It is embarrassing to admit that I never got to try Chinese Hot Pot (very similar to Japanese Shabu-Shabu) during the three and a half years I lived in Vancouver. I would walk by hot pot restaurants over and over and wonder about their deliciousness from Victoria Drive’s sidewalks, mere steps from my apartment.
It was not until I moved to Toronto that I was invited to try my very first hot pot made not in a restaurant but in a family home completely from scratch!
The Ingredients
I was introduced to amaranth greens for the first time. Stunning! You want lots of greens like baby bok choy, spinach if you can not get amaranth, sweet pea greens…
Look at all the mushrooms! The hobbit in me was very happy. That wild dark one at the bottom left is black fungus which, after being hydrated, has amazing texture and is quite surprisingly crunchy.
I sat at the meat-eaters side of the table where there was a plethora of finely sliced meats (chicken, beef, lamb…) and dumplings. What a spread!
The Options
The hot pot itself can be completely divided so one side has meat and the other side does not, so vegetarians are not excluded.
The “Secret” Sauce
The part I was not expecting was the secret sauce. You make your own sauce (no problem I thought) but! The base of the sauce? One raw egg. Yup, that is right. You work sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, garlic… into a raw egg with chopsticks.
What you have to know is I am not usually squeamish. I have had raw eggs before but during this time my vertigo was at its worst. Vertigo sets off nausea, my foodie kryptonite. But! I did it. I was most worried about temperature. Having cold raw egg freaked me out but realizing that the super hot food would warm it up made it more palatable and calmed my stomach down. Phew!
Cooking In The Hot Pot
You bring the broth up to a simmer and put the food in and the lid on. Once it starts simmering again, the food is ready to eat.
You use little basket spoons so you minimize the loss of the broth but maximize the foodie jewels that you toss in the sauce and then eat with chopsticks. My sauce took a little bit of tweaking. Normally I would have used fish sauce but with my stomach being queasy I made a very sesame flavoured one with paste and oil but it needed Sriracha to give it heat and extra soy sauce for salt.
This was delicious! Absolutely delicious and a lot of fun. You could only make so much at a time so if you are not paying attention (like me) you might be left waiting until another round is complete for your next bowl. There were many, many delicious bowls.
Hot pot is about taking your time, appreciating the ingredients and the company you keep as you feast on little bowls together. It was truly special and unique, something I will remember always. All that prep was a labour of love and I am so very grateful.
BTW, you can always skip the raw egg if you want to. It is not for everyone and that is totally OK. You should never eat anything you do not want to eat.
How wonderful! What a delight. I’m sorry I missed out on it. It looks amazing.
Dang sickness!!
I know, both you and Shannon totally missed our Jamie! Sylvia says she will make it again, lucky me, I get to have it twice. Will be interesting to see if you dare to do the egg dip or not, LOL. It was challenging for me! I might make a Thai peanut dip for next time, hold the egg.
This looks delicious and even healthy. Move over fondue. I’ve wanted to try hot pot for a few years now and the way you describe it makes me think this should be our next dinner party with friends.
I just recently got some amaranth seeds from my dad. He grows them into edible sprouts. I can’t wait to try them in the garden this year. They’re such a lovely color and your photos are beautiful.
Heidi, yes, WAY healthier than a fondue! It is TOTALLY a dinner party treat. Try and get the thinly sliced meat from an Asian store, they usually have all that work done ready in the freezer section, save yourself a lot of time and hassle and just focus on the veggies. If you do anything from scratch I would focus on the broth to make it extra special or go with a good quality boxed.
Wow! Edible sprouts, nice! I hope they grow beautifully in your garden. Thank you so much! With food that beautiful, it makes my photography look good. 🙂
Sounds delicious! And reminded me too of broth fondue — “fondue a la chinoise” is the recipe I was given for it by a Quebecoise friend 40 years ago.
Wow! No way Debra? That nailed it. Had no idea that people in Quebec would know about this all those years ago. Those gourmands!!!
Happy Birthday!!!! Ooooo! That Hot Pot Party sounds great! Loved seeing the photos! My daughter loves hot pot…has had it in restaurants. I will tell her about this blog post and we may do it ourselves! Fun, fun, fun! Hugs!
So glad you enjoyed the Hot Pot Party post! Yes, go for it, make it at home. She sounds like an expert and having it at home would be a blast!