We Are Having A Hot Pot

Quid

This Friday in class we're having a 火锅 proper. Well, as proper as you can in a class room. We had one a couple weeks ago and it was delicious. We've already divvied up the ingredients and I'm getting a protein again, but instead of just slicing up some cheap steak I was wondering if I could do something a little better. Our teachers are already planning on bringing these seasoned meat ball... things that are filled with diced vegetables. Curious if anyone here had any suggestions for what I could bring.

And for reference, my group's broth will be a spicy, salty type. It reminded me a lot of the Nong Shim beef ramen except that we dropped a couple diced habaneros in to it.

fightinfilipino

if you are indeed in Hawaii, you may be near some generic asian grocery stores that carry pre-marinated korean bbq beef. that might be worth a shot for hot pot. maybe.

Quid

I am in Hawaii and thanks to the large Asian population there's actually a full on China town I can check out for ingredients if they aren't found in any of the grocery stores.

dlinfiniti

fish balls

Esh

Now I have Jim Gaffigan stuck in my head. "Hot Poccccckettttts".

But I digress.

I second Fish Balls. There's a place near me that serves them on skewers. Holy Christ. So good!

UrQuanLord88

I just realized that you're not in charge of the broth, but it is pretty important. Don't just use hot water off the bat, take some time to prepare it with chicken stock. Vegetables like lettuce / cabbage / carrots help sweeten the soup too.

Have you guys thought about dipping sauces? I like to dip my cooked meats and other stuff in a mix of sliced chili padi and light soy sauce. 沙茶酱 or sa cha sauce is great too, just remember it is not the same as the dipping sauce they use for satay: meat on skewers.

Other ingredients I am familiar with:

• Tofu
• Clear noodles
• Quail Eggs (usually canned)
• Any other kind of sliced meat (so, not just beef. Pork, chicken, lamb, etc)
• Shrimp
• Crab
• Squid

Dammit, now I'm hungry again.

dlinfiniti

don't forget the raw eggs for the dipping sauce too (make sure they're quality and fresh, no need to risk salmonella)

Slider

You slice any kind of meat and throw it in there for cooking. Bring some sort of vegetable group, like, cabbage or whatever. Potatoes would also be a good choice.

I didn't enjoy my hot pot experience, so good luck!

Cauld

I like thinly sliced lamb. potatoes are good as Slider mentioned, and sweet potatoes too and carrots. Shrimp is good too.

UrQuanLord88

I forgot, if you are getting tofu, do remember to get both the regular ones (I think firm tofu is probably the best for broths, you might like other firmness), and the dried/fried tofu.

The latter is like a sponge which soaks up the broth and deposits it in your mouth.:^:

Oh and you might like mushrooms.

dlinfiniti

short ribs!
though those should be ideally added in the broth making stage

Gutock

I live in Tianjin and the 麻酱 (Sesame seed) dip is really good. I always eat spicy and I find it compliments the lamb well and generally just tastes hell of good.

Cauld

Not to Hijack this thread, but where can I go to get some hotpot recipes? My wife and I really like it, but are only familiar with the style prevalent in northern China (She's from Tianjin). I occasionally see some delicious looking hotpot from more southern regions, like Sichuan. Any suggestions? We have a wide variety of places to shop, having recently moved to NYC

Quid

Last time our teachers actually used some sort of semi solid broth, similar to a bouillon cube but much more massive and then we just tossed things in after that. I'll be sure to check which brand on Friday since it was delicious.

GungHo

More of a vietnamese flavoring, but you can make a hell of a dipping sauce with Sriacha, Hoisin, and pineapple/limes.

Cauld

Quid wrote: »

Last time our teachers actually used some sort of semi solid broth, similar to a bouillon cube but much more massive and then we just tossed things in after that. I'll be sure to check which brand on Friday since it was delicious.

That would be awesome. We usually buy a package kind of thing that sounds similar or maybe the same thing. My wife prefers the 'Little Sheep' brand, which is pretty popular chain in China.

Nylonathetep

I'm surprised there's so many Asians on this board.

Suggestion to add to hot pot:

Any kinda of chinese veggies.
Fried Fish Skin (nom nom nom)
Wonton
Chopped Liver (lol right!)
Oyster


You can also add Noodles to the mix towards the end when you are finished eating everything and still not full.

Scalfin

I'm not sure if this is close enough, but gefilte fish braises really well.

CygnusZ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34XJQqh7vj0

Soggychicken

Get regular tofu, put into ziplock bags and stick them in the freezer.

Thaw them before you have your hotpot. You will get this chewy texture that will still soak up all the favour.

edit: drain the tofu before you put them into the bag

Brodo Faggins

Those thin, sprout like mushrooms are delicious. In my experience, any thinly sliced meat works wonders. For whoever suggested marinated Korean BBQ, it's not that great an idea to add it to hot pot, as the sauce works against the natural flavors of the broth. Go nuts on the unmarinated stuff, like Cha Dohl Beh Gee (super thin slices of beef that only take about four seconds in the broth to cook fully).

Protein Shakes

Around here (southern california) i see lots of chinese people eating pig feet and chicken feet. I never tried them myself, I just know they are very popular.

Quid

Cauld wrote: »

Quid wrote: »

Last time our teachers actually used some sort of semi solid broth, similar to a bouillon cube but much more massive and then we just tossed things in after that. I'll be sure to check which brand on Friday since it was delicious.

That would be awesome. We usually buy a package kind of thing that sounds similar or maybe the same thing. My wife prefers the 'Little Sheep' brand, which is pretty popular chain in China.

I'm afraid I didn't get the exact brand. The style in Chinese was 重庆火锅低料 and came in a red package with a picture of peppers on it. Which probably not the most helpful. The teachers got it in the China town here but I'm willing to bet if you looked around for Chongqing hot pot mix in a specialty market you could probably find something similar.

Worth noting too that the kind we got this time was much different. It was more of a thick liquid and had actual peppers and Sichuan peppercorns. Also way too much fennel.