Steamboat
This dish is named after the utensil in which it is cooked — a type of fondue with a funnel and a moat. The moat is filled with stock, traditionally kept hot with charcoal. Electric steamboats or any traditional fondue pots can be used instead.
Ingredients
- 8 Chinese dried mushrooms, soaked for 30 minutes in warm water to cover
- 1.5 litres / 2½ pints / 6¼ cups well-flavoured chicken stock, home-made if possible
- 10ml / 2 tsp rice wine or medium-dry sherry
- 10ml / 2 tsp sesame oil
- 225g / 8oz each lean pork and rump steak, thinly sliced
- 1 skinless boneless chicken breast, thickly sliced
- 2 chicken livers, trimmed and sliced
- 225g / 8oz raw prawns, peeled
- 450g / 1Ib white fish fillets, skinned and cubed
- 200g / 7oz fish balls (from Asian food stores)
- 115g / 4oz fried beancurd (tofu), each piece halved
- leafy green vegetables, such as lettuce, Chinese leaves, spinach leaves and watercress, cut into 15cm / 6in lengths
- 225g / 8oz Chinese rice vermicelli
- 8 eggs
- selection of sauces, including soy sauce with sesame seeds; soy sauce with crushed ginger; chilli sauce; plum sauce and hot mustard
- 1/2 bunch spring onions, chopped salt and ground white pepper
Preparation
 |
- Drain the mushrooms, reserving the soaking liquid. Cut off and discard the stems; slice the caps finely.
- Pour the stock into a large saucepan, with the rice wine or sherry, sesame oil and reserved mushroom liquid. Bring the mixture to the boil, then season with salt and white pepper. Reduce the heat and simmer gently while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
- Put the meat, fish, beancurd, green vegetables and mushrooms in bowls on the table. Soak the vermicelli in hot water for about 5 minutes, drain and place in eight soup bowls on a small table. Crack an egg for each diner in a small bowl; place on a side table. Put the sauces in bowls beside each diner.
- Add the chopped spring onions to the pan of stock, bring it to a full boil and fuel the steamboat. Pour the stock into the moat and seat your guests at once. Each guest lowers a few chosen morsels into the boiling stock, using chopsticks or fondue forks, leaves them for a minute or two, then removes them with a small wire mesh ladle, a fondue fork or pair of chopsticks.
- When all the meat, fish, beancurd and vegetables have been cooked, the stock will be concentrated and wonderfully enriched. Add a little boiling water if necessary. Bring the soup bowls containing the soaked noodles to the table, pour in the hot soup and slide a whole egg into each, stirring until it cooks and forms threads.
Serves 8.