HOW TO ADD SHIMEJIS ON STEAM FREE
(ii) Ready Made – Use instant stocks (chicken cubes, concentrated instant soup stock) for a fuss free soup stock. You can use Chinese clear soups as a soup base or brew your own chicken broth. (i) Home-brewed – Just like how you can be really lavish or simple with the ingredients, the same goes for the soup bases. The other usual utensils (chopsticks, plate, soup bowl, soup spoon) apply. You can also place a communal plate in the center of the table to scoop out the cooked foods so that they won’t overcook in the pot. Do provide an extra pair of chopsticks specifically for cooking raw meats. Use soup and slotted ladles (a ladle with holes pictured) to cook foods. Some people also uses the traditional steamboat using charcoal (the type you see in fish head steamboat/鱼头炉), which is becoming rarer in modern homes as you need to prepare the charcoal.Ĭutlery (front – slotted ladles) for hot pot You can also opt for a hotpot with a divider if you wish to have two different soup bases. I opt for the latter because I have a phobia of tripping over wires and spilling all the hot soup and ingredients over. There are basically two different types to choose from – (i) an electrical hotpot (comes with wires and cables) or (ii) one with gas canister (stand-alone device with no wires pictured above). The basic equipment is of course a hotpot. If you would like to prepare a simple hotpot meal but are clueless about what to do, check out the following guide to get you started. – Dumplings are a symbol of wealth because they resemble ingots ( yuan bao 元宝 ancient Chinese currency). You can use either thin fish slices or yong tau foo (which are pieces of food with stuffed fish paste). – Fish & abalone is a symbol of abundance (年年有余/年年包有余). Hence do not cut them to shorter lengths. – Prawns are a symbol of happiness (sounds like “ha” in Cantonese, hence 笑 “哈哈”).
* Do note that certain foods (such as tau pok aka stuffed bean curd puffs and fresh yong tau foo pieces) do not keep well overnight in the fridge, as they easily become sour the next day. – Some cultures believe that having cooked rice on the table is a must (whether you eat it or not), as it is a symbol of prosperity. – Refrain from bitter foods such as bittergourd and also sour foods as they are considered inauspicious. You can use the leftovers to make more hotpot meals or other dishes in the coming days. The Chinese prefer to have leftovers which symbolizes lots of savings in the coming year.
Do not say things like “let’s try to finish all the food”. – Try to prepare excess food with the intention for leftovers* for the following 1-2 days. Ingredients for a Sumptuous Hot Pot (Steamboat) Feast It can be really lavish (with lobster, abalone etc) or really simple.
– You can choose almost any ingredients for your hotpot based on your preference and budget. If you’re staying in a hot tropical country like Singapore, take it as a free detox suana session, just down lots of cold beer (or cold drinks) to stay cool p – It keeps you warm if you are enjoying it in winter. Just make sure you coordinate who are bringing which ingredients so that there is no duplication. – It’s a healthy meal, as you are enjoying the food which has been briefly cooked in hot broth. – You get to sit around the table for a long time as you cook your own food, hence promoting interaction and bonding. – You can do hotpot again over the next 1-2 days with the leftovers, especially useful when many eating places, markets and shops are closed during the first few days of CNY. 2) or as many people (like 20) as you like simply by adjusting the quantity of ingredients. – You can easily prepare a meal for as few people (e.g. Hence anyone can host a fail-proof, yummy meal. – It is so easy to prepare, it involves more of logistics (gathering ingredients) rather than any expertise in cooking. Why hotpot/steamboat is an ideal meal for CNY and social gatherings: