Recipe: Chongqing Fire Pot

Cook-it-yourself communal dishes are always such a leisurely, interactive, and friendly way to eat. This Fire Pot recipe is Chongqing's most popular dish. For this meal, you will need a crock pot or other warming vessel to keep the broth simmering at the table. And since the noodle soup isn't served until the end of the meal, A simple dish of stir-fry vegetables and some steamed rice would make a good accompaniment for the skewered meats to round out the menu.

Chongqing Fire Pot

Soup Ingredients:
8 cups savory stock (beef, chicken, or pork)
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced
1 pound beef tenderloin, thinly sliced
1 pound shrimp peeled, deveined
8 mushrooms (hothouse, shiitake, etc.), quartered or thickly sliced
4 scallions, thinly sliced
2 cups napa cabbage, thinly shredded
1 cup bean sprouts
4 portions long noodles (cellophane or wheat), prepared according to package directions
1 package bamboo skewers

Marinade:
1 knob ginger root, peeled and finely shredded
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup Shaoxing (Chinese rice wine)
1/4 cup black bean sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
4 Szechuan peppers, thinly sliced (or 2 tablespoons chili garlic sauce, more or less to taste)

Dipping Sauce:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons Shaoxing (Chinese rice wine)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce (more or less to taste)

Place prepared meats and shrimp in a container with a tight-fitting lid. Combine marinade ingredients in a measuring cup, pour over meats and shrimp and refrigerate for two hours (or overnight), turning or stirring occasionally for even marinating.

Combine all dipping sauce ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake to blend. Remove meats and shrimp from the marinade (reserve any remaining marinade for the broth). Assemble meats and shrimp on bamboo skewers and set aside. In a large kettle, bring stock to a boil, and add remaining marinade. Transfer stock to a hot pot or crock pot on the dinner table and set temperature on high to continue simmering. Serve skewered meats and shrimp on a large platter or individual serving dishes along with dipping sauce. Throughout the meal, allow guests to cook their skewers in the simmering broth. Once the skewers are finished, add mushrooms, cabbage, bean sprouts, scallions, and noodles to the broth, allow to simmer until just tender, and ladle into soup bowls. Serves 4.