InChina » Dining and Cooking

Spiced Rice with Prawns

Jono — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 13:52:55 +0000

I recently got my hands on a recipe for “Spiced rice with prawns” which is quite a favorite back at home and which I wanted to try out here in Beijing. Mum kindly emailed me the recipe and I tried it out this evening in my wok.

Of course, it wasn’t as good as mum’s own but it was still delicious and went well with Siqi’s Smoked Tofu and Celery stir-fry.

Click on a photo to enlarge it. Use the arrow keys to browse through the photos.

Dinner

Omelette on Top

Smoked Tofu and Celery Stir-fry

Spiced Rice with Prawns

Pancake Crazy in Beijing

Jono — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 13:48:34 +0000

Today I promised Siqi a special breakfast of sweet pancakes (as opposed to the crispy savoury pancakes sold on the street in Beijing).

There was plenty of flipping going on and pancake mix flying in every direction. We also had the luxury of ‘confit du beurre au chocolat’ which I brought back from France and which was smeared on our pancakes in suitably ridiculous amounts.

By the end of breakfast we were absolutely stuffed and resolved not to eat any more pancakes for a good few weeks to come… we’ll see!

Click on a photo to enlarge it. Use the arrow keys to browse through the photos.

Chef at work

The Flip

So far so good

The cook

Made with love

Chocolate Heart

Happy Pancake

Perfect Pancake

Delicieuse

Birthday Hotpot

Jono — Thu, 15 May 2008 09:32:11 +0000

I had some friends round for a birthday hotpot on Tuesday night (Caroline, Maude, Christian) which was delicious.

Last night I then invited some more friends round for a Thai Red Curry (Hannah, Amy, Jess) which was another success.

All in all this week has been busy in terms of culinary creation and whilst its lovely to have people round for dinner I can safely say that I’m glad that me and Siqi only have to cook for the two of us tonight!

A bit of cuisine

Jono — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 09:05:01 +0000

Me and Siqi have been busy in the kitchen over the last couple of weeks and have churned out some tasty meals. Here are a couple of things we’ve made recently:

Cola Chicken Wings

Chicken wings cooked in a cola sauce with plenty of spice to go with it! Yum…

京酱肉丝

Pork strips cooked in a hoisin sauce on a bed of 豆腐 (Tofu Skin). Traditional Beijing dish.

Next on the list is my favourite dish: 宫保鸡丁 (Kung Pao Chicken) - but that’s going to take some serious practice to get right!

Hotpot with Caroline

Jono — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 15:58:13 +0000

Caroline - a French friend from Paris - came around for some internet squatting last week (the connection in her dormitory is atrocious and doesn’t deserve to be called internet). We treated her to her first ever Chinese Hotpot and she’s now a convert. Couple of pics

Click on a photo to enlarge it. Use the arrow keys to browse through the photos.

Ready to go

Siqi and Caro

Temple Festival 地坛庙会

Jono — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 03:10:32 +0000

Okay, went to another Temple Festival yesterday with Siqi and her cousin, only this time it was much bigger, with a lot more people and a lot more things going on. We got up nice and early and made it in time to watch a reenactment of the QingLong Emperor (Qing dynasty) during a prayer service - which was interesting. Afterwards, we went to another stage to see some traditional Beijing entertainment - Cross-talk (a form of standup comedy with two comedians, lots of playing with words, incredibly funny if you understand!), Beijing Wrestling, Chinese Magician, 快�?� (A singer with two wooden clackers - a bit like castanets - who creates a rhythm and sings along - again, usually very very funny lyrics!), Acrobatics and a few other things.

After all that, it was time for a food break. Temple festivals are very popular for their lamb kebabs (originating from Xinjiang province- where there are lots of Muslims) and today’s were not at all a letdown. Even better (and quite randomly) there was Spanish Churros for sale (deep fried donut-like twists covered with sugar and chocolate) and 臭豆�? - stinky tofu - tofu that has been left to ferment and smells like my Dad’s socks; which is then deep fried and coated in a spicy sauce and eaten with cocktail sticks… YUM!

To finish off the day, me and Siqi took a bus to the French Cultural Centre in Chaoyang District (lots of foreigners live and work here) and watched a French film (also has Chinese subtitles) called “Filles Uniques”. Its a great little cinema that I go to quite regularly (got to keep my French up!) and its less than a pound per showing for students.

All in all a great day out, gonna take it easy today and laze around in the house again
Below are some photos for you to peek at:

Click on a photo to enlarge it. Use the arrow keys to browse through the photos.

Entrance

Decorated Tree

QingLong Emperor

Qian Long Emperor

QingLong Emperor

QingLong Officials

Beijing Wrestling

Table Acrobatics

Skin Puppet

Eating Area

Kebabs!

