I have written before about how food can provide a deep sensory and emotional connection to a distant home. For me, nothing (except perhaps a Gregg’s sausage roll) tastes as much of my British home as a traditional fried breakfast: the “full English”. This plate of fatty, salty joy, a mid-morning boost to the working man, a weekend brunch restorative for the partygoer, is usually contrasted with what used to be called a “continental” breakfast, to the detriment of the latter. Croissants and hot chocolate might be all right for the fancy French, the thought runs, but only a pile of fried pork fuels up a Brit in the morning.

My attempts to recreate this experience in Beijing have met with mixed success. Chinese sausages bear little resemblance to the British foodstuff of the same name, and even German and American sausages are a disappointment.

“The British are my number one customers,” said Andy Horowitz when we met him at his new venture, a bar called Three Little Pigs on Xiezuo Hutong, Dongcheng District. “Then Americans, then Europeans.”

Andy Horowitz with some of his products

Perhaps no brand in Beijing is as synonymous with British bangers as “Andy’s Craft Sausages,” so it’s something of a surprise to discover that Horowitz is American. Originally he was in the jewelry business, but the sausages he made as a sideline became hugely popular.

“People went nuts,” he told us. “It quickly went from a hobby to a business that pays the bills.”

His bar sells beer and other beverages alongside his famous bangers, burgers, and bacon.

3 Little Pigs Bar

“It’s not an extensive menu, but it represents what the brand is supposed to be about,” he said. “I had a space near Yashow, but it got bricked. When this opportunity came up, I jumped on it, as a home base for the business.”

Horowitz also produces pork rind, or pork scratchings as they’re known in the UK. The Cajun flavor are perhaps a little too spicy for most kids, but my wife and I enjoyed as a Friday night treat, along with a cheeky Bloody Mary enlivened by Andy’s Ghost Chili Sauce.

A Friday night treat for the grown-ups

We sampled two styles of bacon, English back bacon and streaky, and two styles of sausage, the Lincolnshire which was his very first product, and Cumberland. I grew up on our local butcher’s award-winning Cumberlands, so I kept those for the fried breakfast test. The Lincolnshire sausages I put into a “Toad in the Hole”. When we lived in England we often hosted French schoolkids, and this traditional dish was my secret weapon to convince them that British food is not entirely without merit. Sausages are roasted in a Yorkshire-pudding style batter and served with onion gravy, and not one of our visitors ever turned their nose up at it. Andy’s meaty Lincolnshire sausages would have pleased the fussiest French teen (see main picture above).

No English gentleman would use streaky bacon as part of his breakfast. Instead, I added it to a spinach and avocado salad, with spring onions and cherry tomatoes. Andy’s bacon crisped up beautifully, becoming salty and crunchy without shriveling to nothing. As an extra treat, I topped the salad with quail eggs; in the UK, an expensive indulgence, but here quite affordable at RMB 15 for a big bag. (Be careful bringing them back from the shop though – I managed to break a few on the journey.) The final result proved that fried bacon doesn’t have to be part of an artery-clogging fat fest.

Streaky bacon adds buzz to a healthy green salad

The proper bacon for the full English is “back bacon”, a “rasher” of which is a slice of both loin and belly, providing the perfect combination of juicy and crunchy. Andy’s back bacon did the job admirably, served with his Cumberland sausages, fried egg, mushrooms, sliced tomato, buttered toast, and of course “brown sauce”. This came from a bottle I salvaged from the much-missed Beijing Marks and Spencer, though you can buy the expensive but sumptuously fruity Wilkin and Sons version at Jenny Wang’s.

Joseph (9) tucks into a “full English”

“So how are the sausages, boys?” I asked my resident food critics. There was no answer except the sounds of guzzling and some curt nods. “That’s no good for the article,” I protested. “I need words. Give me words!”

“Binoculars! Obsequious!” yelled my hilarious offspring. “Zebra! Floccinaucinihilipilification!”

When they’d finished falling off their chairs in glee at their own wit, I explained through gritted teeth that I wanted words describing the sausages.

“It did taste a bit like zebra,” said Joseph (9), who has never eaten zebra in his life.

“When I came to the end of my sausages, I was disappointed,” said Noah (12). Really? Why? “Because I wanted another one, and there wasn’t one.”

Perhaps his rapidly cleared plate was the best tribute to Andy’s Craft Sausages. Whether they are really as good as the fondly remembered Cumberland bangers of my childhood is impossible to say. But they’re the closest to Bowness you’ll get in Beijing.

Andy’s Craft Sausages deliver to various locations in Beijing, including several schools in Shunyi. Scan the QR code for more information:

Photos: Andrew Killeen, except (3) courtesy of Andy Horowitz

There are a lot of things I miss here in Beijing, decent skincare, “normal” toilets, and my friends and family of course. But MOST of all I miss my home cuisine, and the ingredients that are easy to buy in Western supermarkets. I wanted to recreate some foods that my family in Beijing miss, share my recipes, and where to get the ingredients. If you see a blonde lady on a bike with a toddler and bags of groceries, that’s me, on the hunt for little pieces of home.

This time I searched for a true Dutch delicacy, stamppot (mash pot). This is a traditional Dutch dish of mashed potatoes and vegetables, literally mashed together. The Dutch eat it with brown gravy, sausage, and sometimes bacon. I decided to cook my favorite variation: boerenkool stamppot  (farmer’s cabbage, kale). Boerenkool stamppot is the ultimate comfort food. Dutch people ate kale long before it got hip in the rest of the world. Its our staple vegetable.

