Take-out – Beijing Kids

Ditching The Takeaway: Spicy Scotch Patch Chicken and Quinoa Salad

Nicole Bonnah — Fri, 15 Feb 2019 00:00:21 +0000

Recently I decided to be more proactive in helping my family to eat more healthily with a complete overhaul of the way we usually eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It’s easy to find yourself in a never-ending cycle of relying on the very wide selection of online food delivery platforms at your disposal to feed you and your family, without having to lift a finger – but for scrolling, selecting and paying online for your take out!

We used to make excuses about our weekly take out orders with spiels about how much cheaper it is to order in rather than cooking from scratch, and secretly I knew this was a fallacy. You can shop locally for fresh and sometimes organic ingredients to whip up quick, tasty, healthy, and even zero waste meals for the whole family for under RMB 100, particularly when using ingredients you already have stocked up in your pantry and buying vegetables you can cook in different ways throughout the week with only the need to stock up on your choice of meat or vegetable options.

My spicy Scotch Patch Chicken and Quinoa salad was a breeze to make and was prepared, cooked, and eaten within an hour! If you’ve never ‘scotch patched’ a chicken, fear not! It’s easy and helps a whole chicken to cook evenly in the oven. Quinoa cooks similarly to rice and is a less starchy staple, full of vitamins, high in protein, and awesomely versatile.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken
1 cup quinoa
1/2 cup coriander
1/2 cup sliced celery
1/2 cup sliced cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup broccoli
1/2 cup of button mushrooms
1/2 cup pistachios
1/2 lemon
2tbp olive oil
1tsp sea salt
1/2 red onion

Marinade:

1tbp Cajun seasoning
1tbp paprika seasoning
1tbp white wine vinegar
1 clove of garlic (crushed and finely chopped)
1tsp sea salt
1tsp ground black pepper
1tbp olive oil
1 red chili (deseeded if you want less heat)

Method:

To start, wash your chicken thoroughly under cold running water, squeeze a little lemon over the chicken and inside the cavity and rinse. Place the chicken on a dry surface and pat down with a clean kitchen towel or tissue paper. Using kitchen scissors, cut along the right side of the spine to cut through the whole chicken to the other end. Do the same on the other side and remove and discard the spine. Turn the chicken over, cavity facing downwards and flatten with the palm of your hand. You may need to push down on the thighs until you have an evenly scotch patched chicken. Cut a few slits in the chicken and place on greaseproof paper on top of an oven tray.
Take all the marinade ingredients and blend together. Take a marinade brush (or use your hands) and cover the Chicken on all sides. Cover and leave for a few minutes (if preparing in advance, marinade overnight in the fridge), then pop into a preheated oven at 180C. Cook until the skin is crispy and the meat is cooked through (30 – 40mins). For extra crispy skin, turn up the temperature to 200C for the last 6-10 minutes.
While your chicken is cooking in the oven, add two cups of water to a pan and one cup of washed quinoa. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 6-10 minutes. Fork through and place in a bowl over ice to cool.
Dice the mushrooms and dry fry until brown, add a little olive or coconut oil and add little florets of broccoli into the pan. Stir fry until cooked and leave to the side.
Chop up the cherry tomatoes, celery, red onion, and coriander and add to the cooled quinoa. Stir in the broccoli and mushrooms. Drizzle over the olive oil and a squeeze of lemon. Season with sea salt and combine. Finally, add a few pistachios and set aside.

When the chicken is fully cooked, place onto a wooden chopping board and garnish with red chili and coriander. Place the quinoa in a bowl and serve on the board. The chicken should be melt-in-mouth and easily removed from the bone.

Enjoy and don’t forget to share photos of your own scotch patch chicken when trying out this recipe.

Photos: Nicole Bonnah

Shalimar – Pakistani and Indian Cuisine in Shunyi

Sally Wilson — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 02:00:00 +0000

Shalimar is a new restaurant that’s opened in Shunyi, serving up Indian and Pakistani cuisine. The menu is varied and features a range of traditional Pakistani dishes and some Indian classics. I decided to give their delivery service a go last weekend. The restaurant staff speaks English, which made the ordering process simple, and all of the food arrived quickly and still hot. The bombay aloo (RMB 38) consisted of chunks of well-cooked potato, coated with a rich sauce of tomatoes, peppers, and onions. The balance of spices, including cumin and garam masala, was just right.

