MONGOLIAN HOT POT (TA PIN LO)
Mongolian recipe
First make the stock:
1 1/2 quarts water (or more)
3 tablespoons Chinese wine or sake
1 stalk leek, chopped
5 slices ginger, sliced paper-thin
2 teaspoons salt
Dash of pepper
Mix all ingredients and bring to boil in the pot. Chicken or beef stock may be substituted for the water
(at least 6 cups). While mixture simmers, bring to the table about 1/2 pound each of the following meats and seafood, cleaned and sliced into bite-size pieces:
Shrimp
Oysters
Fillets of fish
Chicken livers
Chicken fillets
Beef
Pork or lamb
Beef liver
For vegetables and condiments, include:
1/2 head cabbage, quartered
1/2 pound spinach or Chinese lettuce
A small dipping bowl each of Chinese wine,soy sauce, sesame seed paste,peanut butter,
fermented bean curd, chopped leek
4 ounces transparent noodles
1 pound Chinese noodles, cooked
Each guest helps themselves to the foods they wants and drops them in the stock, cooking until color changes. Then they eats them with their own choice of condiments. Noodles are cooked last, and the remaining broth is served as a last-course soup.
TA PIN LO SAUCE
To prepare this Mongolian brew, you will have to start several weeks in advance, since some of the ingredients are fermented at least that long.
1 teaspoon green leek paste (kao choy)
Few drops red pepper oil
1 tablespoon red bean paste (nam yue)
1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley
1 teaspoon finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon ground sesame seeds
½ teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon soy sauce (light type)
Few drops each of Chinese wine, rice vinegar, oyster sauce, sesame oil
To make the kao choy, finely chop 1/2 pound small green leeks and grind almost to a paste. Mix with 4 cloves garlic, ground, and 3 tablespoons salt.Seal tightly in a jar and ferment at room temperature for about a month.
Red pepper oil is an infusion of hot chili peppers in peanut (or other vegetable) oil. Use twice as much oil as
peppers, simmer for 1/2 hour, and strain, discarding pulp. Store in bottle until needed. Flavoring some oil with Tabasco will produce a reasonable approximation of the hotness desired in this recipe.
The nam yue is made by mashing up some boiled red beans with salt and enough water to make a thick paste. Sesame seed paste, peanut butter, and sugar sometimes are added, too, depending upon the salty or sweet taste desired. Nam yue may be purchased in jars, ready to eat.
Mix these and all the other ingredients and spoon out into individual dipping sauce bowls to eaters of Mongolian hot pot.