In the Netherlands, prepared stamppot can be bought in supermarkets and at the butcher. Kale and other stamppot vegetables are found cut and washed in bags at the grocery store, especially in the winter. An array of smoked sausages can be found anywhere in The Netherlands (never sweet like in Beijing) but always nice and salty. I think the best smoked sausage in the Netherlands comes from Hema, my favorite department store when I visit home. My first job as a 14-year old girl was at Hema department store. I worked behind the meat counter and at the end of the night, we would eat all the left over warm smoked sausage.

In search for kale I found a lady at the Sanyuanli market who sells fresh kale. One day she asked what I was doing with all this kale, and I explained to her, with hand and feet that I mash it up in potatoes. When she sees me, she points at the kale and laughs.

I found a Dutchman in China who sells authentic smoked sausage and brings the  taste of Dutch comfort food to China. Smoked sausage can be found on his online store http://www.dutchysnacks.com/

Boerenkool Stamppot can be prepared two ways: one way is to put the kale in a big pot with peeled potatoes on the top or underneath the kale, cook both until tender and mash them together. The other way is cooking the kale and potatoes separate then when both are cooked mash them together. I prefer the last one, since the kale and potatoes need different cooking times. Half of the Netherlands will disagree with my recipe, but try it and you will see that the kale will taste so much better not cooked to death.

Boerenkool Stamppot

1/2 kilo Kale

1 kilo Potatoes

250 grams bacon sliced into cubes

50 grams butter

50 ml warm milk

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Clean the kale. Trim the leaves and cut them.
2. Peel and cut the potatoes to similar sizes.
3. Boil the potatoes in water with salt until tender. Drain the water.
4. Mash the potatoes with the milk and butter.
5. In another pot render the bacon and remove from the pot, leave the bacon fat.
6. In the bacon fat sauté the kale till tender, about 10 minutes.
7. Fold together the mashed potatoes, kale, bacon and then heat up together.
8. Serve with smoked sausage and brown gravy.

Pauline van Hasselt has just started working for Beijing Kids. Born in Wassenaar, The Netherlands, she moved with her husband and her 3 year-old daughter to Beijing in June of this year. Prior she lived in the Netherlands, Belgium, Paraguay, Texas, and London, studying and working as a chef. Pauline enjoys biking around Beijing, finding markets and new restaurants, reading crime and fantasy books in bed, and most importantly, turning her house into a home for her family.

When in the mood for a casual dining option with your family, but, reluctant to drive an hour into town, try Balmain Gourmet in Shunyi. Like most families, ours enjoys juicy, mouthwatering burgers or hotdogs, and can make a meal out of it anytime! We decided to give Balmain Gourmet a try over the weekend, and we are glad we did. All you meat lovers out there, if you haven’t already checked it out, you don’t know what you’re missing!

They offer a plentiful variety of hotdogs, burgers, sandwiches, fries and salads– good coffee, too! They also have a few options for vegetarians and were kind enough to accommodate my mother’s preference with a few small changes. We devoured their Beef Chili Dog, Eggs Benedict, Korean Dog and Aussie Burger, while my mum really enjoyed her veggie plate of sautéed mushrooms, baked beans, grilled tomatoes and fries. They order their bread from L’Atelier JMT in Shunyi, which pairs exquisitely with their meats. Incorporating subtle twists into their regular fare, be it kimchi in a Korean Dog or grilled pineapple in the Aussie Burger, they’re managing to cater to a very culturally diverse customer base.

Shunyi could definitely use more casual dining options like this.  Located adjacent to Long Bar, weekends get really busy and fun! With delectable food, a laid back atmosphere, and outside seating options on a clear day, it’s a perfect hangout option for foodies.

Although Balmain Gourmet in Shunyi only opened a few months back, Drew, the owner, has a well established business, making and delivering quality meat products in this area for quite a few years now. He specializes in sausages, bacon, pancetta, burgers and sausage rolls. They also offer home delivery within the local area.

Balmain Gourmet Meat & Grill
Mon-Sun, 9am-9pm. South Gate of Yosemite A, Yu Yang Street, Shunyi District (18600039708, balmaingourmet@vip.163.com)

Photo courtesy: Anjana Kainikkara

“Brummie” refers to my hometown of Birmingham (UK, not Alabama), a place not exactly famed for its culinary delights. In fact, it’s not much famed for anything at all, even though it gave the world Cadbury’s chocolate, heavy metal music and the Industrial Revolution. And since it’s the birthplace of the Balti, which revolutionized the British curry, and home to more Michelin-starred restaurants than Lisbon or Budapest, perhaps it should get more credit for its cuisine.

This is a recipe which harks back to a different age though, an era of rationing when these cakes were a great way to eke out a small amount of meat for a hungry family. My version increases the amount of bacon and cheese, and is a weekend brunch favorite of ours, delicious with scrambled eggs.

Ingredients:

4 rashers of bacon (streaky if you can get it)
2 cups self-raising flour
1 cup grated cheese (cheddar or similar)
2/3 cup of milk (plus a little extra for glazing)
¼ cup of butter
1 squirt tomato ketchup
½ tsp salt
½ tsp Worcestershire sauce (if available, or 1 tsp black pepper sauce works well if not)

Instructions:
1. Grill or fry the bacon until crispy, then leave to cool.
2. Heat the oven to 160c/ 140c fan.
3. Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.
4. Sift the flour into a bowl, along with the salt.
5. Work the butter into the flour with your fingers, until the texture resembles breadcrumbs.
6. Chop the bacon into small pieces and add to the bowl with half of the cheese.
7. Mix together the milk, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce.
8. Stir the liquid into the flour until it forms a soft dough.
9. Roll out on a floured surface and form into a circle 7-8 inches across.
10. Brush with milk and cut into 8 sections.
11. Transfer to the baking sheet and top with remaining cheese.
12. Bake for 20-30 minutes until golden.

Enjoy!