Mongolian Feast: The Art Of Cooking Mongolian Hot Pot

Mongolian hot pot is a popular soup in northern China, and a cornerstone of home cooking in Asia. It is similar to fondue, with a large pot of broth and lots of foods that everyone cooks themselves. It is an interactive, fun and festive meal.

The key to a successful hot pot is the base broth, which is intensely flavoured. The broth is usually made with chicken or beef stock, and can be spiced with ingredients such as ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and red pepper flakes. The broth is then brought to a boil, and thinly sliced meats such as beef, lamb, or chicken are cooked in the broth. Vegetables such as bok choy, mushrooms, and carrots are then added, followed by noodles. The meal is often served with a dipping sauce made with roasted sesame paste, peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, sherry, vinegar, sugar, and spicy red chili oil.

How to make the broth

To make the broth for a Mongolian hot pot, you'll need to gather a variety of ingredients, including meats, vegetables, spices, and noodles. Here's a step-by-step guide:

• Prepare your ingredients: For the broth, you'll need a combination of meats such as beef, lamb, or chicken. You'll also need vegetables like bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, green onions, and garlic. In addition, gather spices like ginger, red pepper flakes, soy sauce, and brown sugar. Finally, you'll need noodles of your choice, such as soba or Chinese noodles.
• Marinate the meat: In a large plastic bag or container, combine the meat with some of the spices and ingredients like soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Marinate in the refrigerator for a few hours or up to 24 hours for more intense flavour.
• Heat your cooking vessel: Use a large pot, wok, or Dutch oven and heat it over high heat. You can also use an electric wok, electric skillet, or portable induction cooktop, especially if you're serving a large group.
• Cook the meat: Add a small amount of oil to your cooking vessel and lift the meat from the marinade. Quickly stir-fry or cook the meat until it is lightly browned. Remove the meat from the pan and set it aside.
• Sauté the vegetables: Add a little more oil to the pan and stir-fry or sauté the vegetables for a couple of minutes. This includes bok choy, mushrooms, scallions or green onions, and carrots.
• Add the broth: To the vegetables, add the reserved marinade, water or chicken broth, and any additional spices or seasonings. Bring the mixture to a boil.
• Simmer the noodles: Stir in the noodles of your choice and simmer until they are tender. Follow the package instructions for the cooking time of your chosen noodles.
• Return the meat to the pot: After the noodles are cooked, add the browned meat back to the pot and let it heat through. This ensures that the meat is cooked to perfection.
• Season to taste: At this point, you can add additional seasonings or spices to enhance the flavour of the broth. You can also add Chinese hot pepper oil or chilli oil for an extra kick.
• Serve hot: Ladle the hot pot into bowls and serve with chopsticks. You can also provide dipping sauces on the side, such as a sesame dipping sauce made with roasted sesame paste or peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, and chilli oil.

Remember, the key to a successful Mongolian hot pot is in the broth, so feel free to adjust the seasonings and ingredients to your taste. Enjoy the process of creating this delicious and interactive meal!

Preparing the ingredients

For the broth, you will need to gather the following ingredients: garlic, ginger, green onions, Chinese dried dates, black cardamom seeds, dried astragalus root, dried lotus seeds, goji berries, white pepper, and, if you like your hot pot spicy, Chinese dried red chilli peppers and chilli powder. You will also need to prepare a bone broth, which can be made from chicken wings, drumsticks, and thighs, cooked in a pressure cooker or slow cooker.

For the hot pot itself, you will need thinly sliced meats, such as beef, lamb, or steak, and a variety of fresh vegetables, including bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, scallions, and carrots. You can also add in tofu, glass noodles, dumplings, and leafy greens like spinach or napa cabbage.

Don't forget to prepare a dipping sauce to serve alongside. A simple sauce can be made by mixing roasted sesame paste or peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, sherry, vinegar, sugar, and spicy red chilli oil.

Cooking the meat

Mongolian hot pot is a fun and interactive meal, perfect for a celebration or a cold winter night. The key to this dish is in the preparation and timing of cooking the ingredients.

