This week, we tried something different. This past week, instead of continuing on our own separate paths for our beat projects, we decided to come together and combine them! Sarah’s beat project focused on cooking, while Liv’s focused on eating spicy foods and building a tolerance. They matched perfectly and we knew automatically that they would work. To prepare, Sarah found a recipe for a dish called ‘Firecracker Chicken’. Being spicy and decently easy to make, it was perfect for us. We met up one day and got to work. Here is how it went.

First, Sarah prepared the ingredients. She needed chicken breasts cubed up, various spices, egg wash, rice, and of course, the infamous Cayenne Hot Sauce. After the ingredients were prepared, Sarah cooked off the rice and began heating the oiled pan to soon be frying up the chicken. While the pan was heating up, she dredged the chicken, coated the chicken in egg wash, then finished the chicken with a final coating of seasoned cornstarch in flour. This is what made the coating crispy. Once the pan was up to heat, she began frying the chicken while simultaneously making the spicy sauce. The sauce included hot sauce, garlic, honey, brown sugar, and various spices. Once the chicken was golden brown and the sauce came to a simmer, the food was ready to be plated. First was the rice, followed by the firecracker chicken, and garnished with green onions.

Once the food was all cooked, Sarah plated the chicken on a bed of rice and sprinkled some green onions on top. The whole kitchen smelled so delicious; I was so excited to eat the chicken. I was a little scared seeing as it definitely smelled spicy, but I was excited, nonetheless. I cut off a small piece of chicken and put it in my mouth. It was so good. The chicken was perfectly cooked, and the sauce was spicy enough to help build my tolerance, but it wasn’t so hot that I couldn’t enjoy the dish as a whole. The rice helped a ton to even out the spiciness and it seemed to soak up some of the spice. Overall, Sarah did an amazing job at preparing, cooking, and plating the dish. In terms of spiciness, it was a kind of spice that sits in the back of your throat and makes you sweat a little bit. It wasn’t that kind of spicy that sits on your tongue and makes you stick out your tongue in hopes of relief. However, it was still spicy and delicious.

In Sarah’s interview, she said that she had been cooking for four years, so this would be the perfect challenge for her. She also said that she finds her recipes online, on her favorite cooking channel, “Epicurious.” This is where she finds most of her inspirations for cooking and some of these special dishes, like the firecracker chicken. During the initial interview with Liv, Sarah asked how spicy she wanted to go, in which Liv responded with “I’m willing to go as far as my body will let me.” This made Sarah want to try her hardest to make a spicy, yet flavorful dish. She also said that her favorite spicy food was anything with sriracha on it. This is why Sarah decided to put a garlic twist on the sauce because sriracha often has garlic in it so it matches the same flavor profile. 

We both really enjoyed doing this collaborative project because it helped to widen our horizons when it came to experiences and trying new things. Everything was super delicious, and I had a great time being able to watch Sarah cook and prepare everything right in front of me. It was great to step away from solo work in the beat project and be able to experience new things. So, if anyone is looking for a delicious meal that is easy to cook, while still adding a little bit of spice, we both highly recommend the Firecracker Chicken recipe!