Convenience food - chinese recommendations?

[SpaceOp]

We have a friend coming over on Sunday. He doesn't eat red meat or dairy. He had suggested ordering in - bless him, he lives in central london but where we are the takeout options are limited if you're looking for decent quality food.

I MIGHT do some kind of chicken casserole but have been craving Chinese food recently so am thinking about maybe creating a little buffet style Chinese. But... am 100% uninterested in cooking such a spread so would be relying heavily on supermarket pre-prepared options that can be microwaved or cooked in the oven.

Can anyone make recommendations? We have a large waitrose and Sainsbury's near by and a smaller M&S (but I can do Ocado). Aldi and Lidl are both also relatively convenient. Hit me with your best fake takeaway from the supermarket.

Currently am keen to do a peking duck with pancakes etc, some dim sum and maybe some spring rolls, but need some more main course options.

Aldi do a lovely half duck with pancakes and hoi sin sauce. You need sliced cucumber and spring onion with it. They also have great spring rolls.
I have a local Asian supermarket where I get frozen dim sum and gyoza....10 minutes steaming in a pan and they're perfect, and you can microwave them as far as I remember.

Agree re Aldi duck pancakes- much cheaper than other supermarkets and absolutely identical in terms of quality

Just double check all the labels, bloody dairy is in everything.

@BunnyRuddington

Just double check all the labels, bloody dairy is in everything.

Useful tip, thank you. Hadn't thought about that.

DH did say, "isn't it easier just to roast a chicken" to which I retorted, "for you maybe, but you're not the one roasting the bloody thing". But I am starting to think an easy chicken casserole might be easier all round.

Waitrose do a half crispy duck. All of their Chinese meals/starters/sides that we have tried have been good and they often have deals on too.

I would buy a whole duck and cook it, can buy this from Waitrose and Sainsbury’s. Put whole duck on a rack over a roasting tin and cook at 150C for about 3.5 hours and give a final half an hour at 225C. Shred with two forks and serve with shredded cucumber, spring onions and hoi sin sauce. You can buy pancakes at both supermarkets too.

We often have this for dinner with some pancake rolls etc and nothing else.

The M&S duck is good, comes with all the trimmings and is dairy free
www.ocado.com/products/m-s-crispy-aromatic-half-duck-513904011

A lot of their other stuff is listed here, too, so you can check ingredients before you decide
www.ocado.com/browse/fresh-chilled-food-20002/ready-meals-ready-to-cook-37875/chinese-37885?showOOS=true

Waitrose have a slightly more varied selection
www.waitrose.com/ecom/shop/browse/groceries/world_foods/chinese_and_asian_food/chinese_food/chinese_ready_meals_and_takeaway

Also at Waitrose, their bang bang cauliflower and Korean fried chicken are brilliant and have no dairy.
I’ve found most Chinese side dishes have no dairy because it isn’t commonly used in the cuisine.

Diary isn’t commonly used in Chinese cooking but milk powder gets in a lot of English made convenience food so it’s worth double checking literally everything.
I find M&S and Morrison’s are best for “bits” like that the other major supermarkets I find their offerings a bit greasy and bland

Also as an obvious point if you have a Chinese supermarket near you (especially a wing yip) their freezer sections are incredible

The Waitrose crispy seaweed is lovely. I do an all-purpose dip/sauce with shredded duck alongside the hoisin; 2 parts soy (I like Kikkoman) to 1 part white wine vinegar, then add sliced chilli, garlic and ginger. Lasts forever in the fridge and is also tasty with lettuce wraps, dumplings etc.

I'd be happy with dim sum, duck and some appetisers (spring rolls, prawn toasts, crispy wontons, crispy seaweed, bao buns), prawn crackers for lunch. Dim sum for lunch on its own is authentic so you have an excuse The ones from Waitrose and M&S are okay. Ocado sells the Itsu bao buns. I've never had a Chinese ready meal that is nice though. Sorry. The egg fried rice is alright.

Or you could make a chicken and cashew stir fry in 5 mins with pre-prepared chicken pieces, vegetables and sauce. Battered chicken/fish/prawns with a sweet and sour sauce or sweet chilli sauce from the world food aisle are nicer than the ready meal versions. If you can make a casserole, there are lots of Chinese one pot braised dishes that are simple and quick.

redhousespice.com/chinese-style-one-pot-chicken-rice/

There isn't just one set definition of "red meat", so are you sure that he eats duck? If it's for health reasons, it is very fatty. If it is about taste, it's gamey flavour is more like red meat than chicken.

Thanks all. Dh is supposed to be checking on whether he includes duck/chicken in his red meat list so waiting to hear back. I've put a whole lot of things in an ocado order tentatively for now (including the duck, dim sum etc) but am toying with going to the big waitrose because although I've never tried any of the chinese options, I have noticed they've got a huge shelf of options and M&S/Ocado seems a bit limited.