Chinese Hot Pot Recipes

Chinese Hot Pot Recipes

Chinese Hot Pot is a meal in itself, perfect to serve six people after the show or for a leisurely evening of dinner and conversation.  Slice the food and make sauces early.  When guests are hungry, just heat the broth and set out sauces and artistically arranged tidbits.

Everything on the tray is raw, of course—chunks of eggplant, crosscut strips of sirloin, halved fresh mushrooms, thin slice of chicken breasts, squares of Chinese cabbage, shelled shrimp.  Fresh spinach to simmer along with the other foods is ready in a large salad bowl.  The cooking liquid is chicken broth that boasts a faint overtone of ginger.  Pick out a few choice tidbits at a time—with chopsticks, bamboo tongs, long handled forks, or wire ladles—and drop them in the lazily bubbling broth.  In a few minutes, fish them out, dip into the zesty sauces, and eat with fluffy rice, garnished with parsley.

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound large raw shrimp, shelled (about 12 shrimp)
• 2 uncooked chicken breasts, skinned and boned, sliced very thin across grain
• 1/2 pound uncooked beef sirloin, sliced very thin across grain
• 1/2 head Chinese cabbage or 1 head lettuce heart, coarsely cubed
• 1 cup cubed eggplant or 1-5 ounce can water chestnuts, drained and sliced thin
• 1 1/2 cups halved fresh mushrooms
• 4 cups small spinach leaves, with stems removed
• 6-13 3/4 ounce cans (10 1/2 cups) or 2-46 ounce cans chicken broth (not condensed)
• 1 tablespoon grated gingerroot or 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• Chinese Mustard
• Ginger Soy
• Peanut Sauce
• Red Sauce
• Hot cooked rice

Shortly before cooking time, arrange raw meats and vegetables on large tray or platter and fill bowl with spinach.  Provide chopsticks, bamboo tongs long handled forks, or wire ladles as cooking tools for guests.

In an electric skillet, chafing dish, or Mongolian cooker, heat chicken broth and ginger to a gentle boil for cooking.

Set out little bowls of the dunking sauces.  Each guest picks up desired food with chopsticks or tongs and drops it into the bubbling broth.  When tidbits are cooked, he lifts them out and dips into sauces on plate.  Serve individual bowls of hot rice and Chinese tea

Dinner is dramatic, and definitely “company,” when Chinese specialties are cooked and served at the table.  The surprise:  There’s a minimum of last minute fuss.  Almost all Oriental dishes require a certain amount of chopping and slicing ahead of time—but the results are worth it.  Small pieces get done quickly, the flavor is exotic, and guests can cook their own right at the table.

Try out this Chinese Hot Pot Recipe and let us know how much you enjoyed it.