Crowds flocking for food

Get your kebabs!

Get your Kebabs!

Me and Churros

Chocolatey Goodness

Churros

Deco

Temple Festival 厂甸庙会

Jono — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:27:05 +0000

I headed to one of Beijing’s many temple festivals today with Siqi and some Leeds friends for a little wander around. There was an insane amount of people on the street and lots of entertainment, crafts and food stalls. It was nice to have a walk around and get involved in the Chinese New Year celebrations. Here are some photos:

Click on a photo to enlarge it. Use the arrow keys to browse through the photos.

Entrance

Grand Entrance

Decorations

Lines of Stalls

Pig Man

Yum Yum!

Fried Squid

Yum!

Sugar Blowing

Food Stalls

灌肠

Lamb Kebabs

Stinky Tofu

担担面 Sichuan Spicy Noodles

Jono — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 02:08:17 +0000

I have been making this noodle dish quite a lot of late and it is really really really tasty!
The sauce consists of a spicy soup made of sesame paste, vinegar, soy sauce, dried chillies and chilli oil. Add some fresh noodles and bok choi and we’re away. If you are feeling like adding some extra greasiness then sprinkle on the peanuts and dried yellow beans.
Be prepared to break out into a sweat - the peppers used are Sichuan chillil peppers! Not for the faint of heart.

Click on a photo to enlarge it. Use the arrow keys to browse through the photos.

Peanut and Yellow Bean Topping

Spicy!

Cooking Up

Household Hotpot

Jono — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 15:44:20 +0000

Well, as many of you may have seen from previous posts on this blog, I am a bit of a fan of the spicy dipping hotpots that are so popular in Beijing and am often found lurking in many of the local restaurants that are dotted all over the place. However, as all the Chinese will tell you, nothing is better than cooking up your own hotpot at home.

Hence, due to the rather cold weather we have been experiencing lately, I headed down to the Gome shop (a bit like Comet) today and purchased my very own electric hotpot cooker. Me and Siqi washed and chopped veggies and plenty of tofu and meat this afternoon and then cooked up an extra spicy stock and dipped away to our heart’s (and stomach’s) content. Absolutely delicous.
Have a look at the photos, I reckon 10 out of 10 for presentation

Click on a photo to enlarge it. Use the arrow keys to browse through the photos.

All laid out

Yum Yum Yum

Food's on the table

Food's on the table!

Tofu and crispy veg-balls

Dipping Sauce

Tofu and Spinach

Veggies

Mongolian Lamb Slices

Seasoning

Coriander

Greens

About to tuck in

Hubble Bubble

Siqi’s Birthday

Jono — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 05:22:12 +0000

It was Siqi’s Birthday on Thursday so I treated her to a surprise Thai meal at a restaurant in Chaoyang district which some friends had recommended. The restaurant recently won the award for ‘Best Thai Restaurant in Beijing’. The decor was lush and comfy, the service was good and the food was absolutely delicious. We shared the following dishes:

Deef fried shrimpcakes
Thai Red Curry with Fragrant Jasmine Rice
Vietnamese Noodle Soup with Beef and Veg

I would also recommend that you wash all of that down with a nice pitcher of Beijing Beer.
Won’t be long before I’m heading back! Great value for money from a UK perspective (10 pounds, including two pints of beer). Pricey from a Beijing perspective (A meal for two in quite a posh restaurant should still be less than a fiver).

For those who are interested, the restaurant is called Purple Haze (紫苏庭) and their website can be viewed here (with menu, photos, info and contact details).
Here are some photos:

Click on a photo to enlarge it. Use the arrow keys to browse through the photos.

Not all for me

Drunkard

Cheap Beer!

On the beer

Eyeing up the curry

Munching away

Feed me

Beijing Beer

Tankard in hand...

Messy Room

Beer Testing

Outdoor Barbecue

Barbecued Squid

Cheers

Tinny in a Museum

Randomer

Horse and Carriage

Factory Building

Qingdao Beer

Production Line

Sculpture

Old Brewing Equipment

Vats

Beer Beer Beer

Production Line

Quality Check

Packaging

Drunken Shack

Beer Tasting

Sunny Qingdao...

Algae Problems

On the Pier

Algae Problems

We Love Qingdao...

Kebabs

Enjoying our Food

Yum

What a Mess

Observatory (YHA)

Breakfast on Roof

Old Submarine

Old Warships

Inside the Sub

P7021190

Submarine Boys

In the Navy

Fine Young Sailors

Qingdao Skyline

Catholic Church

New Train

Speedy Train