Butter chicken or murgh makhani is an Indian dish of chicken in a mildly spiced curry sauce. Shalimar’s butter chicken (RMB 46) was rich and creamy, with tender chunks of chicken. The combination of butter, cashew nut butter, and tangy passata came through well. The chicken tikka masala (RMB 46) had a rich tomato based sauce, with a good level of heat coming through from the complex mix of spices. I would have liked the chicken to have had more of a tikka BBQ flavor, but it was nonetheless tender and the amount of chicken pieces generous. Other curry dishes include lamb karahai, beef bhuna, kofta, biryanis, plus several vegetarian options. Their BBQ grill dishes include meat and fish tikka, boti, tandoori, kebab, and shashlik.

I’ve dined at several Indian restaurants in Beijing and they often fall down when it comes to their breads. We opted for the plain naan, a bargain at just RMB 6 for a large serving of soft and light textured bread. The paratha was the favorite though. The texture and the taste made for a great authentic tasting paratha. Both breads did their job of mopping up all the plentiful sauce from both curries. The standout dish was Shalimar’s samosas. Crispy, crunchy pyramid delights, stuffed with beautifully spicy potato mashed with fresh vegetables. These pastry parcels were cooked perfectly, not at all greasy. They also do chicken, keema, and paneer samosas RMB 20-25, and a variety of pakoras and meat skewers as appetizers. Kid’s dishes are available, and include Western favorite’s chicken strips, fish fingers, macaroni cheese, burger, pizzas, and chips.

Shalimar Pakistani & Indian Cuisine
Room 104, 1/F, Building 8, 18 Yu Feng Road, Shunyi District (5686 4641, 139 1169 0944, shalimarshunyi@hotmail.com)

beijingkids Shunyi Correspondent Sally Wilson moved to Beijing in 2010 from the UK with her husband and son. Her daughter was born here in 2011 and both her kids keep her happily busy. In her spare time, Sally loves to stroll through Beijing’s hutongs and parks. She is a (most of the time) keen runner and loves reading: books, magazines, news, and celeb websites – anything really. Sally is also a bit of a foodie and loves trying out new restaurants.

Photos: Sally Wilson

Modo Urban Deli Makes Summer Picnics Taste Better

Sally Wilson — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 02:00:00 +0000

As a family we love to go on picnics. Spending an afternoon sat on a rug in one of Beijing’s beautiful parks, or boating around on their lakes. Our favorite park is Beihai Park, where you can watch the locals dancing, singing, play musical instruments, and paint Chinese calligraphy onto pavements using water. Our picnic hamper invariably contains cheese and ham sandwiches, egg mayonnaise, garden salad, and some cold drinks. If we’re lucky I might have made some quiche or sausage rolls. My in-laws will be in town in a few weeks, and I’m sure we will partake in several picnics during their stay. However, I’m not sure cheese and ham sandwiches will seem as exciting to them as they are to my kids. So, I stopped by Modo Urban Deli, to see what they had to offer that would make my summer picnic taste better.

The deli offers a whole picnic for two that you can order to go. With sandwiches, dips, salads, and bakes presented in a Modo tote, along with a map of picnic sites. You can even add a bottle or two of wine, prices range from RMB 200-400. As I already have the basis of my picnics sorted, and the kids know what they like, I was looking for add-ons rather than the whole thing. The roasted veggies with white quinoa salad RMB 68 was absolutely delicious. I added grilled chicken for RMB 18 or you can add chickpeas. The chicken was incredibly tender, and there was a lot of it. The roasted veggies included pumpkin, sweet potato, eggplant, carrots, and zucchini. Pine nuts added crunch, sultanas the sweetness, and fresh cilantro lifted all the flavors.

The spicy Thai noodle salad with steak RMB 68 (add avocado for RMB 15), was packed with crunchy vegetables, mango, cilantro, and roasted peanuts. The salad was dressed with a spicy Thai dressing, which went really well with the juicy grilled steak. The Chef’s quiche of the day RMB 48 was leek, and it came with a small leaf salad and dressing. I prefer a deeper quiche, and the base was a little soft, but the flavor of strong cheese and sweet leeks was spot on. I always pack a tub of vegetable crudités when we picnic, so I ordered the white bean hummus. It was smooth and creamy, with just the right amount of garlic. Other dips include creamy spinach with artichoke and black olive tapenade.

