• 1 lb boneless beef sirloin or beef round
  • 2 bunches spinach
  • 8 oz canned water chestnuts, drained and sliced
  • 1 lb boned chicken breasts
  • 1 lb fish fillets
  • 8 oz canned bamboo shoots, drained and sliced
  • 1 lb medium shrimp
  • 1 lb chinese cabbage
  • 4 cans chicken broth
  • 1/2 lb fresh forest mushrooms or cultivated mushrooms
  • sweet-and-sour sauce
  • lemon juice
  • soy sauce
  • 2 pak enoki mushrooms
  • prepared hot chinese mustard - 3 1/2-oz packages
  • ¼ lb fine egg noodles; cooked
  • 3/4 lb chinese pea pods
  • cilantro or chives; chopped (optional)
  • 2 bunches green onions

To make an authentic Chinese fire pot you don’t need to use all ingredients listed here as long as you offer an interesting blend of meats, fish and veg. Other meats and vegetables can be substituted, if desired.

First of all, place beef, chicken and fish in the freezer and chill until firm to touch but not frozen. Slice beef and chicken in strips ¼” thick and about 2″ long. Cut the fish into ¾” cubes. Shell and de-vein the shrimp. Chop cabbage into bite-size chunks and clean the mushrooms.

If using forest mushrooms, remove and discard the stems. Slice the mushrooms and sprinkle with some lemon juice. Cut off and discard root portion of enoki mushrooms and separate clusters as much as possible. Wash, trim ends and string pea pods. Wash and clean the green onions and cut in halves lengthwise, including the green portion. Cut into 2″ lengths. Clean spinach and discard thick stems.

To serve, arrange the beef, chicken, fish, shrimp, cabbage, forest mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, snow peas, green onions, spinach leaves, water chestnuts and bamboo shoots in individual rows on large platters or serving plates. Bring broth to boil.

Place heating unit under Chinese hot pot and pour boiling broth into hot-pot bowl. Using a Chinese wire ladle and chopsticks or fondue forks, each person places whatever ingredients are desired into the hot broth to poach.

Once cooked (this will take only a few moments), ingredients are then dipped into a sweet-and-sour sauce, soy sauce or hot mustard and eaten with noodles, adding cilantro, if desired.