Maybe it’s because of the constant food delivery meals or Instagram stories but learning how to cook has been on my list for a while. Seeing various cooking shows online has also further fuelled my drive to be the next Gordon Ramsay. 

And what better way to get started than to participate in my own company’s cook-off! Promising a S$200 Cashback prize, I had both the motivation and determination to finally stop procrastinating.

Furthermore, my dad is probably willing to try anything I make, seeing how he’s grown tired of takeaways. So with my guinea pig ready, I began my culinary journey.

The Challenge

From 21 April to 4 May 2020, Shopback GO is running a cook-off for all aspiring Masterchefs! It doesn’t matter if you’re a complete novice or an experienced cook, everyone is welcome to participate and stand a chance to win S$200 in Cashback by following these 3 easy steps.

  1. Simply choose one of the following dishes  – Hainanese Chicken Rice, Kimchi Fried Rice, Veggie Quesadillas, Smoked Salmon Rosti. The recipes for each category can be found on the mobile app so be sure to read till the end to know where to view them! Of course, feel free to add/remove ingredients depending on availability and even put your own unique spin to the dish.
  2. Show us a video of yourself cooking and your final creation in an Instagram Post (no stories). Remember to write a caption to tell us why you should win!  
  3. Follow and tag us on Instagram @shopbackgo with the hashtag #GOcookoff in all submission posts. Make sure your profile is set to public for the duration of this competition!

3 lucky winners will be judged based on:

  • Dish presentation
  • The video (extra points for creativity!) 

Preparation Is Key

After evaluating my options, I decided to try my hand at cooking Kimchi Fried Rice. I mean who can screw up fried rice right? The left-over rice from last night’s dinner probably agreed with me so off I went to get the rest of my ingredients.

I didn’t have time to make home-made kimchi so buying it from the food court was my only option. That is perhaps an experiment for another time. The gochujang sauce was a little tricky to procure but thankfully there was a Korean mart nearby which was still open. Due to the tighter circuit breaker measures, I was in and out of the house within 45 minutes.

 

Getting Down To Business

Finally, the time had come and I was excited to finally begin cooking. As much as I would like to say that it was a breeze and everything went smoothly, the truth is my cooking was closer to a mess, albeit a small one.

The stir-frying was pretty fun and mixing everything together was surprisingly easy, but left quite a mess due to the vigorous stirring. I realised that I was having a lot more fun than I expected and even the thought of cleaning up afterwards didn’t deter me from doing my best to mix the ingredients.

Somehow, I had the brilliant idea to crack an egg while cooking the fried rice (don’t ask me why) and realised that it wouldn’t be as visually appealing as the original recipe. Even so, I thought it was a form of individuality and decided that it was a neat touch.

Before digging in, I took a picture and uploaded it to Instagram to participate in the challenge and while I wasn’t super confident, it was definitely worth a shot! 

To my surprise, my dad sang praises for my efforts and the dish and I was pretty happy that my kitchen was still intact. Jokes aside, I had fun cooking my own dinner and ended up feeling proud of myself for letting my dad eat my food for the first time (Maggi doesn’t count). With that, I can safely say that I’ve picked up a new skill and will probably be cooking at home a lot more often.

Most importantly, the shot at winning S$200 in the comfort of your home is way too good to pass up and I believe everyone regardless of skill level should at least give it a go. Even if you don’t win, the experience gained is something money simply can’t buy. 

The ShopBack GO Kitchen Cook-Off Challenge will last till 4 May 2020 and everyone is welcomed to take part. Besides who knows, you could come out of the challenge as the next Masterchef Singapore!

Click Here To Join Today!

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