Chinese Hot Pot

What's the best way to celebrate Chinese New Year?? 

      

1. Spend it with good friends who lived in China and embraced the local foods like you. And if you don't have that, close family and friends that embrace adventure.

2. Find a great international or Asian grocery store so that you can purchase the right food.

*This is probably one of the key points to send your celebration over the top.

3. Dress in red and/or wear new clothes. Red scares away the evil spirits. Wearing something new symbolizes having more than enough for the new year. Doing this will start your year off right. But don't wash your hair and don't clean your house that day. Washing your hair will wash away your good luck. Cleaning your house will also clean away all your good luck.

And when you have all three what better way to celebrate than with a hot pot!

First off a trip to the international market is in order. As you walk in that uncomfortable-not-sure-what-the-smell-is-but-it's-definitely-not-Krogers smell hits you in the face, confirming that you have indeed found the right place.  

This place is so authentic it even had chicken feet. (We declined from purchasing them.)

CHINESE HOT POT

Directions ~ Steps ~ Ingredients

1. You need a good sized pot, that can simmer on a table top. Your food cooks in the pot at the table. This really is the most important piece. You can't have hot pot standing around the kitchen stove. And you can't hot pot with soup that isn't cooking.

2. Spices & broth. We used chicken broth and a hot pot spice packet. Our packet we carried home with us from Chong Ching, China, but a good international grocery store will have several varieties. Just choose something that looks fun. Truth be told we added a few extra star anise and Szechuan peppers to our broth.

3. Prepare all the food and arrange around the hot pot on plates. Put like ingredients together:

Veggies like cabbage, spinach baby bok choy and lotus root. Denser vegetables like lotus root take longer to cook while the cabbage takes just a minute or so.

Surprisingly these veggies really soak up the flavor of the hot pot and end up being phenomenal and a highlight.














Assortment of noodles, fish balls and frozen tofu. Honestly the fish balls are my least favorite but are very traditional. All of these take a long time to cook and absorb the flavor of the broth.


















Mushrooms - the bigger the variety the better. Again these little guys are surprisingly delicious. The broth flavor just clings to them.













Meat - It needs to be shaved almost paper thin. We were lucky at the grocery store and found some prepared shabu shabu style (Japanese hot pot). Go with a variety: Cow, Pig, Lamb.

Also, don't shy from getting the innards of the animals. We had tripe. Hot pot is a delicious way to eat tripe or really any body part.

4. Each person needs to mix a dip of usually soy sauce, peanut butter, hot sauce, and hosin sauce.


5. Asian Beer - truly a necessity for hot pot consumption

Yes ~ I was the only one that remembered to wear red...

EATING

Once the liquid in the pot gets hot and is simmering, begin putting the food into it. When you think it's done you pull it out, dip it in your little bowl of sauce and enjoy! I've recently read other articles by Caucasians about hot pot etiquette. They talk about only eating what you put in there and not swishing your sticks around looking for food. - Don't believe them. We lived in the real China. We eat family style. If you want to be all neat and proper, don't hot pot. This is a great meal that promotes family and friendship.

Gōngxǐ fācái!   Xīnnián kuàilè!