake), diced
» 2 tablespoons chopped mint
In skillet on medium heat, heat oil and saute Spam with 1 shallot. Add peas and stir lightly. Remove from heat.
In small bowl, mix soy sauce, sugar and oyster sauce until dissolved. Add half of sauce to skillet and simmer. (Save remaining sauce for garnish.) Remove from heat and add sesame oil to taste. Set aside half of the Spam mixture for garnish.
Mix furikake with hot rice. Form 8 rice balls with a well in the center and stuff each with equal amounts of Spam filling.
Flour rice balls until coated. Dip rice balls in egg wash until evenly coated, then roll in panko.
Heat oil to 350 degrees and deep-fry rice balls until golden brown.
Drizzle with remaining sauce and top with remaining Spam mixture. Garnish with kamaboko, remaining minced shallots and chopped mint. Makes about 8 arancini.
Approximate nutritional information per rice ball (not including sesame oil to taste): 700 calories, 26 g fat, 6 g saturated fat, 105 mg cholesterol, greater than 1,500 mg sodium, 90 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 9 g sugar, 24 g protein
Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S.,
Lynette Lo Tom is interested in old-time cooking and classic, enduring dishes. Contact her at lynette@brightlightcookery.com or 275-3004.
