Mohammedan Firepot Recipes

MONGOLIAN FIRE POT

Steps:

• Divide the chicken, shrimp, flank steak, spinach leaves and tofu evenly and decoratively on individual platters for each guest.
• Bring the chicken stock, ginger and green onions to a simmer in a fondue pot.
• Your guests spear and cook their food with fondue forks.
• Try to keep the level of chicken stock at 6 cups by adding more to the fondue pot as needed.
• We also provided chopsticks for eating with.
• Suggested dipping sauces: Chinese hot mustard, sweet and sour sauce, peanut sauce and curry sauce.
• If desired, once all the ingredients have been cooked, add 2 beaten eggs, baby spinach and 4 ounces of cooked Chinese noodles to the hot chicken stock and serve in small soup bowls for a delicious soup.
• End the meal with fortune cookies and green tea ice cream.

SICHUAN HOT POT

Steps:

• For the soup base:
• In a wok over medium heat, add the oil and the ginger. Cook the ginger for about a minute until caramelized, making sure it doesn't burn. Add the bay leaves, whole garlic cloves, cinnamon stick, star anise, and cloves. Cook for another 2 minutes, until very fragrant.
• Add the Sichuan peppercorns, dried chilies (whole), and the spicy hot pot soup base. Cook for another 2 minutes, and then add the chicken stock. Bring to a boil and transfer to the pot you'll be using for your hot pot meal. You want the pot to be relatively wide and at least 6 inches deep.
• To make the dipping sauce, simply combine whatever mix of ingredients you like.
• To assemble the hotpot, simply plug in your hot plate, place the prepared pot of broth on top, and bring to a low boil or simmer. Place all of your prepared ingredients around it, have everyone mix up their own dipping sauces, and dive in. Each person just takes whatever they want, adds it to the pot, waits for it to cook, and then dips it into their sauce. As the water evaporates as you're cooking, add boiling water to the pot as needed. You can also serve rice with hot pot (we do), but it's not mandatory.

MONGOLIAN FIRE POT BEEF FILLET

Steps:

• Combine the beef broth, ginger, star anise, garlic, chili peppers, dark soy, salt and pepper in a pot large enough to hold the beef. Bring the broth to a boil and reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
• Season the beef with salt and pepper and add to the simmering broth. Return to the boil and reduce to a slow simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
• When the beef has reached medium rare, 135 degrees on a food probe, remove the beef to a platter and cool slightly before serving sliced.
• While the beef is cooling, strain the seasoning out of the broth, return the broth to the fire and add the carrot and celery to the broth. Simmer the broth for 10 minutes and serve with the sliced beef. Serve the scallions, coarse salt, chili paste, sesame oil and soy sauce as condiments.

CHINESE FIRE POT WITH FISH BALLS

Steps:

• For the table, jars/small bottles of the following to make your own dipping sauce:
• Thread beef, chicken, shrimp, fishballs and scallops on wooden skewers and set aside. Combine water and chicken stock in an electric wok and bring to a boil. Add mung bean noodles, cabbage, bok choy and shiitake mushrooms. Place skewers in pot and cook according to individual taste. Ladle broth into bowls with skewered meats and seafood and serve with condiments.
• Fish Balls:
• In a food processor, puree fish with egg yolks until smooth. Add pepper, salt, sesame oil, fish sauce, and chilies; pulse processor a few times. Transfer mousse to a large, chilled bowl and fold in the scallions. Using a mixer, lift the egg whites to a stiff peak. Gently fold in the egg whites with the mousse. Cook a very small portion either in boiling water or in a microwave oven to verify seasonings. Using wet hands, make small balls (1-inch in diameter). Quickly blanch in salted boiling water for only 2 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.

FIFTEEN MINUTE FIRE POT

Steps:

• Put the pot to boil with the water, salt and sliced ginger, covered with a lid. Arrange beef slices at the side of 4 individual plates. Pat scallops dry, discard crescent-shaped membrane and add to the plates. Cut bean curd in large cubes and add also to the plates. Discard stems from spinach and pile on plates. If using watercress, rinse the bunches, shake dry and twist off the stems. Pile leaves on the plates. Trim bok choy, cut in 1 inch slices and pile also on the plates. Trim and add the scallions. Chop the coriander and put in a small bowl to be added to the firepot with the rice noodles.
• For the sauce: stir together the sesame paste, soy sauce, chili paste and vinegar and adjust proportions to your taste. Put in 4 individual bowls. Transfer the pot to the table burner. Set plates of meat and vegetables at each place, with chopsticks and a bowl of sauce.
• Towards the end of the meal, add rice noodles and coriander to the pot and simmer 1 minute until just tender. If your firepot loses too much heat during the meal, add all the remaining ingredients and return the pot to the stove to finish cooking.

