HOTPOT

One of the most common foods I came across in Korean drama and Korean variety shows is no doubt, the infamous hotpot. For years, I have been wanting to try this out, but it always seemed a little high maintenance to me. I barely had the ingredients necessary to prepare the soup base. It may sound eccentric but I always preferred bony beef or chicken over straight on meat. I love chicken legs, wings, and thighs over chicken breasts, to the point that my mom literally had to separate out boneless red meat or chicken breast before preparing the curry and used it later for kebabs or meatballs. But few days back, I took a firm decision to finally give this delish a try. I did check out a few blogs and YouTube videos, but none of them clicked and as always, I went with my instincts. So let's get on with my day long preparations of this long awaited dish.

First off, I had to get my ingredients ready for the soup base. I had no idea how to prepare a broth and just boiling beef bones with ginger and spring onions didn't really appeal to me. It may taste good but to try that for the first time seemed recklessly bold. So I separated out some beef bones and fat and defrosted them. Next in a pot, I added some oil followed by chopped up onions when the oil heated up. I allowed the onions to caramelize before I started my witch crafts. I started throwing in ingredients that I saw fit, and also making sure that it doesn't taste like the usual beef curry. Leaving the heat in high, I added in some panch foron, star anise, red pepper, mixed spices, red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, salt, sugar, and ginger paste. Usually I allow this mixture to cook a little longer but I cut it short this time. Why? I have no clue, I completely put my faith on my instincts. I then went on and added in some broccoli, spring onions, and filled the pot with water. After bringing the mixture to a boil, I lowered the heat to a medium and decided it leave it on for two hours, checking every 20 minutes. Right after my first 20 minutes check, something felt off. Despite all the seasonings, the broth almost tasted bland. I won't lie but I did feel sorry for my beef bones, wondering if I should have used them for basic curry. Talk about being bizarre. Well, desperately trying to salvage my base, I put in the first two things that caught my eye in the fridge, ketchup and soya sauce. And guess what? They never go wrong and dramatically lifted the flavors, giving it a subtle Chinese undertone.

Next, I had to prepare a few side dishes to go along with the hotpot. I kept it really simple since the soup base pretty much took all my energy away. So I quickly prepared some meatballs, by adding five simple ingredients to the ground beef: corn starch, egg, salt, red chili powder and mixed spices powder. After mixing them up thoroughly, I deep fried them, while praying that they hold their structure and not break into a thousand pieces. Now, I couldn't miss my favorite ingredient, shrimps, could I? Somehow I wanted them crispy, so I added some salt, red chili powder, and corn starch to the shrimp and deep fried them too. Just before serving, I added the meatballs, shrimps, some bok choy, omelette, and a packet of ramen to the soup base and left it on high heat for about 5 minutes. And voila! my first ever hotpot straight out of my pantry. As per taste, I could understand its prevalence in Korean TV shows, it was such a wholesome meal. I think I would definitely make it again and try more variations. Also, since it was my first time, I somehow managed keep a list of what I used but completely winged my measurements. For my next blog on hotpot, I will make sure to take notes on each and every measurements.