Chinese Hot Pot

Ingredients

Turkey and pork stock:

The bones, neck and innards of a 4kg turkey
1 pig trotter, cut into 4 chunks
4~5 large slices of ginger and scallion for blanching (for removing unwanted smells/tastes from the bones)
1 large onion, cut into quarters
10 cups (2.3L) water

Sichuan ‘Ma-La' hot pot base:

1/2 cup (20g) Chinese small dried chillies, whole
3~4 (3g) star anise
1 large (3g) black cardamom
1 whole (3g) nutmeg
7 whole cloves
1 large stick (5g) cinnamon
7~8 (5 g) dried bay leaves
1 tbsp (5g) fennel seeds
1 tbsp (8g) cumin seeds
1 tbsp (5 g) white peppercorns
5g zi-cao, if available
3g liang-jiang, if available
2g mu-xiang, if available
1 cup (240mL) boiling water

4 cups vegetable oil and turkey/chicken fat
1/2 cup and 3 Tbs (200g) sichuan douban/broad bean chili paste
1/2 cup Chinese rice wine
12 cloves garlic, smashed
5~6 large slices (25g) ginger
1 stalk (20g) lemongrass, cut into chunks
1 cup (90g) sichuan chili flakes, or Korean chili flakes
1/2 cup (35g) ground red sichuan peppercorn
3/4 tsp curry powder
5 cups turkey and pork stock

To add for serving:

3 large scallions, cut into segments
10~20 Chinese small dried chillis, whole
2 Tbs red sichuan peppercorn, whole
2 Tbs granulated chicken bouillon
Salt to taste

Turkey meatballs:

620g boneless turkey legs, with skin on thigh, ground or minced,
1/2 cup finely diced celery
1/2 cup finely diced scallions
1 1/2 Tbs cornstarch
1 1/2 Tbs fish sauce
1 tsp ground white pepper
Sliced turkey breast

For dipping:

Toasted sesame paste
Toasted sesame oil
White rice vinegar
Light soy sauce
Finely diced Chinese leeks, scallions, cilantro, garlic and ginger

Method

You will need one turkey around 4kg for this recipe, and it will feed 6 people generously.

The turkey will be divided into 3 different parts: skinless breasts to be sliced thinly, boneless legs and thighs to be ground into meatballs, then the bones to be made into stock. You can save the skin from the breasts, in combination of other fat such as chicken skins of beef fats, to be rendered as part of the oil that goes into making the 'red oil'.

Turkey and pork stock:

Add all the bones, neck and innards, and the pig trotter into a large pot with slices of ginger and scallions. Fill the pot with water until the ingredients are fully covered, then bring to a boil and let cook for 1 minute. Remove the all the bones/neck and trotters, then rinse under water to clean off any scum and impurity. Discard the pot of blanching water, and wash the pot clean. Return the bones/neck and trotter back to the pot, with 1 large cut onion and 10 cups of water.

If you’re using pressure-cooker, cook the stock according to the manufacture’s instruction, for 1 hour. Then after the pressure’s released, open the pot and dismantle/crush the bones/neck/meats/trotters as good as you can with a tongs (to release maximum flavour), and continue to cook over medium heat (the stock should be actively boiling) for another hour until the stock turns opaque. You can add more water along the way to keep the stock at around 9~10 cups. When done, strain the stock and discard the bones/meats.

If not using pressure-cooker, cook the stock partially covered over medium to medium-low heat (to keep the stock actively boiling) for 3 hours, until the stock turns opaque. During halfway when the bones/trotters are soft enough, dismantle/crush the bones/neck/meats/trotters as good as you can with a tongs (to release maximum flavour). You can add more water along the way to keep the stock at around 9-10 cups. When done, strain the stock and discard the bones/meats.

Hot pot base:

One day ahead, with a scissor, cut everything under 'to soak the spices' into small chunks (leave the dried chillis whole). Pour 1 cup of boiling water over and let sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Strain and reserve the liquid.

In a large deep pot, combine 4 cups total of vegetable oil and turkey/chicken fat, sichuan douban/broad bean chili paste, Chinese rice wine, smashed garlic, sliced ginger and lemongrass. Set over high heat while stirring constantly until the mixture comes to a gentle simmer, then lower the heat down to medium-medium-low to keep it bubbling, and continue to stir and cook for about 10~15 minutes until all the moisture/liquid has evaporated.

Add the sichuan chili flakes (or Korean chili flakes), all the soaked spices and 1/2 of the soaking liquid. Bring the mixture back to a gentle simmer, then continue to stir/cook for another 15~20 minutes until all the added moisture/liquid has also evaporated. Now add the ground red sichuan peppercorn and curry powder, then stir and cook for another 1 minute. Turn off the heat and add 5 cups of turkey and pork stock. Mix evenly then let sit overnight.

To serve:

Strain the mixture (press on it to extract as much liquid as you can) and discard all the solid. You should now have a hot pot-base with about 50% red/chili oil, and 50% stock. You can now skim off some of the 'red/chili oil', and add more stock into the pot, to adjust the heat level you desire (the more oil in the pot, the hotter it is). 4 parts red/chili oil:6 parts stock/liquid is a starting point. Keep the extra red/chili oil on the side so you can add it back later if needed.

Now add 3 large scallions, whole dried chillies and whole red sichuan peppercorns to the base. Season with 2 tablespoons granulated chicken bouillon and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, and we are ready to rock’n roll. (As the hot pot cooks, liquid will evaporate, so keep adding more stock or water and re-season as needed).

Credits: Mandy Lee

Photo Credits: Mandy Lee