Family style hotpot

Today we had a special dinner at my sister-in-law’s house. My two oldest children will leave for the US on Monday, so we had hotpot- home style.

There are many restaurants that specialize in this dish, but there’s something special about having it at home, maybe like a holiday Turkey in the west.

First, let’s look at what is inside. The first picture has the base, cabbage, Chinese radishes, and corn. We also use goose stock in the soup.

Now let’s look at the options that can be added Thinly sliced pork.

These are water Lily stems.

Cabbage can be added at any time and it’s the most common ingredient.

Baby corn, broccoli, and really nice mushrooms.

Tofu is also a very common. This is a little stiffer than the common white really soft one.

And finally cilantro. This is a very common ingredient for the Hakka ethnic group.

Oops, i spoke to soon. Here is some raw beef to be cooked individually- everyone has a different preference for cooked meat.

The fish is already cooked, so let’s get to the cooked food that doesn’t get tossed into the pot.

Barbecue pork ribs. This was strange because it’s not a dish that our family usually has, and I’ve never seen it served with hotpot- but it’s welcome anytime!