Name: The Hot Pot ( )
Yield: Makes about 10 Servings
Cuisine: China
Ingredients: 2 bunches watercress; 8 firm fresh bean curd cakes (2 pounds total), frozen for 24 hours; 1 pound spinach; 1½ pounds mum greens; 1½ pounds firm white fish fillets, such as sea bass or striped bass, half-frozen; ½ cup finely sliced scallions; ⅓ cup finely sliced fresh coriander leaves; 1½ pounds boneless lamb loin, half-frozen; 1½ pounds boneless beef fillet, half-frozen; 8 ounces fresh white button mushrooms; 8 cubes red wet preserved bean curd mashed with ½ cup bean curd juice and 2 teaspoons sugar; 8 cups iceberg lettuce leaves; 4 two-ounce packages bean thread noodles; 2½ quarts Chicken Stock; ⅓ cup double dark soy sauce; ¼ cup Hot Pepper Oil; ⅓ cup light soy sauce; ⅓ cup Shaoxing wine; ⅓ cup sesame oil; ⅓ cup Chinkiang vinegar; 6 tablespoons sugar; ¼ cup minced garlic; ¼ cup sesame seed paste mixed with 2 tablespoons double dark soy sauce

Preparation info

Makes about
10
Servings

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking

By Eileen Yin-Fei Lo

Published 2009

About

A legacy of northern China, this communal dish is said to have originated among the northern nomads before spreading to Beijing and beyond. It was a traditional dish of the Muslims, who subsisted on mutton and vegetables and ate no pork. Often referred to as a Mongolian hot pot, it called for placing a vessel holding a substantial stock or soup in the center of a table and heating the contents to a boil. Pieces of raw meat and vegetables were slipped into the hot liquid, where they cooked q