Stirring the Pot: Hot Pot Recipe!

It’s safe to say that I am NOT used to the cold weather yet. All the New Yorkers I know have reminded me that this is nothing compared to past winters, but I don’t care. I am literally freezing my buns off!

When you’ve lived your entire life in a near-perfect weather climate, snow storms, snow flurries and snow PERIOD is abnormal. A coworker even informed me today, “LB, it’s snowing in Hawaii!” It actually does snow on Mauna Kea, but never in an area that people actually populate. So, basically, snow is pretty dang foreign to me. 

After I grew tired of groaning and griping, I desperately searched for something to warm my body … and my bitter soul. The options were order-in ramen or cupboard ramen (you know, the endless packs of Ichiban ramen that your mom has consistently sent you since you moved). Nothing was striking a chord. 

After watching way too many YouTube videos featuring delicious food, I knew what I had to do. We needed hot pot, and we needed it now. So, JP and I pulled out our grandma cart and trekked the three long avenues to the closest Asian market, which happened to be H Mart. Here’s what I picked up:

• Dashi Packets
• Dried konbu (Seaweed)
• Soy Sauce (*Kikkoman)
• Daikon (Asian radish)
• Mushrooms (Shiitake, Enoki, King Oyster)
• Baby Boy Choy
• Napa Cabbage
• Green Onion
• Garlic (and lots of it!)
• Ginger
• Tofu
• Aburaage (Fried Tofu Puffs)
• Fish Balls (*Assorted)
• Spam
• Arabiki (Japanese Smoked Sausage Links)
• Sweet Potato Noodles (*Wide, Flat Style)
• Gyoza (*Fresh or Frozen)
• Thinly Sliced Beef (*Fresh or Frozen)
• Ddukk (Korean Rice Cake)

Carrying our loot home, I was the most excited I’ve been in a very long time. If you want to make this recipe at home, follow these instructions:

How to make your dashi from scratch

Ingredients: 

• Water (a few quarts)
• Daikon (peeled and cut into thick, 2-inch slices)
• Konbu (a few large pieces)
• Garlic Cloves (peeled, maybe 5 cloves)
• Onion (peeled, roughly dissected)
• Ginger (peeled, cut into smaller chunks)

Directions: 

Boil until radish is soft and konbu has expanded — around an hour. Remove ingredients and add four dashi packs, as well as tare-style mixture.

How to make tare mixture

When making traditional ramen, there is the dashi, or soup base, and the tare, which is the concentrated seasoning that adds a punch of flavor to the ramen. I used a similar approach for my hot pot recipe. 

Ingredients:

• Soy Sauce (I like to use Kikkoman, either the low-sodium or regular type)
• Chopped Garlic (4-5 cloves)
• Fish Sauce (half the amount of the soy sauce)
• Sugar (1 tablespoon)

Directions:

Combine the tare ingredients and add it into your boiling dashi little by little. Continue to taste test your broth until you achieve your desired umami flavor, and then simmer until ready to eat.

How to make the dipping sauce (optional)

Ingredients:

• Soy Sauce
• Chopped Garlic
• Fish Sauce
• Vinegar
• Sriracha
• Sambal Oelek
• Oyster Sauce
• Sugar
• Ginger (*Fresh, or you can reuse the ginger you used to make the dashi)
• Green Onions (*Chopped)
• Chinese Parsley

*Disclaimer: I’m sorry that I don’t have the exact measurement for each ingredient used, but I honestly don’t cook that way. I will try to measure the next time!

The rest is pretty easy. Cut your hot pot ingredients anyway you want (Think of how you would best enjoy consuming these items.) It’s optimal to have a portable stove with a wide pot, easily accessible by all members of your dining table. 

As the soup boils, plop your ingredients in any order you choose, and enjoy! We gladly ate hot pot for three days, and I’m happy to report that the coldness and bitterness melted away — well, at least a little bit.