Chinese Steamboat, Mongolian Hot Pot or Japanese Shabu Shabu

Chinese Steamboat, Mongolian Hot pot or Japanese Shabu Shabu is similar to a fondue where meats, seafood, and vegetables are cooked in delicious broth using an electric Hot Pot. Foods are dunked into the hot soup using individual mini wire strainer or skimmers by each person and then dipped into a soya based mixture or hot chili sauce before eating. This Asian Theme Party is especially great during the winter months when it is cold outside and an interactive way for guests to take their time, enjoy the food and company.

Asian Party Table Supplies

Things you need:

Electric Hot Pot

Place Setting For Each Guest

Theme Parties and Birthday Party line divider

Steamboat or Hot Pot Ingredients

You can basically add any items you wish. Have all raw foods sliced and ready to go on individual plates before guests arrive. Foods that are the freshest will taste the best. Some suggestions for food items:

3 cup broth per pot or cooker
raw shrimp, deveined and cleaned
raw salmon, sliced thin
raw arctic char, sliced thin
finely sliced rib eye steak
fresh squid
fresh Nantucket Bay scallops
fresh oysters
various kinds of greens, like spinach, watercress, lettuce, bok choi
mushrooms, all kinds and sliced thin
tofu, firm texture sliced into blocks
wontons (pre-cooked)

Dipping Sauce Ingredients

The dipping sauce is a must have at the Steam Boat parties and gives the food its flavor.

3 tbs soya sauce
3 tbs oyster sauce
2 tsp sugar
3 tbs water
salt
pepper
1/2 cup diced onion
1 tbs chopped garlic
4 tbs olive oil

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Steamboat or Hot Pot Directions:

Put hot soup in hot pot and let boil.
Once it starts boiling place raw food in individual mini strainers and place the entire basket into the hot boiling soup. Let it sit for a few minutes until cooked.
Take out of the strainer and place the food on your plate.
Dip using dipping sauce and eat.

Dipping Sauce Directions

Fry onion in 2 tbs oil until golden brown and cooked.
Add in garlic and stir fry a few minutes.
Add in sauces and water and simmer for 10 minutes.
Turn off heat and whisk in the remaining oil.
Adjust taste with salt and pepper.
Serve in small serving dishes for each individual guest

Chinese Theme Party - electric steamboat or hotpot with lid

An Asian Theme Party – The Steamboat Pot with fresh vegetables, raw meat, raw fish, wontons, rice noodles, dipping sauce and various sea foods.

Chinese Theme Party - scooping wonton out of steamboat hot soup

Step 1. Pour some fresh hot broth into the hot pot and let it heat up. Once it starts boiling, turn down the temperature to medium and start your cooking. Wontons are pre-cooked ahead of time so simply dunk into the hot water to heat them up. No need to worry about cooking the wontons thoroughly as they have been cooked ahead of time. Dunk them in for couple of minutes and then scoop them up with your wire strainer.

Chinese Theme Party - sliced rib eye steak on display on birthday party table

Step 2. Use a designated “raw meat only” fork to fill your wire basket and dunk it into the hot soup. Rib Eye steak makes a great choice for hot pot. Cut the steak into thin slices. Cooking time: about 1 minute. Steak can also be “washed” in the soup and will cook very quickly. Just use your chopsticks or fork and move it back and forth in the hot soup and the steak will cook in no time.

Tip: Freeze the piece of steak first so it is nice and firm and makes cutting much easier.

Chinese Theme Party - shrimp, scallops, squid, oysters on birthday party table

Step 3. Lay out a plate with fresh shrimp, scallops, squid, and oysters. Cooking time: about 3-5 minutes. Shrimp cooks faster (about 3 minutes) while scallops takes a bit longer, about 5 minutes.

Tip: The prep work takes the most time so wash and layout the sea food ahead of time and cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until you are ready to eat.

Chinese Theme Party - sliced fresh wild salmon and sliced arctic char on birthday party table

Step 4. Fresh Fish – Arctic Char and Wild Salmon make great additions for a hot pot. Salmon and Char have a nice amount of fat that would not dry out the fish too much. Use Yok Fun dipping sauce to eat the salmon with your meal. Cooking time: about 2 minutes. Salmon will turn from dark orange to light orange and firm up.