A STEAMY AFFAIR

Sorry to disappoint folks, but this posting has nothing to do with any new scandal to hit our shores, although the title of the blog seems to suggest so.

On the contrary, this posting is about an easy-to-prepare meal at home for that cold winter rainy night when it is just too wet to leave the home. A steamboat or hot pot meal is perfect for small to medium size families. To accomodate larger family gatherings, the host will definitely need to prepare more than one hot pot.

Items you will need for a steamboat or hot pot meal.

1. The cooktop.
An induction cooker would be perfect for the home. Lightweight and portable, an induction cooker cooks faster and is more energy efficient than its competition. An added advantage is that it is children-safe-er since the outside of the cookware (pot) does not become dangerously hot. You can get branded ones these days for less than RM400. Mine is courtesy of Citibank.

2. The broth
Decide on the broth you want to serve, whether it is tom yam, herbal or my personal favourite, the plain ol' chicken soup, and prepare the broth a couple of hours before. To prepare plain ol' chicken soup, simply boil some chicken bones in a pot of water, throw in some Chinese wolfberry (Qi Zi) and dried scallops to sweeten, and a pinch of salt for taste. Make sure you prepare extra soup to refill the hot pot during the meal as the soup in the pot dries up rather quickly.

3. The ingredients
There is no hard and fixed rule here, just whatever you fancy that is within your budget. Fish, shrimp, mussel, crab, thinly sliced beef, fish or beef balls, tofu, green vegetables and eggs are all common ingredients that are recommended to be included into the pot.

4. The condiments
Prepare some fried shallots and garlic oil to add additional flavour to the soup. And being a true blue Malaysian, my meal would never be complete without a Dried Shrimp Sambal or Chilli Sauce dip as an accompaniment.

Now, sit back and relax or catch up on that Ah Girl or Ah Boy story with that relative you have not met in years, while the ingredients are cooking in the pot.

Bon Appetit!