FIREPOT INGREDIENTS

Steps:

• THE INGREDIENTS: While the stock cooks, the raw ingredients can be sliced wafer-thin, then arranged attractively one layer deep on separate plates. To suit all tastes, about a dozen varieties should be provided. THE COOKING TECHNIQUE: The diner picks up whatever ingredients he wishes (meat, poultry and seafood at the beginning of the meal vegetables toward the end) and dips that ingredient into the section of the firepot directly in front of him. He may plunge the raw ingredient, as is, into the broth, or dip it first in a mixture of cornstarch, soy sauce and sherry. As soon as the meat changes color--or any other ingredient is cooked to his taste--he removes it and either eats it directly or dips it in a sauce mixture he has prepared in his own bowl varieties should be provided.The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook. ©1994 by Gloria Bley Miller.

FIREPOT STOCK

Steps:

• 1. Bring water to a boil in a 10-quart pot. Meanwhile bone chicken, reserving and refrigerating meat for use later. Add carcass to the pot along with ham bone, dried scallops and roast pig (not roast pork see Glossary). 2. Shell oysters and clams drain canned abalone. Add liquids to the pot, reserving and refrigerating meat. Bring to a boil then simmer, covered, 1 1/2 hours. 3. Strain stock, discarding bones and other particles. Return stock to pot and season with salt to taste. Cut each bean curd cake in 9 cubes and add. NOTE: Although any stock can be used for the Firepot, this recipe has the advantage of using the chicken and seafood for the broth and also for the ingredients added later. THE INGREDIENTS: While the stock cooks, the raw ingredients can be sliced wafer-thin, then arranged attractively one layer deep on separate plates. To suit all tastes, about a dozen varieties should be provided.The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook. ©1994 by Gloria Bley Miller.

*MONGOLIAN GRILL

Steps:

• Another type of do-it-yourself cooking, which comes out of Northern China and features lamb, is known as the Mongolian Grill. Unlike the firepot, this is a barbecue technique requiring a large open charcoal stove with a fine iron grating on top. (A good-sized hibachi with wire mesh covering can substitute.) For the fuel, pinewood-with the bark left on-is favored, with charcoal the second choice. The Mongolian Grill technique is suitable indoors or out. It calls for each diner to be given a bowl of mixed seasonings (see Mongolian Grill Seasoning Mixture) in which he marinates a paper-thin slice or two of lamb for a minute or so. Then he tosses the lamb onto the grate (the fuel has now been fanned to blazing) and quickly flips the slice back and forth with long chopsticks until it's grilled to his taste. (Some like their lamb crisp, others less well done in either case, the meat, being paper-thin, cooks in a matter of seconds.) The lamb is then eaten with plain buns or biscuits the next slice is prepared in the same manner.The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook. ©1994 by Gloria Bley Miller.

*FIREPOT COOKING

Steps:

