Oct
09
Hot Pot
Fall food: something hot, satisfying and maybe even a little fatty. It’s true, I tend to eat more when the weather gets chillier. A smoker may wish his paranoia away, thinking, how nice would it be if I could smoke on and on and never worry about lung cancer. For fall I may have similar, quite useless thoughts towards food, thinking..how nice would it be to indulge in all this comfort food and not worry so much about my weight or the unhealthy consequences… Well this time I am indulging and NOT worrying. This is a chinese dish so I know 100% I’m not doing things the proper way (as I am not chinese) but I think everyone can benefit from trying food from different cultures. Pizza and Burgers are my favorites too but life is too short to confine yourself. A hot pot today with chinese sausage, marinated chicken and mushrooms all steamed over rice.
The spine of this dish is marinated chicken. I am using a combination of white meat and dark meat, but it’s not crazy to do all dark meat because it’s more flavorful. I used that Maggi soy sauce, with sake, crushed garlic, lemon, ginger, and peanut oil. Longer it sits the better. I never do recipes but you can check here if you want a more detailed explanation of this dish. Also I don’t think it would be bad to get a whole chicken and cut it with the skins on and everything…it may add more flavor. Maybe that is the more authentic way to do it.
I kept it quite simple for the ingredients here, chopped cilantro, red pepper, mushrooms, chinese sausage, and that chicken. This sausage is quite chewy and even a little sweet, it adds another dimension of flavor to the rice.
A side of pickled cabbages for a cold refreshing bite. Something to offset the heartiness of the rice pot dish.
And a sparkling beverage. Yes there is some alcohol in this soda-like, fruit flavored drink. The best part about these drinks is that it’s not so sweet. The yuzu was fantastic, and I love grapefruit juices as you already know. I don’t know maybe this is like the Japanese version of Mikes’ Lemonade??
Apply the concept of cooking rice, but just when the rice starts to set, add all the ingredients. That way all the flavors meld. A dish that screams fall.
It is quite easy for food snob types… -not the cool, Anthony Bourdain kind- but I’m talking about people who are very close-minded about food of different cultures..to write this dish off as unsophisticated or crude. Because in metropolitan areas people are much more open minded about food (from my stats I see most of my readers come from Los Angeles, New York, London, Paris..etc..) I can easily assume that this dish isn’t adventurous for my readers, in Asia this kind of food is quite normal, the least adventurous…..but I have come across those who give that “eye” when they see something unfamiliar or smelling a bit weird…And I went to a high school where everyone was pretty much this way about food with even my friends saying ‘korean food’ was kind of creepy…But I never understand why people are proud of this attitude or closeminded-ness. But on a more positive note, this one time I saw a white, super-waspy old-money kind of gentleman sitting next to me at the bar of Masa eating the whole head of a fish (every nook and cranny) along with the eyeballs! I just sat there thinking, only my dad does this kind of thing! Well I guess I am no different from those judgemental food types…I just can’t eat the eyeballs…I have lines and you know I have to draw them!
This is like my Ina Garten spin on this dish, the Creuset pots just remind me of her…I added extra soy sauce and cilantro.
Good combo! Althought the sausage part intrigues me, I’d love to try it.
YUM! Might be nice to do a chinese herbal stock to flavor the rice and add a quail egg.
Xiao Meng Xiang Hot Pot Soup Mix
I’ve been reading and devouring your blog for quite some time, and I am finally breaking my comment cherry on here. Personally, being Chinese myself, I would use a stone/clay pot to further enhance the flavors of the ingredients. Leaving the chicken skin would also give this dish another dimension of flavor. I know I know, you already disclaimed that this isn’t the most authentic.
BUT, I have to admit you executed this very well and with your own fabulous twist (as always)!
P.S. I participated in your Margiela blazer auction a few months back. I was beyond devastated when I was out-bid by $5. Seriously.
Wow! Another food post! That’s actually strange cause just yesterday my dad made it for my family too! Not as sophisticated as yours though he just threw everything along with the rice in the rice cooker. My mum bought two types of those sausages from Hong Kong. I think i might want to try your version now.