Firstly, you will need to prepare your thinly sliced meat. You can use beef, lamb, or a mixture of both. You can buy pre-sliced meats in the frozen section of most Asian grocery stores, or you can slice the meat yourself by partially freezing the meat and then using a sharp knife to cut thin slices. Place the meat in a resealable plastic bag with a marinade of soy sauce, oil, garlic, ginger, and any desired spices such as red pepper flakes or Chinese hot pepper oil. Allow this to marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.

Once your meat is ready, it's time to start cooking. In a large pot or wok, heat some oil over high heat. Quickly stir-fry the meat until it is lightly browned, this should only take about 1-2 minutes. Remove the meat from the pan and set it aside.

Now it's time to add the vegetables. Stir-fry your chosen vegetables for 1-2 minutes, then add the reserved marinade and stock. Bring this to a boil, then add your noodles and simmer until tender. Return the meat to the pot and cook just long enough for it to heat through.

Finally, finish your dish with a few drops of Chinese hot pepper oil, and serve immediately. Don't let it sit for too long, or the noodles will absorb the liquid and swell!

Cooking the vegetables

When it comes to cooking the vegetables for a Mongolian hot pot, there are several options to choose from. The most common vegetables used are bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, scallions or green onions, and carrots. However, you can also include other vegetables such as spinach, napa cabbage, sugar pea sprouts, tong ho, and green leaf lettuce.

To prepare the vegetables, start by slicing the bok choy thinly, either crosswise or into bite-sized pieces. For the shiitake mushrooms, wipe them clean, remove the stems, and slice them thinly. Slice the scallions thinly as well. As for the carrots, peel and cut them into thin slices or grate them. If you're using spinach or napa cabbage, cut them into bite-sized pieces similar to the bok choy.

Once you have prepared all the vegetables, heat some oil in a large skillet or pot over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and crushed red pepper, if using, and cook until tender. Then, add the bok choy stems and cook until tender as well. You can also add other vegetables that require a longer cooking time at this stage, such as napa cabbage or carrots.

After the mushrooms and bok choy stems are tender, add the rest of the vegetables to the skillet or pot. Cook until all the vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. This usually takes around 3 to 5 minutes.

Once the vegetables are cooked to your liking, they can be added to the hot pot broth along with the tofu and noodles. Simmer everything together for a few minutes until heated through. You can also add raw vegetables directly to the hot pot broth and cook them in the broth itself. This is especially common for leafy greens like bok choy and spinach, which only need a few minutes to cook in the hot broth.

Serving suggestions

Mongolian hot pot is a fun and interactive meal, perfect for sharing with family and friends. It is similar to fondue, with a large pot of broth placed in the centre of the table, surrounded by plates of various ingredients for cooking in the broth. It is a one-pot meal, so everyone helps themselves from the communal pot.

To serve a Mongolian hot pot, first prepare all the ingredients and place them on plates around the pot. For a traditional Mongolian hot pot, you will need thinly sliced lamb, cellophane noodles (soaked in hot water for 20 minutes beforehand), and leafy green Chinese vegetables such as bok choy or spinach. You can also add tofu, which goes well with the sesame sauce.

Once you are ready to serve, each person takes a slice of lamb and dips it into the hot broth to cook it. This will only take a few seconds due to the meat being thinly sliced. They can then remove the cooked lamb and eat it, dipping it into the sauce as they wish. Once everyone has finished cooking their lamb, the remaining ingredients are added to the pot and cooked for a few minutes. This will usually include tofu, noodles, and vegetables. Finally, the cooked food is divided among everyone's bowls, and more sauce can be added if desired.

Mongolian hot pot is a very versatile dish, and you can add or substitute many different ingredients. You can use beef or chicken instead of lamb, and you can add shrimp, scallops, or fish cakes. For the vegetables, you can use spinach, napa cabbage, or mushrooms. You can also add different types of noodles, such as udon or rice noodles.

Frequently asked questions