Day 31 of 365 (Chinese New Year Feast)

On most Saturday or Sunday mornings the family goes out for Dim Sum. I have talked about this before and so here is a link if you need to see visually what I am talking about, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dim_sum 

The place we go is usually packed with Chinese students, East Lansing has become a bit of a mecca for such learners seeking the comforts of home. Often while we are working our way through shrimp and chives balls lightly fried we see the students eating is a meal that they themselves cook at the table. 

The restaurant will be filled two thirds Chinese and one thing locals. The locals will be crowded up in the windowed area ordering things like Mei Fun and General Tso’s chicken. The food is good. But the menu for the Chinese students is different. While there is a Chinese menu with dishes that you don’t normally see such as hot pot with three meats that vast majority of the students are eating a communal cook at the table meal. 

The dish involves bok choi, rib eye steak, tofu, coated tofu cubes, cuttle fish (I think), tripe, sliced potatoes, shrimp, fish balls (white and pink), beef balls and rice noodles akin to vermicelli. On the table sits a burner fueled by butane and it heats a divided pot up to boiling. One side is filed with a liquid infused with spicy herbs and thai style peppers. The other is a more bland broth. As the liquid gets hot you drop the various items in to cook. The meat can be cooked in either side. 

Everyone is given a bowl. Two bowls contain sauces that can be blended together in your bowl to make a hotter or milder base into which to drop your recently cooked proteins, noodles or bok choy. 

 Last night being the New Year we went for it. We ordered the boiling pot served at the table. We had a bit of a learning curve. 

 Things learned, first nobody at our table is a big fan of tripe. Second, the liquid needs to be boiling to cook things correctly. Third taking the heads off of shrimp is always a nasty business. Fourth the broth grows more and more flavorful the more of the meal you cook. The items cooked at the end are just amazingly tastier than those cooked at the start.

My guess is that if you were to study the Chinese as they eat this that there is an order as to what to cook first, what to cook together, etc. The picture above was taken at the end of the meal. The carnage had mostly been done.

 Hey sometimes you just have to walk out there and try something new. Life is too short to be constrained by irrational fears.