The Hunts - Day 29

Tonight, we had hot pot for dinner. "Hot pot, or less commonly Chinese fondue, refers to several Chinese varieties of steamboat stew. It consists of a simmering metal pot of stock at the center of the dining table. While the hot pot is kept simmering, ingredients are placed into the pot and are cooked at the table. Typical hot pot dishes include thinly sliced meat, leafy vegetables, mushrooms, wontons, egg dumplings, and seafood. The cooked food is usually eaten with a dipping sauce. In many areas, hot pot meals are often eaten in the winter." -Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Day177lilybday.JPG

I went to Uwajimaya today. I feel like I broke the bank this week with grocery shopping. It must've been because I had no idea what I wanted to make for dinner each night. I went into PFI on Monday blindly. Today, I went into Uwajimaya armed with a shopping list that was drawn up blindly. Not knowing what to make for dinner meant an incomplete shopping list. I knew this when I left the house. What I didn't know was that I would end up spending so much money. Yes, my cart was pretty full, but I usually walk out of there spending about $50. A little more was spent today...It wasn't like I got anything exotic, like matsutaki mushrooms, either. In fact, the mushrooms I left with were uninteresting, plain, sliced white button mushrooms. At least I got to park for free & I got my hands on some Beard Papa eclairs!

Anyway, our hot pot spread tonight consisted of thinly sliced beef & pork (I forget which cuts), some fish cake products in various shapes, fresh firm tofu, baby bok choy, julienne carrots, scallions, glass bean noodles, and those boring white mushrooms. I used a very light chicken broth for the soup base, which I drizzled a little bit of sesame oil into, and added some sliced red onions. The sauce is this "bbq" sauce that I can't even begin to describe with a little soy sauce. We also had a little seaweed salad on the side.

For a hot pot experience that you don't have to do at home, you can visit Seven Stars Pepper on 12th Ave and Jackson Street. They don't have all the exotic stuff in the wikipedia photo, but it's still fun and will give you a good experience.

Tomorrow's our last dinner...what will we have?