Chinese New Year

Today marks the start of the Lunar New Year. One popular dish that families share when they get together is a hot pot. It's kind of like Chinese fondue and is popular throughout Asia.

Dipping noodles in the hot pot

A pot of broth is kept warm over some kind of burner (in this case a fondue pot over Sterno) and small
pieces of meat, fish, tofu and vegetables are dipped into the pot to cook or heat. We tried this at home with my two sons and a few other kids. It's amazing what kids will eat when they get to play with their food!

We dipped snow peas, shrimp, chicken, tofu, Bok Choy, spinach and noodles. Each person gets a small strainer like you see in the picture - they cost less than a dollar a piece at Asian markets. You plop the food into the pot and fish it out again a few minutes later. Those with advanced chopsticks skills can hold the food and gently dunk it until it is cooked, but the kids thought "fishing" was much more fun.

After the "fishing" the "dipping" begins. We put out soy sauce, Hoisin, sweet chili sauce and Chinese barbecue sauce. Each person can pick a sauce or mix a few to create his own personal blend to dip the cooked foods.

Some supplies for our hot pot party

At the end of all of the cooking, the broth develops a great flavor. We tossed in some ramen noodles and everyone enjoyed a bowl of soup.

You can read more about hot pot cooking and find some recipes in my recent article:
www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/jan/18/fusion-fondue