day 6: hot pot!

I'll admit: I went out to eat tonight. However, for those of you who have had hot pot before, you understand how difficult it is to refuse a dinner offer to Chinese fondue, no matter how hard you're trying to stay in and cook at home.

Chinese hot pot is kind of like American fondue, minus the dairy. You choose a cooking base or broth and order different vegetables, noodles, dumplings and meat (optional) a la carte and throw all the ingredients into a big steaming pot of liquid to create a delicious stew-like meal.

Tonight, I had the pleasure of visiting Uncle Liu's Hot Pot in Falls Church, Virginia, with ME, my dad and stepmom. During my visit to China this past August, my favorite meal was at a hot pot restaurant in Xi'an, so I was thrilled to try a local hot point joint out. Plus, it got a passing grade from my stepmom who said it resembled hot pot in China, so that made it even more mouthwatering.

I had my own section of the pot that had a water-based broth with "house seasonings" and tomato, while the rest of my family had a meat-based broth.

The staple of hot pot is the vegetables. Vegans and omnivores alike feast on a smorgasbord of veggies. That's pretty much the case in most Asian cuisines, though. Vegetables are the superstars at mealtime, with meat playing a supportive role.

Tonight we ordered broccoli, spinach, two kinds of mushrooms, noodles, tofu, tofu noodles, cabbage, and vegetable dumplings. My stepmom ordered a green onion pancake that was to die for -- so good we ordered a second plate. I loved the pancake so much I'm going to try and re-create it on my own. Perhaps it'll be a future post :) Water, flour and green onions. How difficult can that be?

The best part about hot pot is the sauce you make. At any given hot pot restaurant there will be a station full of condiments including items such as: sesame sauce, hot oil, sesame oil, green onions, soy sauce, miso, soybean paste, garlic -- the list goes on. You create a unique concoction and the sauce becomes the superstar of the meal. After you cook your veggies and noodles in the pot, you transfer them directly into the sauce. Depending on your hot pot style, you might eat right from the sauce bowl, or put your food onto a plate (think: staging zone) and then into your mouth. It's personal and everyone does it differently.

Bottom line: hot pot is good. Way good. The majority of the customers in the restaurant were Chinese. And, I've learned if I want good 'ethnic' food, go to the places where the locals are. It sure felt like we were in China tonight. 

Uncle Liu's Hot Pot

2972 Gallows Road

Falls Church, VA 22031

Just for a giggle: After dinner we checked out the Great Wall supermarket next door. I saw vegetables I didn't even know existed, as well as other things I never knew existed.

Happy Saturday night :)

Peace and love

~Jo