2011-12-26 Boxing Day Hot Pot @ Chez Buddha

It's the holiday season!!!  That means another seasonal hot pot gathering at Chez Buddha!!!  Originally, we estimated for eighteen, but we ended up with only fifteen people...five pots.

Yup, two tables...one for the oldies (40+) and one for youngsters...not sure why Mr. & Mrs. Little Lee were at the oldies table though...hahahaha!

With a simple pork broth, we offered three soup bases: Century Egg & Cilantro Clear Soup Base 皮蛋芫茜清湯底, Tomato & Onion Rich Soup Base 番茄洋蔥濃湯底 and a simple Sacha Soup Base 沙茶湯底.

We weren't sure if we had enough shacha sauce 沙茶醬 at home...(and we do host hot pot gatherings at home quite often)...so Buddha Boy and I picked up a 3kg can from Guo Hua 國華 on No.3 Road...yup, we're crazy!!!

Our DIY Sauce Station...hmm...I think we could have expanded to incorporate more selections...don't you think?  Hahahaha!  You see, hot pot food selections are always pretty straight forward, so I usually don't bother naming each and every item, however, since it's our biggest gathering for the year, Buddha Boy has asked me to specify each item, so here we go...

Top, left to right...Beef 牛肉 and lamb 羊肉.
Bottom, left to right...Pork Shoulder 梅花豬肉 and Pork Belly 五花豬肉 (培根豬).

Top...Pork Cheeks 松阪豬肉 (豬頸肉)...cut differently.
Bottom, left to right...SPAM 午餐肉 (60% Less Sodium) and Chicken 雞肉.

Top, left to right...Pork Blood 豬血 and Pork Intestine 豬大腸.
Bottom, left to right...Beef Tripe 牛百葉 and Chicken Hearts 雞心.

Top, left to right...Boneless Chicken Feet 去骨雞爪 and Shrimp 蝦.
Bottom, left to right...Squid 魷魚 and Basa Filet 巴沙鱼柳 (bottom right)...yea...I know...the cheap side of Buddha Girl went and got fake sole 假龍利魚...what a mistake.

Top, left to right...Century Egg 皮蛋 and Taiwanese-Style Donuts 台式油條.
Bottom, left to right...Tofu 豆腐 and Frozen Tofu 凍豆腐.

Top, left to right...Tomatoes 番茄 and Kelp 海帶.
Bottom, left to right...Enoki 金針菇 and Button Mushrooms 蘑菇.

Top, left to right...Black Fungus 黑木耳 and Shirataki 芋絲.
Bottom, left to right...Korean Rice Cake 韓式年糕 and Napa Cabbage 大白菜.

Top, left to right...Endive 娃娃菜 and Spinach 波菜.
Bottom, left to right...Watercress 西洋菜 and Garland Chrysanthemum 茼蒿菜, also known as Crown Daisy, or more commonly, Tung-Ho.

Pretty straight forward...Sweet Corn 玉米, Sweet Potato 番薯, Daikon 蘿蔔, Carrots 葫蘿蔔, Candle Corn 玉米筍 (also known as Baby Corn).

Top, left to right...Taiwanese Pork Meat Balls 貢丸, Cuttlefish Balls 花枝丸, Mochi Fish 麻糬魚, Fuzhou Fish Balls 福州魚丸.  

Bottom, left to right...Taro Fish Balls 芋頭魚丸, Fish Tofu 魚豆腐, Fish Balls 魚丸.

Mini Tofu Puffs 珍珠朴, Crab Sticks 蟹肉棒, Quail Eggs 鵪鶉蛋.

Yup, three jars of Oysters 生蠔...took MomJ quite some time to clean these thoroughly...thanks mom!

CW and her brother, WW, suggested to give this Stinky Tofu 臭豆腐 a try.  The package said "Spicy Tofu 深坑臭臭鍋"...but like many groceries found in Asian markets, the English did not match the Chines.  The Chinese simply translated to be "Shenkeng's Stinky Pot" (Shenkeng, a county in Taipei) while the English says nothing about "stinky tofu".  Anyways, the package came with a soup mix but I didn't bother using it, instead, I cut up the tofu in triangles and served it as another hot pot item.  The tofu was dense and very spongey, not airy.  Not bad for hot pot...but will need to be dried before deep-fried.

Since the Little Lee's were over, my husband attempted to make Pok Pok Wings at home...while the first two batches failed (but still yummy), the third batch tasted very close, but still looked off...try again Buddha Boy!

Our desserts for the night were Taho (from Garden City Kebob Grill) and Fuyu Persimmon 富有柿...yup, I love Persimmon...Buddha Dog too!!!

Mrs. Big Lee and Mrs. Little Lee showered us with some homemade baked goods.  Thank you for thinking of us!

With so much stuff leftover, Buddha Boy and I had hot pot again the next day.  While I just used the simple pork broth, Buddha Boy made himself a sukiyaki pot...but it didn't look anything like a proper sukiyaki pot...hahahahaha!