Although I always get the sideways stares when I decide to venture into the kitchen in an attempt to make something other than pancakes I feel compelled to give this a try. The pictures have my stomach yelling in hunger but I may cop out and use the rice cooker. Either ways its perfect timing as I’m having a kick off to chaos that is planning a wedding this weekend and outside of the liquor I was drawing a blank on what to cook
This Korean guy I used to work with brought in a sushi roll that was made of dinner leftovers — I think it had some hamburger meat in it. I really did give him the weird eye but that was hands down the most delicious and memorable leftovers ever; and not messy the way that leftovers seem to be.
And my adorable Korean friend made me breakfast this one time- like, hot dogs and little pancakes and lichee fruit — again, an unexpected combo but I totally enjoyed it.
This looks delicious! I love that sausage, but it’s meant to be cooked (can’t be eaten “raw”, according to my moms). I don’t know how long you’re steaming them, but you might want to add the sausage before you add the other ingredients.
my mum makes this all the time, and in the ricecooker cuz you dont have to worry about the rice burning. I’d suggest slicing the mushrooms to make it easier to consume, and frying the chinese sausage to get the grease going, and adding some spring onion batons into the hot oil before mixing into the rice. makes it taste sooo good.
no need to apologize for not knowing Chinese food or whatever.. many online cooks do waaay worse than you with such pretentiousness it makes me retch
I’m one of those West Coasters who is dying for our weather to cool down enough that comfort foods like this are doable. Now, if I can only find the sausage. Hmmm, Santa Barbara … A quest! Thanks for sharing!
Just mouthwateringly gorgeous! I’m sure it tastes even better. The weather cooled down here in Montreal, perfect time to get the “Ina Garten” Creuset pots and get buisy:) Iwon’t get tired of repeting myself by saying yet another amazing food post. Congratulations!
this looks super delish!
Loyal reader from the Midwest!
Gorgeous! I love those sauce mini pitchers
where are they from?
Yummie it looks fantastique <3
Im such a fan of your fod work… I’m amazed every time!
ate a fish eyeball once, had to swallow it whole; hard as a rock
yeah it’s like our claypot chicken rice here…
http://goo.gl/kbgxO
my family is Jamaican and they eat the fish head as well, eyeballs and all. I cannot. Love your blog! – from Toronto
Looks good! Only “wah eww” to the Maggi sauce. Here in Germany this stuff exists maybe since the 60s and is known for people who are unable to cook, also for being artificial taste. I would suggest you better stick to naturally brewed soy sauce again.
Did you remove the outer layer of wax skin around the lapcheong (chinese sausage)? The layer easily separates itself from the sausage when soaked in water for about 10 minutes. That way, the fragrance from the lapcheong also seeps into the rice as you cook them together.
Ah…only ONE key ingredient missing – a generous dash of Shaoxing Rice Wine into the chicken marinate would have made it more tender, more aromatic and would infuse the rice with a richer broth.
Looks so yummy. I would also use a claypot so the rice gets a little burnt and add a bit of Shaoxing wine into the marinade.
Sometimes I just put two Chinese sausages into the rice cooker – it makes the rice taste so dang good!
always a huge fan of your food posts… I have such a soft spot for your Chinese food as well. I grew up with old world Chinese parents that cooked traditional fare, fish head soup, duck tongue, pig ears, gizzards — until recently I failed the appreciate the meaning of opening my palate to food groups outside of the US comfort zone, but now I realize what a strong association food can be with culture. the pride that my parents have when they cook a ridiculously comprehensive meal is indescribable, but the food truly speaks for itself.
Wow, this looks great! It looks rather similar to a dish called claypot rice, where everything’s cooked in, ding ding ding you’ve got it, a claypot! I really like that dish because the rice turns out all crispy at the bottom plus there’s a dark sauce added (along with salted egg) that makes it all the more flavourful. Just recommending it for you to try next time!
I think what you’re making is similar to the Chinese claypot casserole rather than hot pot. Only because when I think hot pot, its more like tha Japanese shabu shabu where you’d have a boiling pot of soup and you add meat, veggies, noodles etc in the pot to cook and eat it by dipping it in sauce. Other than that, all of your food post looks absolutely stunning and yummy!
I think my Grandma was into eating the eyes of a fish too… x_x