Bill and I went to Industry City yesterday to wander around the various stores that were there. We went into Japanese Village and I saw some thinly sliced meats for shabu shabu and decided to do chinese hot pot for dinner. I picked up some thinly sliced beef, round and rib eye, and also some thinly sliced Kurobuta pork loin as well. I then searched the veggies and grabbed some lotus root, pre sliced, and some Enoki mushrooms. I had other vegetation at home as well as the necessary spice for the hot pot flavoring.
I used Fuchsia Dunlop's recipe for hot pot broths. One is based in a beef broth, the other in a chicken, but I made it vegetable broth.
 |
Left is the spicy one, right is the vegetable one with a few flecks of chopped garlic floating in it, as a small piece of tree ear mushroom that I had not removed!
HotPot Spicy Broth
1/4 c fermented black beans
1/3 c shaoxing wine or dry sherry
3 inch piece of ginger, unpeeled
1/4 c dried szechwan dried chili peppers
1/2 c peanut or vegetable oil
2/3 c beef drippings or lard
1/2 c doujiubang
3 quarts good beef stock
1 T rock sugar
1/3 c fermented glutinous rice wine
salt to taste
1 t whole szechwan pepper corns
Method
1. Mash black beans with 1 T shaoxing wine either with mortar and pestle or in a food processor. Wash ginger and slice into discs about the thickness of a coin.
2. Snip all chili peppers in half with a scissor and knock out as many of the seeds as possible. Heat 3 T oil in a wok over medium flame until it is hot, but not smoking and add the chiles and stir-fry until crisp and fragrant, but not burned. They should sizzle gently in the wok. Remove with a slotted spoon and remove oil to a bowl and clean wok.
3. Add beef drippings or lard to the wok along with the rest of the vegetable oil. Melt the fats completely to about 250-300°F. Add chili paste and stir fry for a minute or so until the oil is richly colored and fragrant. Be careful not to burn this mixture. Add mashed beans, and ginger and continue to stir fry. Add in 1.5 quarts of the stock and bring to a boil. The balance of the stock will be held in reserve to replenish the hot pot when necessary.
4. When the liquid has come to a boil, add the rock sugar and the rest of the shaoxing wine, the fermented glutinous rice wine and salt, if necessary. (Mine certainly did not need any additional salt).
5. Add the reserved fried peppers and the szechwan pepper corns and simmer for another 15-20 minutes until it is delightfully spicy.
Plain HotPot Broth
3 quarts rich chicken stock (I used vegetable stock)
2 T shaoxing wine
salt to taste
1 ripe red tomato, halved
2 scallions, white part only, cut into 2 or three sections
Method
1. Stir wine into the stock and season with salt to taste. Pour about 2 quarts into the hotpot and use the rest to top up as needed. Shortly before you are getting ready to eat, add the tomato and the scallions to the broth.
Meats used:
Thinly sliced ribeye, I tore these pieces in half
Thinly sliced round
Thinly sliced pork loin, I tore these pieces in half
Vegetables used:
2 potatoes, sliced about 1/4 inch thick, soaked in salted water
butternut squash, sliced about 1/4 inch thick, soaked in salted water
lotus root, sliced about 1/4 inch thick, soaked in salted water
4 carrots, peeled, using peeler cut into thin ribbons
large handful of snow peas
Enoki mushrooms, pulled into shreds
1/2 cabbage cut into chunks and split up into a couple of leaves in each chunk
broccoli florets
Dipping Sauces
Sesame paste mixed with fresh chopped garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil
Lao Gan Ma Chili Crisp
Dark Soy Sauce with Black Vinegar and minced scallions
 |
| Dipping Sauces |
 |
| Meats, beef above, pork below The carrots and peas are at the top and the cabbage and root veggies at the bottom |
 |
| Vegetation |
 |
| Broths: top is spicy and below is not |
Both Bill and I were very happy with our early Lunar New Year Celebration. Obviously, too much food, but the veggies will be used in other dishes going forward.
