Hot Pot
Hot pot, also known as Chinese fondue. It’s a hearty meal that can be easily prepared. How? First of all, prepare a metal pot of steaming stock and place it at the centre of the dining table. Conventionally, it’s heated on a gas stove, to keep the stock hot. Subsequently, insert uncooked food into the boiling stock to cook. There’s a wide variety of food that can be cooked, namely thin-sliced meat, meat balls, fish balls, fish cakes, shrimps, tofu, mushrooms, rice vermicelli etc. Basically, anything you’d like to be cooked!
Personally, I prefer a pot of clear stock (chicken or pork) and a pot of hot & spicy stock. Once the stock is boiling, uncooked food is ready to go. It takes about 15 minutes to cook. Everyone sitting around the table is welcome to help themselves with the food and stock. As soon as all the food is served, more stock is added into the pot. Another round of cooking begins, as the stock boils.
The origin of Asian hot pot tradition is claimed to be in the Mongolia region. Although, some argue that it’s from the Szechuan province of China. Hot pot is best to have in the cold weather! The hot soups soothe the stomach, and spices tantalize taste buds!
A table that was full of food….
From left (clockwise): Thin-sliced beef, smoked cow tongue, and tofu.
Meat balls, fish balls, fish cakes… Yumm….
Desserts (from left to right): Triple chocolate cake, tiramisu, chocolate mousse, and strawberry cheesecake. The triple chocolate cake was the best!
May 7th, 2009 at 11:54 pm
Those thin black/brown slices were cow tongues? This might sound weird but I love spare parts. I don’t recall eating cow tongues but ate pig tongues before.
May 8th, 2009 at 7:16 am
Ai Shiang,
You’re right. Those are cow tongues, and most eadible spare parts taste great. I’ll have to try pig tongues someday. How are pig tongues usually cooked by the way?
May 8th, 2009 at 9:25 am
Pig tongues are usually cooked with chinese 5-spices, soya sauce and sugar. The normal “braised” method that you would use to cook duck and beef. I think any other methods would do well too. Just have to clean it thoroughly and cook till tender. If I cook pig tongues next time, I’ll put it up on my blog.
May 8th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
That’s cool, Ai Shiang. You actually cook pig tongues yourself! I can’t wait for your recipe ;)
May 8th, 2009 at 10:33 pm
Nice pictures with your new lens ^_^ Have a great trip…
May 9th, 2009 at 4:02 am
Thanks, Paul. Enjoy the sunshine in Freddy :)