What's for Dinner: Hot Pot and Korean Barbeque

This past weekend Jimmy visited and that always calls for extra effort put into dinner. We narrowed it down to either hot pot ot Korean barbeque, couldn't decide on one, so we did BOTH! We did cheat a little bit on Korean barbeque because we broiled the meats in the oven (it was a really hot day that particualr day, so I think there's an exception to the "grill at the table" rule). Everything was very delicious and very filling...and overall, a lot cheaper than if we went to eat out. We did have to put in a little prep work, but time in the kitchen is gossip time, so that was time well spent.

I am not the greatest fan of Korean arbeque at restuarants. I believe I am a little cheated when I have to pay to cook my own food, that's kind of the reason why I'm going out to eat at all. Anyway, those Koreans are smart I have to say, they just cut and marinade the meats, no need to worry about customers complaining about how the meat is cooked. Don't love Korean barbeque when I go out, but I do like eating freshly grilled meats, so when we eat in, Korean barbeque seems like a good idea. Then there is the grilling indoors and the risk of dying from smoke suffocation, so we've made Karoean barbeque a "special" dinner only affair.

We had both beef and pork, but we cheated on the pork and bought marinated pork from out local Korean store. I have to say though, both were equally good, which means we must have some Korean in us.

Korean Barbeque Beef

1 pound beef, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon finely chopped giner
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster-flavored sauced

1. Mix all the ingredients together, add beef.
2. Let marinade for at least 30 minutes.
3. Grill until desired doneness (we grilled ours for about 3 minutes)

I actually haven't had hot pot at a restuarant, so I don't really know what ingredients are traditionally in hot pot, but we had a Chinese native (almost through and through) with us, and if he didn't complain, we take it that we did good.

I honestly believe that with every noodle soup dish, the basis for it turning out great is making sure the broth is wonderful. Because out interpretation of hot pot is very similar to pho (a very familiar dish), we started with our very own recipe for pho broth.

Left: frying spices                     Middle: strained spiced oil                     Right: broth, ready to go

Pho Broth

8 cups of water
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
2 pieces ofdried galanga
2 star anise
4 dried bay leaves
1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
1 teaspoon of steak seasoning (pepper corns, coarse sea salt, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, chilie flakes, paprika)
1/4 cup of soy sauce

1. In a sauce pan (or the large pot you're going to make your broth in), heat oil until hot.
2. Add galanga and star anise and stir. Cokky for 1 minute.
3. Add fennel seeds and bay leaves. Add steak seasoning. Cook for another minute or two until fennel seeds are fragrant.
4. Remove oil from heat. Strain oil into a heat proof bowl or cup. Discard spices.
5. Put oil back into pot and heat until hot.
6. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds (do not let garlic brown). Add onions and cook until tender.
7. Add soy sauce. Cook for another minute.
8. Add meat, if using, and cook until meat releases some juice. Add water and let boil for at least 30 minutes.
9. Taste broth and adjust salt level to your liking. If too salty, add water.

There are a bunch of things we put in our hot pot, so much so that I actually did not get all of them photographed. So if you're new to hot pot, here's how you would eat it. First, make your broth (you will need a portable burner to set your pot of broth atop, so make sure you have this before you even make the broth). Second, make sure you have all your meats, vegetables, and noodles ready. That means you need to thinnly slice your beef, cut up all your vegetables, and have your vermicelli noodles soaked.

To eat, and this is set up family style, have all the meats, noodles, and vegetables on a table.  Start by putting a bit of everything into the pot (which is kept simmering at the table), individuals will dish out what they want as they eat. Make sure the meats are thoroughly cooked before you start digging in. Keep adding ingredients in as you eat to make sure they're always food cooking. A rule to follow is to have extra broth simmering on the stove to replenish the pot at the dining table. Have fun with hot pot, and be careful, the pot really is hot!

Noodles: vermicelli angel hair and thick flat rice noodles.

Vegetables: napa cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, shiitake mushrooms, basil, and cilantro.
Not pictured: bean sprouts and mint.

Proteins: fish balls, tofu, shrimp, and beef.

Price breakdown:

Korean Barbeque
Beef: $10.00 (split)
Marinade for beef: free (we already had these ingredients on hand)
Pork: $13.00

Hot Pot
Broth: free (we already had these ingredients on hand)
Noodles: $3.00
Napa cabbage: $2.00
Broccoli: $2.00
Cauliflower: $1.00
Basil and cilantro: free (from mom's garden)
Shrimp: $10.00
Beef: free (same beef was used from Korean Barbeque)
Fish balls: $2.00
Tofu: $2.00

Total: $45.00

We fed 5 people and we ate this for three meals (because we had so much left over), that means for this meal cost us $1.75 per person per meal. Beat that!