Hot Pot dinner is just the perfect meal for these cold winter nights. This is a communal way of eating where a pot of simmering broth is placed in the middle of the dining table. Various meats and vegetables are added to the broth which creates a rich and flavorful kind of stew. The most popular type of meat used are beef and pork which are sliced thinly. You may also use seafood such as shrimp, fish balls and fish fillets. For the vegetables you may add bok choy, spinach, napa cabbage and mushrooms to name a few. You can actually add anything you want in your hot pot, it’s really up to the diner’s taste or preference. Just make sure that your ingredients are cut into small pieces or sliced thinly so it cooks faster.

I don’t have a steamboat or hot pot cooker so I used my salad master multi purpose cooker. For the broth I placed a clove of garlic, a knob of ginger and 3 stalks of spring onions (white parts only) in the cooker and added 8 cups of water. I also placed 2 packets of instant dashi. When the broth comes to a boil you may add your meat and vegetable and any other ingredients you have. I used thinly sliced pork belly, assorted fish balls, bok choy and three kinds of mushrooms (enoki, white and brown beech mushrooms). I served this with steamed white rice and a dipping sauce of soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil.

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