If you don’t want to make your own sandwiches, you can pick up some of Modo’s. The Scandinavian is smoked salmon layered with cucumber, radish, apple, and dill on rye bread, or the Deli which consists of Italian salami or smoked turkey, layered with pickled vegetables and cream cheese on walnut toast. Portion sizes are very generous, so your best bet is to get a couple of things to share. I will definitely be adding Modo Deli items to my hamper this summer.

Modo Urban Deli
Daily 10.30am-10pm
Taikoo Li Sanlitun South, 3rd Floor, S10 – 31, 19 Sanlitun Road, Chaoyang District (6415 7207, hello@modobj.com) www.modobj.com

Photos: Steve Depolo (Flickr), Sally Wilson

Japanese Take-Out from Summer Lotus

Sally Wilson — Fri, 22 May 2015 02:00:00 +0000

Summer Lotus Japanese Cuisine restaurant claims to perfectly integrate traditional Japanese cuisine with international fusion dining. Located upstairs from the cake and chocolate shop Aux Délices, which is next to The Orchard and opposite Red Brick Art Museum. The restaurant has been promoting their take-out service recently, so I thought I would give it a go. The take-out menu is quite extensive, and includes sushi, deep fried meat and fish dishes, roasted meat and fish dishes, stir fried vegetables, udon, rice dishes, and soups.

Butterfly Roll (RMB 75) brings together tempura shrimp, crab sticks, avocado, eel, and sweet sauce. The shrimp was wonderfully fresh, although the tempura batter could have been crispier, and it sat alongside sweet crab and creamy mayonnaise. Wrapped with nori and then rice, and topped with avocado, eel and a lovely sweet sauce. The sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds added nice texture. The eight generous pieces of roll were served with pickled ginger, soy, and a wasabi that packs one heck of a punch.

Way to Life Roll (RMB 86) has tempura shrimp alongside strips of cucumber. All wrapped in nori, very good sushi rice, and topped with spicy salmon, and a slice of avocado. The spicy sauce drizzled on top was very tasty. The avocado could have been a little riper, but overall I was impressed with the quality and freshness of the ingredients used. Chicken Teriyaki Don (RMB 49) was a generous portion of tender strips of chicken. The sweet and sticky sauce was full of flavor and perfectly seasoned. The accompanying rice dish was too big, in proportion to the chicken, but the rice was perfectly cooked and nicely garnished. The miso soup was fresh with just a hint of spice coming through.

Presentation of each of these dishes was very good indeed, considering they were for take-out. The prices are reasonable, and you can ring and order ahead, so your food is ready when you are. The restaurant was busy with lunchtime diners, and service was very efficient. I was served tea whilst I waited in their comfy lounge area. The restrooms are impeccably clean, western style and with soap, paper, towels, and even hand cream. So if you want sushi to go, this is a great restaurant to choose.

Summer Lotus Japanese Cuisine
Open Mon-Sun 10am-2pm, 5-10pm. Closed Wednesdays.
Building 5, Shunbai Road, Hegezhuang Village, Cuigezhuang Township, Chaoyang District (188 0116 1155, 139 1061 6283, 138 1015 2804)

Photos: Sally Wilson

Kro’s Nest Pizza Comes to Shunyi

Sally Wilson — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 02:00:00 +0000

The first Kro’s Nest pizzeria was opened up in 2005, in a quiet corner outside the west gate of Peking University, selling American style pizzas. A further seven pizza restaurants were subsequently opened across Beijing, making The Kro’s Nest one of the big players on Beijing’s pizza scene. They were winners of The Beijinger’s Pizza Cup, in 2011. The Shunyi crowd will be pleased to hear, that their latest restaurant has opened up in the new shopping center Shine City. Even better news is that they do take-out and delivery. The delivery menu features some interesting pizza flavors and toppings, different from your usual margarita and ham and mushroom. The main thing I’d heard about The Kro’s Nest is that their pizzas are gigantic, thankfully they serve up a range of sizes.

