We welcomed Elizabeth home from Ireland yesterday evening with our very own hot pot. For years I've talked about putting one together, and I guess I always put it off because the whole ordeal seemed a little daunting to me. When you've been to shabu-shabu and all your ingredients come so prettily displayed on a platter, no muss no fuss, it can be a little intimidating. (The butcher at Hy-Vee gave me a wry look as I was explaining my master plan to him, but calling it a "Chinese fondue" seemed to put it all to rights.) I'll admit that this article ("I heard [it] on NPR") helped me quite a bit, esp wrt dipping sauces; and I got a lot of the more exotic items, e.g. fried tofu, baby bok choy, fish balls, at the local Korean market. The going was a bit slow at first, but once the broth was rolling so to speak, I was mightily impressed with the results. Even G ate an impressive share for being new. My only wish is that I had thought to get a picture of all the pretty vegetables in the pot. Next time.
02 April 2009
My First Hot Pot
We welcomed Elizabeth home from Ireland yesterday evening with our very own hot pot. For years I've talked about putting one together, and I guess I always put it off because the whole ordeal seemed a little daunting to me. When you've been to shabu-shabu and all your ingredients come so prettily displayed on a platter, no muss no fuss, it can be a little intimidating. (The butcher at Hy-Vee gave me a wry look as I was explaining my master plan to him, but calling it a "Chinese fondue" seemed to put it all to rights.) I'll admit that this article ("I heard [it] on NPR") helped me quite a bit, esp wrt dipping sauces; and I got a lot of the more exotic items, e.g. fried tofu, baby bok choy, fish balls, at the local Korean market. The going was a bit slow at first, but once the broth was rolling so to speak, I was mightily impressed with the results. Even G ate an impressive share for being new. My only wish is that I had thought to get a picture of all the pretty vegetables in the pot. Next time.
