Steamboat Sizzle - Carlingford, Sydney

Steamboat sessions are favoured in the middle of winter. In China, they are referred to "huo guo" or hot pot, and traditionally use charcoal instead of the contemporary cooking gas. Close cousins are the Lancastershire hotpot in the UK; the canh chua in Vietnam;  the flower peppery Chongqing hotpot; and the shabu-shabu from Japan.

A tasty and rich stock base that has been brewed before hand sets the stage for a gathering with inner warmth and nurturing engagement, especially amongst friends and relatives.  There are lots of slicing and cutting in the preparations leading up to the meal. The idea is to faciltate naturally responsive cooking in the hot soup, once the ingredients are poured into the bubbling brew!

Popular ingredients are seafood, tofu, all types of vegetables, dumplings, noodles, poached eggs, all varieties of meat and seafood balls and meat slices.  The sauces accompanying each steamboat session can vary, depending on the region and climate. Chili oil, white pepper, scallion, garlic, sesame oil, vinegar, hoisin sauce and soy sauce are the usual condiments.

Vegetables are carefully chosen to add to the flavour of the soup.  The gas cooker has to be turned up or down according to the nature and volume of the ingredients.  I reckon the resulting texture and combinations of flavours are critical to a successful steamboat meal. There was salmon served on this occasion, its richness contrasting with lighter slices of fish.

Fruits in season in New South Wales currently are represented by the pears, Nashi and dark colured seedless grapes, as in the picture above.

There are restaurants that just specialise in such fare, labelling themselves from Mongolian to Thai.

Steamboats encourage conversation, participation, laughter and engagement. You cook to the exact extent that you prefer, dish out your morsel and then consume it with your choice of sauce  or condiment.  One of the features of having a steamboat meal is the use of a variety of cutlery and crockery - it can range from Western to classic Chinese (image below).  One  requires a set of things - the miniature scoop net to dish out your cooked items; soup spoons; holders for sauces and condiments; ladles and various plates placed on the table to hold the many uncooked ingredients. 

Why are there two steamboat pots going along? (Image below)

The one in the background has a spicy tom yum flavour, whilst the green coloured pot held the plain version.  Above, custard puffs from Ju to add sweet taste after the steamboat meal was completed.  Ju mentioned the use of Thermomix in coming up with the nice pastry puffs.

The above pictures were taken at the home of Susan and Boo Ann Yap in Carlingford NSW in July 2012.