Firepot Stock Recipes

SHUAN YANG ROU (MONGOLIAN FIREPOT FEAST)

Steps:

• Partially freeze the meat to make thin slicing easier.
• Prepare vegetable platter in advance and chill.
• Prepare meat platter in advance and chill.
• When ready to dine, bring stock, scallions, garlic, and wine to a simmer over low heat on a tabletop burner or in a traditional Chinese hot pot. Place in the middle of the table.
• Pour hot water over cellophane noodles and let soak for 30 minutes. Drain and place in a bowl.
• Lay sliced meat platter on table. Lay prepared vegetables platter on table.
• In various small bowls, place each of your chosen dipping sauces. Place bowls on table around simmering broth.
• Each guest gets a bowl, a small plate, chopsticks and a spoon. Sometimes small individual strainers are used as well as chopsticks for dipping or to fish out morsels that fall into the pot.
• NOTE: In addition to the lamb, beef or pork, shrimp, shelled and deveined, oysters, mussels or clams, shucked, and tofu, cut in 1" cubes may be added depending on taste and interest. You may also use a mixture of any of the above.
• NOTE: In addition to the bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, and the spinach, snow peas, sprouts, bamboo shoots may be added depending on taste and interest. You may also use a mixture of any of the above or any other vegetable you wish.
• NOTE: In addition to the soy sauce and hoisin sauce, Chinese hot mustard, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and rice or Chinese brown vinegar may be added depending on taste and interest. You may also use a mixture of any of the above.
• HOW TO DINE HOT-POT STYLE: First pick up some meat with the chopsticks and swish it around in the hot broth until cooked through, about 1-2 minutes. Dip meat in some of the sauce and eat. Alternatively, place a little of various sauces of your choice in your bowl, mix them together to taste, and dip the meat in this. About halfway through the dining, add the noodles to the broth to simmer. Dip the vegetables in the broth and proceed as with the meat. Finally, spoon some of the broth and noodles into your bowl and drink as a soup.

FIFTEEN MINUTE FIRE POT

Steps:

• Put the pot to boil with the water, salt and sliced ginger, covered with a lid. Arrange beef slices at the side of 4 individual plates. Pat scallops dry, discard crescent-shaped membrane and add to the plates. Cut bean curd in large cubes and add also to the plates. Discard stems from spinach and pile on plates. If using watercress, rinse the bunches, shake dry and twist off the stems. Pile leaves on the plates. Trim bok choy, cut in 1 inch slices and pile also on the plates. Trim and add the scallions. Chop the coriander and put in a small bowl to be added to the firepot with the rice noodles.
• For the sauce: stir together the sesame paste, soy sauce, chili paste and vinegar and adjust proportions to your taste. Put in 4 individual bowls. Transfer the pot to the table burner. Set plates of meat and vegetables at each place, with chopsticks and a bowl of sauce.
• Towards the end of the meal, add rice noodles and coriander to the pot and simmer 1 minute until just tender. If your firepot loses too much heat during the meal, add all the remaining ingredients and return the pot to the stove to finish cooking.

MONGOLIAN FIRE POT

Steps:

• Divide the chicken, shrimp, flank steak, spinach leaves and tofu evenly and decoratively on individual platters for each guest.
• Bring the chicken stock, ginger and green onions to a simmer in a fondue pot.
• Your guests spear and cook their food with fondue forks.
• Try to keep the level of chicken stock at 6 cups by adding more to the fondue pot as needed.
• We also provided chopsticks for eating with.
• Suggested dipping sauces: Chinese hot mustard, sweet and sour sauce, peanut sauce and curry sauce.
• If desired, once all the ingredients have been cooked, add 2 beaten eggs, baby spinach and 4 ounces of cooked Chinese noodles to the hot chicken stock and serve in small soup bowls for a delicious soup.
• End the meal with fortune cookies and green tea ice cream.

FIREPOT INGREDIENTS

Steps:

• THE INGREDIENTS: While the stock cooks, the raw ingredients can be sliced wafer-thin, then arranged attractively one layer deep on separate plates. To suit all tastes, about a dozen varieties should be provided. THE COOKING TECHNIQUE: The diner picks up whatever ingredients he wishes (meat, poultry and seafood at the beginning of the meal vegetables toward the end) and dips that ingredient into the section of the firepot directly in front of him. He may plunge the raw ingredient, as is, into the broth, or dip it first in a mixture of cornstarch, soy sauce and sherry. As soon as the meat changes color--or any other ingredient is cooked to his taste--he removes it and either eats it directly or dips it in a sauce mixture he has prepared in his own bowl varieties should be provided.The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook. ©1994 by Gloria Bley Miller.