• The Chinese Firepot, a festive type of chafing-dish cookery, is used not for single dishes but for preparing whole meals. Although the cook does all the advance preparation, the actual cooking is done by the diners right at the table. The basic technique is a simple one. It calls for a large pot of simmering stock a wide variety of meat, fish and vegetables, all raw, all cut wafer-thin and a selection of condiments. The diner, with chopsticks (or other utensils), picks up one piece of food at a time and immerses it in the stock just long enough to cook it. (Cooking time is extremely brief, ranging from a few seconds for leafy vegetables to a minute or two for pork.) The diner then dips the food in a blend of condiments he has mixed in his own bowl and eats it. The meal proceeds at a leisurely pace, in a relaxed, party-like atmosphere, and usually takes anywhere from two to three hours. Firepot cookery is essentially a winter activity, most appropriate when the weather is cold, brisk and nippy. It's known by many names: Boiling Firepot, Stove Party, Winter Chafing Dish or Chrysanthemum Pot (the latter, because white chrysanthemum petals are sometimes used as a garnish.) The Chinese name is Ho Go or Huo Kuo. EQUIPMENT: The firepot is literally a pot with a fire in it, fueled with either charcoal or alcohol. It is large, round, and made of shiny brass, with a funnel, like a small chimney, in the center. Surrounding the funnel is a container for the stock. Brass firepots, imported from the Orient and available in Chinese hardware stores, are luxury items. Other utensils, such as electric deep-fat fryers and large electric saucepans, can substitute nicely. (They should be set at high heat to bring the stock to a boil, then set at medium to maintain the simmering.) Large chafing dishes, earthenware casseroles, or simply large soup pots set on electric hotplates or hibachi stoves can also substitute. (With hot plates and hibachis, which do not generate very strong heat, the stock can be brought to a boil first over the kitchen stove.) THE STOCK: Firepot soup can be made with chicken stock, meat stock, or just plain water. As a rule the stock is served clear, although sometimes ingredients such as porkballs, smoked ham, sliced Chinese cabbage, mushrooms, bean curd and bamboo shoots may be added in advance to further enhance the flavor. During the party cooking time, the pot should be kept half full of stock, with more being added as it evaporates. It must also be kept constantly bubbling and simmering. THE INGREDIENTS: While the stock cooks, the raw ingredients can be sliced wafer-thin, then arranged attractively one layer deep on separate plates. To suit all tastes, about a dozen varieties should be provided. These can include: MEAT AND POULTRY-beefsteak, lean pork, roast pork, chicken, duck, ham, lamb, chicken livers and gizzards, calves' liver and pork kidneys. All raw meat should be cut as thin as possible, then in 1- by 1 1/2-inch strips. (The meat may be frozen first, thawed slightly, then sliced paper-thin and arranged on plates to complete the thawing.) Pork kidneys should be cleaned and parboiled before they are sliced. SEAFOOD-clams, oysters, prawns, shrimp, lobster, fresh and dried squid, fish balls, mussels and fish such as black bass, striped bass, halibut, pike, rock cod and sole. Clams and oysters are left whole, or cut in half, if large. Prawns, shrimp, lobster, mussels and fresh squid are sliced. (Dried squid must be soaked first.) Fish is boned, sliced as thin as possible, then cut in 2-inch squares. VEGETABLES-spinach, Boston lettuce, mustard cabbage, water cress, Chinese lettuce, bamboo shoots, snow peas, water chestnuts, bean curd, cucumbers, Mushrooms, dandelion greens and vegetable steak (see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION, 20- Glossary of Chinese Ingredients: T-Z). Spinach and lettuce leaves are left whole, Chinese lettuce and mustard cabbage cut in 2-inch sections all other vegetables sliced thin. The tough stern ends of water cress should trimmed off. CONDIMENTS AND SEASONINGS: Condiments are never added directly to the stock, but each is served separately in a small sauce dish. They can include several of the following: soy sauce, sherry, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, sesame paste, sugar, vinegar, red bean cheese, shrimp paste, soybean paste, plum sauce or hot mustard. Other dishes can include a selection of such seasonings as ginger root, fresh or pickled leeks, scallions, garlic, Chinese parsley or tea melon, each served separately. The soy sauce and the hot mustard should always be available and in the largest quantities-about three sauce dishes each. For the others, allow 1/4 to 1/2 cup each. Ginger root should be finely shredded or chopped, scallions and leeks cut in 1-inch sections the tough ends of parsley should always be trimmed off. NOTE: Other ingredients which can be set out include cornstarch (to be mixed with soy sauce and sherry as a coating for the meat before cooking) and raw eggs (to be combined with various condiments or poached directly in the soup at the end of the meal). THE TABLE SETTING: The table should be round, insulated against the heat of the firepot and protected against staining. (A formica-topped table with an asbestos pad is best.) At its center, within easy reach of all, is the firepot, and around it the plates of raw ingredients and the condiment dishes. The individual place settings should include the following: one dinner plate one soup bowl one soup spoon one pair of chopsticks (for cooking) or an individual wire mesh strainer, like a tea strainer (for dipping the ingredients) or a small skewer or a fork and spoon. Separate sets of chopsticks or silverware may be served for eating purposes. THE COOKING TECHNIQUE: The diner picks up whatever ingredients he wishes (meat, poultry and seafood at the beginning of the meal vegetables toward the end) and dips that ingredient into the section of the firepot directly in front of him. He may plunge the raw ingredient, as is, into the broth, or dip it first in a mixture of cornstarch, soy sauce and sherry. As soon as the meat changes color--or any other ingredient is cooked to his taste--he removes it and either eats it directly or dips it in a sauce mixture he has prepared in his own bowl. (He makes this mixture by taking small quantities from the various condiment dishes and blending them to suit himself. He may, for example, make an elaborate mixture with 1 tablespoon each of sugar, vinegar and sherry 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 teaspoon minced scallion, 1 teaspoon red bean cheese and 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil. He may also have a second bowl in which to beat a raw egg and may, for example, make a simple mixture by combining a small quantity of egg with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and a few drops of sesame oil.) He then eats the seasoned morsel along with a bit of parsley, garlic or scallion. The diner usually puts only one or two pieces of food into the stock at once and hangs on to them until they're done. He can, however, if he wishes, leave a few pieces in the pot to flavor the soup. About halfway through the meal, a small quantity of peastarch noodles (separately soaked in boiling water about 20 minutes to soften) is added to the stock. At the very end of the meal, the diner helps himself to the soup, which by then has become subtly and marvelously flavored by all the ingredients cooked in it. He adds this soup, spoonful by spoonful, to his bowl (which still contains some of his previously mixed condiments) until he gets the balance he likes between soup and seasonings. He then transfers to his bowl some of the peastarch noodles, which have now absorbed the good soup flavor. He may also add a raw egg to thicken his soup or poach an egg directly in the stock pot and eat it at the very end. The finale of the meal comes when the majority of diners feel they've had enough to eat. There is no dessert as such. Sometimes a hardboiled egg floating in warm sugar-water is served at the end of the meal.The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook. ©1994 by Gloria Bley Miller.

MOHAMMEDAN FIREPOT

Steps:

• NOTE: The liver is cooked lightly, the kidneys longer. THE COOKING TECHNIQUE: The diner picks up whatever ingredients he wishes (meat, poultry and seafood at the beginning of the meal vegetables toward the end) and dips that ingredient into the section of the firepot directly in front of him. He may plunge the raw ingredient, as is, into the broth, or dip it first in a mixture of cornstarch, soy sauce and sherry. As soon as the meat changes color·-or any other ingredient is cooked to his taste-he removes it and either eats it directly or dips it in a sauce mixture he has prepared in his own bowl.The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook. ©1994 by Gloria Bley Miller.