I ordered a small Honolulu Hurricane RMB 58, with tomato sauce, Canadian bacon, pineapple chunks, diced onion, red peppers, and finished with Kro’s herb mix. The bacon was plentiful and crisp, the pineapple a good firm texture. I especially liked the tanginess of the tomato sauce. The medium Chicken Alfredo RMB 130 was heavy on the garlic, but a good ratio of base to cheese and sauce. For a medium it was huge, so I can only imagine how vast the large must be. The pizza bases at Kro’s are thick and doughy. My kids love this kind of American pizza, whilst I prefer a thinner and crisper pizza base. The toppings were tasty and everything seasoned well, but there could have been more toppings, especially more chicken on the Alfredo.

The unique selling point of their pizzas is their size, which makes them ideal if you have several people round to share, or a very hungry family to feed. The small are priced at RMB 54-85, but not all flavors come in the small size. For a large you’ll pay RMB 138 up to RMB 218 for the Kitchen Sink pizza, which has a sprinkling of everything. Other flavors include shrimp, vegetable, cheese, pepperoni, and steak. The only soft drinks are coke or diet coke. I tried to order a Corona which is on their menu, but they didn’t have any left for delivery.

To go alongside the pizzas I ordered The Farmer salad RMB 35, consisting of herb baked chicken breast over fresh lettuce, tomato, cucumber, red onions, and orange slices. I opted for the salad without the mozzarella and cheddar shred mix. It came with a side pot of thousand island salad dressing, and was a very generous portion size. The ingredients were nice and fresh, although sliced a little on the large side. I loved the sprinkling of sunflower seeds, which added a nice contrasting texture to the dish. Other salads include Caesar, in the garden, and fruit. Sides include French fries RMB 22 with salt or spicy chili salt, and wings with four different sauces BBQ, garlic and chili, buffalo, or sweet chili RMB 33.

The Kro’s Nest
Shine City No 8, Room 109, Shunyi District (4008 777 707, 6040 1866) www.krosnest.com/en

Photos: courtesy of Kro’s Nest, Sally Wilson

Tex-Mex Delivery

Sally Wilson — Mon, 24 Nov 2014 02:00:00 +0000

El Gran Bocado Taqueria is a gourmet style taco store, making street style Tacos with real corn tortillas, plus other Mexican dishes including tamales, enchiladas, quesadillas, burritos, and nachos. With their flagship store down in Gongti, they’ve decided to bring their tex-mex delights to Shunyi, delivering right to your doorstep.

Offering up to 11 different taco fillings, which include shredded beef, pastor (marinated and grilled pork loin), chorizo-con-papa (sautéed pork sausage with potato), chicken mole, and grilled vegetables. El Gran Bocado state they use real chilies, not chili powder, and that their tamales are made with real corn masa (dough). Prices for taco singles range from RMB 14-18, and for sets which include rice and beans RMB 42-52. With home-made salsa, guacamole, and chile arbol, you can dress your tacos and tamales in the way that you like.

I ordered the grilled chicken burritos RMB 58, the carnitas taco set RMB 50, which comes with rice and beans, some cheese quesadillas RMB 38, and guacamole. The burrito was big, packed with rice, beans, and tender spicy chicken breast. It had great flavor, the tortilla was soft, and the filling-to-wrap ratio spot-on. The quesadillas were nice and cheesy, but if you prefer a stronger tasting cheese then you won’t get that from these. The carnitas pork was shredded tender pork, and very lightly spiced, so would be a good choice for younger kids. The soft tacos holding the pork had good flavor, and the jalapeno, onion, and lettuce mix on top was fresh and tasty.

The side of rice was well cooked and nicely spiced, but I’m not sure about the addition of carrots, peppers would have added a better contrast in texture. The refried beans and guacamole were very good indeed, in fact one of the best guacamole’s I’ve tasted in Beijing. It was fresh, a good chunky consistency, and just the right level of chili heat versus lime kick. The accompanying portions of sour cream, salsa, and salsa verde were perfect for topping your tacos and dipping the crispy nachos.

Also on the menu are chips, salads, and soups. Drinks include a range of imported and local beers, plenty of soft drinks, wine, and margaritas. There’s no dessert on the menu, which is a shame as I’d read so much about the cinnamon cake roll that’s served down in Gongti.

El Gran Bocado
Pinnacle Store Delivery 137 1894 7900

Photos: Pascal (Flickr), Sally Wilson