There is no better way welcome the Year of the Tiger than with a delicious meal shared among friends or family. However you celebrate the Lunar New Year, we hope that it is filled with good cheers, good food and good company.
Lunar New Year Giftables
Celebrate with Hot Pot
If you are looking for inspiration on what dish to make to celebrate Lunar New Year, a traditional Chinese hot pot is as delicious as it is fun to enjoy.
There are no rules when it comes to hot pot. As long as there is enough of everything to go around, you can choose to make all the elements from scratch, or buy pre-made from your local Asian market. Serve your favourite assortment of items, using the ingredients list below as a suggestion.
EQUIPMENT
- hot pot, double-sided if preferred, or regular low-sided pot
- portable electric or butane burner
- serving platters, 1 per type of ingredient
- serving chopsticks or tongs, 1 pair per serving platter
- condiment bowls, 1 per condiment (optional)
- chopsticks, 1 pair per person
- soup spoons, 1 per person
- hot pot strainers, 1 per person
- small bowls to eat out of, 1 per person
- sauce dishes, 1 per person
INGREDIENTS
8 to 12 Pork Wontons
8 to 12 Mushroom, Spinach & Tofu Dumplings
8 to 12 Pork Meatballs
8 to 12 Prawn Balls
4 to 6 cups (1 to 1.5 L) assorted greens, such as baby bok choy, siu choy, gai lan and/or chrysanthemum leaves, washed and trimmed
2 to 3 cups (500 to 750 ml) mushrooms, such as oyster, king oyster, enoki and/or shimeji, trimmed and thinly sliced if needed
1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
½ lotus root, peeled and thinly sliced
½ daikon, peeled and thinly sliced
½ small winter melon, peeled and cut into 1-in (2.5 cm) chunks
¼ small kabocha squash, sliced into ½-in (1.25 cm) slices
3 cups (750 ml) assorted soy products, such as medium-firm tofu, tofu skin and/or tofu puffs
assorted sliced hot pot meats*, such as pork shoulder, lamb shoulder and/or prime rib beef
assorted seafood, such as scallops, prawns, cod, snapper, fish balls and/or fish tofu, cut into bite-sized pieces if needed
8 oz (250 g) fresh wheat noodles, such as thin Shanghai noodles
7 oz (210 g) package shirataki noodles, drained and well rinsed
8 oz (250 g) sliced rice cakes
assorted condiments, such as Chinese sesame paste, soy sauce and/or chili sauce
Ginger & Green Onion Oil, for dipping
FOR PAIRING
STEPS
Prepare broth(s): this can be done up to 3 days ahead. When ready to serve, place portable burner in middle of table. Place pot over burner, then pour in broth(s) and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
Arrange ingredients on serving platters, keeping vegetables, seafood, meats and starches separate. Frozen ingredients such as dumplings and meatballs do not need to be defrosted as they can cook from frozen. Place a pair of chopsticks or serving tongs on each platter. Serve condiments in their original containers or in bowls, if desired.
When ready to eat, increase burner heat to high and bring broth(s) to a rolling boil. Everyone can now cook whichever ingredients they’d like to eat. Start with items that will take the longest. The usual order is: firm vegetables (simmer until soft throughout), dumplings (simmer for 5 to 8 minutes**, or according to package instructions, until they float to top of broth), mushrooms (simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, or until cooked through**) and meatballs (simmer for 5 to 8 minutes, or until cooked and hot throughout**). Then cook green vegetables (simmer to preferred doneness) and sliced meats (simmer for 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until fully cooked**). Pre-cooked items such as tofu can be cooked at any time and simmered for 30 seconds to 1 minute**, or until hot throughout. Cook noodles and other starches at the end (simmer to preferred doneness) to avoid broth becoming too starchy. Use serving chopsticks and tongs rather than your own set of chopsticks to place ingredients in pot, in order to avoid cross-contamination with raw meat and seafood.
Each time ingredients are placed in broth, increase heat to return broth to a boil for 30 seconds to 1 minute before removing any previously added ingredients, then reduce heat to medium-low and maintain a simmer. You will be constantly adjusting the burner to maintain the heat of the broth.
While food is cooking, mix up a dipping sauce in your sauce dish using your preferred condiments. Once items are cooked, remove them from the pot to your bowl with a strainer, then dip into your sauce, eat and repeat!
If broth starts to reduce, top up with boiling water and ensure it is at a boil before placing in any new ingredients.
Serves 4 to 6
*You can purchase pre-sliced hot pot meats at your local Asian grocer. Or, freeze meat for about 20 to 30 minutes to make it easier to slice, then slice as thinly as possible. It’s nice to have a few types and cuts of meat.
**Cooking times are measured from when the broth comes back up to a boil, not from when the item is placed in the pot.