MONGOL HOT POT (TA PIN LO)
Mongolian recipe
Make the broth first:
1 1/2 quarts of water (or more)
3 tablespoons Chinese wine or sake
1 leek stalk, minced
5 slices ginger, thinly sliced like paper
2 teaspoons of salt
Pinch of pepper
Mix all the ingredients and bring to a boil in the pot. The chicken or beef broth can be substituted for the water.
(at least 6 cups). While the mixture simmers, bring to the table about 1/2 pound each of the following meats and seafood, cleaned and cut into bite-size pieces:
Shrimp
oysters
Fish fillets
Chicken livers
Chicken steaks
Cow meat
Pork or lamb
Cow liver
For vegetables and seasonings, include:
1/2 head of cabbage, quartered
1/2 pound spinach or Chinese lettuce
A small bowl of Chinese wine, soy sauce, sesame seed paste, peanut butter,
fermented bean curd, chopped leek
4 ounces clear noodles
1 pound Chinese noodles, cooked
Each diner serves the food they want and puts them in the broth, cooking until it changes color. They then eat them with their own choice of seasonings. The noodles are cooked last and the remaining broth is served as a last-course soup.
YOUR PIN LO SAUCE
To prepare this Mongolian infusion, you will have to start several weeks in advance, since some of the ingredients are fermented for at least that long.
1 teaspoon green leek paste (kao choy)
Few drops of red pepper oil
1 tablespoon red bean paste (nam yue)
1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley
1 teaspoon finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon ground sesame seeds
½ teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon of soy sauce (light type)
Few drops of Chinese wine, rice vinegar, oyster sauce, sesame oil
To make the kao choy, finely chop 1/2 pound small green leeks and nearly grind to a paste. Mix with 4 ground garlic cloves and 3 tablespoons of salt, seal well in a jar and ferment at room temperature for about a month.
Red pepper oil is an infusion of hot chili peppers in peanut (or other vegetable) oil. Use twice as much oil as
peppers, simmer for 1/2 hour and strain, discarding the pulp. Store in bottle until needed. Seasoning a little oil with Tabasco will produce a reasonable approximation of the desired heat in this recipe.
Nam yue is made by mashing some boiled red beans with salt and enough water to make a thick paste. Sometimes sesame seed paste, peanut butter, and sugar are also added, depending on the salty or sweet taste desired. Nam yue can be purchased in jars, ready to eat.
Mix these and all the other ingredients together and place in individual dipping sauce bowls for the Mongolian hot pot diners.