Preparation / Directions:
I picked up a nice little Mongolian fire pot at a sale
this weekend. That makes two that I have now. The other
is a highly polished brass museum piece that I never use
for cooking because it's such a hassle to clean up.
This one is smaller and, with the exterior parts being
made of a matte finish aluminum, much easier to keep
clean. This is the kind you'd see in a Chinese or
Japanese place and is just the right size for two to
four diners. This one also has a neato adjustable grate
to control the heat.
I found this recipe stuffed inside the pot. It was
hand-typed. The amounts called for in it would be too
much for the little pot I found it in, but is sounds
quite good and is probably authentic. You generally
don't find Nam Yuey (red bean curd cheese) called for in
Westernized recipes. The pot is a neat touch, but this
can be made just as effectively in a fondue pot or in a
sauce pan on a tabletop burner++in anything that gets
the broth hot enough to cook the ingredients.
Freeze lamb for 2 or 3 hours for ease in slicing. Cut
against the grain into paper thin slices. Then cut
slices into 2 x 2 inch pieces. Cover cellophane noodles
with 1 cup warm water and soak for 30 minutes. Drain and
cut into 6 inch lengths. Wash spinach leaves under cold
running water and pat dry with paper towel. Arrange on
platter along with noodles. Trim greens and root ends of
the cabbage. Separate into stalks and wash thoroughly.
Cut each stalk into small pieces and drop into pot of
boiling water. Take out in 2 minutes, dry and place
with spinach and noodles. Combine soy sauce, sesame-
seed oil, sherry, brown sugar, peanut butter pepper and
bean curd. Mix thoroughly, then take 1 tablespoon of the
sauce and put into each of 4 bowls. Reserve the rest and
place in small bowl.
Preheat your broiler to its highest point. Place 8 to
10 charcoal briquettes side by side in baking pan lined
with heavy aluminum foil and place under broiler. Heat
for 10 to 15 minutes until white ash forms on
briquettes. Transfer to funnel of cook pot with tongs.
Put fireproof (asbestos) mat on table and place cook pot
on it. Bring chicken broth to a boil then pour it into
the cook pot. Give each person a plate of lamb and a
soup bowl. Drop the scallions, garlic, ginger, and
parsley into the boiling stock. Each person cooks own
lamb with fondue fork and then dips it into sauce in
soup bowl. Extra sauce is also placed on table.
When the lamb has been used, ladle a little of the
remaining stock into each bowl. Add the noodles and
vegetables in the remaining stock in the cook pot, for a
minute or two then ladle with broth into bowls as
another c
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