Every family has their own expectations of what steamboat should be, right down to the name. Mom always called it steamboat, but most people I know call it hot pot. This past month, we had four hot pot meals with different families, including my own. I came to realize and appreciate how each family had their own 'recipe' and method for hot pot. For me, the way steamboat should go is to start with plain water, although many others start with seasoned broth. Add the meats and seafood in to start seasoning the broth. We coat many of the meats with raw egg or soy sauce to enhance the broth. In regards to ingredients, my mom always hand-sliced all the meats, and although very popular among most other hot pot tables, we did not have the assortment of fish/meat balls, probably because we lived far from an Asian market. Nowadays, we get the meat pre-sliced shabu-shabu style, and our feast also includes meat/fish balls. Vegetables were almost an after thought in our house, but it was always napa cabbage. My friend, though, searched multiple stores to find a particular vegetable that she considered to be the quintessential green for the occasion. My family saved noodles for last to enjoy with the broth we made; a stone soup of sorts. I have yet to see another family do that. I recall eating glass noodles as a kid, perfect for a delicate broth, but now I enjoy wheat noodles. Udon noodles also seem to be popular in other families. Another highly contended variation is the dipping sauce. Many people I know go to the trusty Taiwanese BBQ sauce, something I had never tasted until having hot pot with my in-laws. It's delicious, but I still prefer what I grew up with, of course. It is a variations of a family friend. He was a friend of my paternal grandfather, who I've seen as a kid while visiting Bangkok in the early 90's. It was quite well known from what I remember my mom telling me at the time.
Must haves at steamboat: Egg and soy sauce coated Chicken and Beef, Shrimp, Squid, Sliced Fish, Glass noodles, Napa cabbage, Tofu
Dipping Sauce:
- Preserved tofu with chili
- Lemon or Lime juice
- Sugar
- Cilantro
- Garlic Oil (1 head of garlic, minced, then gently heated in about 3/4 cup of oil until golden brown. Be careful with the heat, it will continue cooking after the heat is removed)
- Chili or chili sauce
- Crushed peanuts
- In a small saucepan, heat the tofu and stir, mashing the tofu into a paste.
- Add sugar to taste.
- Take off the heat and squeeze in lemon juice.
- Add a little water to thin out the sauce.
- Stir in chopped cilantro and chili.
- Spoon on garlic oil. Top with crushed peanuts and more cilantro.
Nesting On A Hill 