Hot Pot
A random phone call from the past brings memories of dinners past. One of my “sons” contacted me, and as the conversation progressed, we reminisced about various dinners in Queens Chinatown. In specific a special hot pot dinner. (The spice and alcohol flowed freely that night.)
Of course, I had to recreate the dish.
The soup base is really a very spicy oil and a rich stock. (One can replace the chicken stock with veggie or mushroom broth for a vegetarian version.) For this, I’ll double the oil component and reserve a good portion of the oil as an ingredient to recreate another memorable meal. (as Dr. River Song would say, “Spoilers, Dearie.”)
Hot Pot is a Chinese cooking method and meal involving a simmering soup pot in the middle of a dining table with various raw ingredients (meat, seafood, mushrooms, vegetables, tofu, noodles/starch, etc.). The pot of broth is kept simmering, and the raw ingredients are then dipped and cooked in the boiling liquid at the table by each individual diner. This synergistic flavor sensation is known as mala, a trademark of Sichuan cuisine that marries the capsaicin of chile peppers with the numbing quality of Sichuan peppercorns.
A note on heat: A hot pot is quite spicy, and the numbing sensation of Sichuan peppercorns feels rather like mild electric currents buzzing on the tongue. If you’re not yet familiar with Sichuan cuisine, prepare for a sensory explosion. Feel free to adjust amounts of the dried chiles and Sichuan peppercorns to suit your spice tolerance—but the mala sensation, of course, is what makes this a Sichuan-style hot pot!
For the rest of the ingredients, thin sliced raw meats and all forms of fungi are cut into sizable chunks or slices so they can be fished out of the pot. One can clean the fridge of various veggie leftovers as well.
From Wikipedia:
Hot pot is a flavorful broth traditionally served inside a large metal pot. The broth is brought to a boil and left simmering for the duration of the meal. Raw ingredients, such as meat and vegetables, are placed into the simmering broth and thus cooked. The cooked pieces are dipped into dipping sauces for additional flavor. Hot pot is considered a main course and is usually served without rice or noodles on the side. Hot pots can be prepared and eaten at home or in a restaurant.
Typical hot pot ingredients include thinly sliced meat, leaf vegetables, mushrooms, vermicelli, sliced potatoes, bean products, egg dumplings, tofu, and seafood. Raw ingredients are pre-sliced into thin sections that will cook quickly and consistently in the simmering broth, which is maintained at a gentle boiling temperature. Most raw foods can be cooked in a hot pot, although they may have different cooking times, and must be immersed in the soup and then removed accordingly.
Spicy Soup Base
Ingredients
- 1 inch Ginger Peeled, Sliced 1/4"
- 5 ea Bay Leaves
- 10 cloves Garlic Peeled, Crushed
- 5 ea Star Anise
- 1 ea Cinnamon Stick
- 1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns Toasted, Lightly crushed
- 12 ea Dried Red Chilies
- 3 tbsp Doubanjiang Spicy Bean paste
- 12 cups Chicken Stock
- 2 tbsp Neutral Oil
Instructions
- Place a wok over medium heat, and bring the oil to a spider
- Add the ginger and cook for ~ 1 minute, until carmelized and fragernt
- Add the bay leaves, garlic, cinnamon stick, star anise, and cloves. Cook for another 2 minutes, until very fragrant.
- Add the Sichuan peppercorns, dried chilies (whole), and the spicy bean paste.
- Cook for another 2 minutes, and then add the stock. Bring to a boil,
- Serve in a preheated clay pot, or other pot
Notes
Nutrition
Filed
under: Asian, Cultural-Misappropriation, Follow On, Ingredient, Soup, Vegetarian
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