Feature
Feed the Foodie
64
beijingkids
2013 August
photo: courtesy of the hutong and wwworks (flickr)
The tween years are a great time to develop cooking skills, as kids have the capacity to safely handle sharp knives and hot gas ranges. If you’re not much of a cook yourself, sign up for cooking classes together at The Hutong, Black Sesame Kitchen, or Hias Gourmet. You can also leave the kitchen and get inspiration from a Beijing Food Walk. This four-hour food tour includes local tastings and cultural tidbits. Participants wind through hutongs and along the banks of Houhai sampling breakfast items, hearty lunch at a Muslim restaurant, and a selection of desserts to cap off the day. Classes and tours are also a great way to start discussing issues like nutrition, food safety, and community-supported agriculture. Once your tween is ready to pick out their own groceries, take them to popular Sanyuanli Market. This is the place to pick up imported ingredients, fresh herbs, and hard-to-find items like limes and avocadoes. Allow them to invite their friends over for a cooking party. One easy recipe is beef or chicken burritos. The kids can prep the ingredients (try bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, refried beans, and grated cheese) and tortilla shells, and lay them out on the table for everyone to assemble their own burrito. The only ingredient that really requires cooking is the meat. Once they’re done eating, don’t forget to make them clean up the mess!