Chinese Hot Pot

Back in April, I wrote about my experience in Baltimore with a restaurant that serves hot pots.  Ever since then, I've wanted to make my own hot pot night at home.  I finally did it!

The only part you have to do before hand is make your stock.  This is what is going to flavor your meal, so you want to make sure that it tastes really good!  During the meal, I put my stock in an electric wok so that it would stay hot and cook the actual food.

We thinly sliced up chicken breast so it would cook quickly, and I also served baby spinach leaves, sliced mushrooms, broccoli florets and angel hair pasta nests.  These nests came in handy for 2 reasons- first off, it's portion control.  Each nest weighs around 1.5 ounces, coming to 4 Points+.  Secondly, the nests stay together for the most part as they cook, which makes them easier to fish out.

After you assemble all of your ingredients, you get to sit and make your meal!  Don't forget to have designated "raw chicken" utensils, so that nothing gets mixed up.  I bought some handy dandy scoopers that worked perfectly for fishing out the finished food.  I really loved this meal!!!  It was subtly flavored, but I also served 3 different dipping sauces on the side.  I ate it more like a soup, cooking my ingredients and adding extra broth to my bowl at the end.

This is really easy, and something new to try.  You can cook whatever you want, just make sure that any meat is sliced thin enough so it will cook in a timely manner.

Chris didn't have the patience to wait for his food to cook, nor does he appreciate subtle flavor, so he ate the chicken leftover from making the stock with some ranch dressing!  To each his own...