Chrysanthemum Fire Pot

Holiday and Celebration Foods

Chrysanthemum Fire Pot
Ingredients:
1/2 pound flank steak
1/2 pound chicken breast
1/2 pound lean pork
1/2 pound flounder filet
30 large shrimp
2 ounces cellophane noodles
2 packages instant noodles
1/2 pound Chinese celery or Napa cabbage
1/2 pound young Shanghai cabbage
8 eggs (optional)
2 quarts chicken broth
1 white chrysanthemum flower (optional, but be sure to select a flower that has not been sprayed with insecticide)
Dip:
1/4 cup finely chopped scallions
1/2 cup minced Chinese parsley (cilantro)
2 Tablespoons minced fresh ginger
3 Tablespoons sesame paste mixed with two tablespoons water
1/2 cup light soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine
2 Tablespoons chili oil or sate sauce or both
Preparation:
1. Freeze meats and then slice them very thinly when only partially defrosted. Then cut the slices into two inch square pieces.
2. Cut fish fillets into one inch by two inch by half-inch slices.
3. Arrange meats, fish, and shrimp attractively on one or more platters.
4. Soak the cellophane noodles in hot water until soft. Drain and place on a dish.
5. Wash and clean the vegetables, cut them into bite-sized pieces and arrange on one or two plates.
6. Set the dipping ingredients in bowls; let each person mix their own dipping combination. Some people put a raw egg into their dipping sauce.
7. Remove the petals from the flower and sprinkle them on the soup just before sitting down to eat.
8. Now each person chooses their own meat or seafood, and using their bamboo chop sticks, holds it in the hot stock until cooked to their own desired doneness. Once cooked, it is dipped it into one's own bowl of dipping sauce and consumed. The same is done with the vegetables. Add additional soup stock if/as needed, and at the end put all the noodles into the soup, let it return to the boil, and serve the soup at the meal's end.
Note 1: Another way of serving this is to put the vegetables into the stock, cover the pot and allow them to lightly cook. Then each person can fish out what they like and serve themselves.
Note 2: The above ingredient list is to give you ideas, this meal is very flexible, other items can be substituted, the amount and variety at the discretion of the hostess, who is only limited by imagination and creativity.

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