When Mike and I visited Vietnam in 2002, we were introduced to so many delicious dishes. As I posted previously, Pho has become one of my favorite dishes but Lau (pronounced low) or Hot Pot is perhaps the best dinner party dish I have ever come across. The meal starts with a simmering soup stock in the middle of the table surrounded by platters of thinly sliced protein, vegetables, mushrooms and precooked noodles, usually the yellow, egg variety, but rice noodles work fine too. Now, here is the fun part; everyone simply drops vegetables, protein or mushrooms in the hot pot, waits a few minutes, lightly poaching the vegetables, and then fishes them out with chopsticks and adds them to their bowl. Throughout the meal, the broth is getting richer and tastier, so by the end you have an amazing broth to finish off the meal.

A couple of years ago my sister and brother-in-law gave us our own Hot Pot. Their recent visit was the perfect excuse to bring it out again. We had a wonderful time socializing and enjoying the amazing flavors of the Lau. One of the great things about the meal is that you can add just about any combinations of vegetables and proteins. We went to the Farmer’s Market earlier in the day and came home with a bounty of fresh greens and mushrooms for the meal. I asked Lien to share her Lau recipe, and here it is:

Lau

Broth Base

12 cups water

Either chicken bones or pork ribs.

If you want to go vegetarian, use carrots, onions, garlic, fresh turmeric/ginger, parsnip/daikon.

Fish sauce

Soy sauce

Miso

Salt

Cook broth on the stove. Fill saucepan with water, add either chicken bones or pork ribs. If you want to go vegetarian, chop up carrots, onions, garlic, fresh turmeric/ginger, and parsnip/daikon. Then add a bit of salt, fish sauce, soy sauce, and miso. Boil the ingredients up and cook in medium low heat for 1 hour.

While the broth is cooking, slice up protein, vegetables and mushrooms for the meal. Make sure to cut chicken/beef/fish/tofu into small thin slices so it will cook relatively quickly. Options for green veggies are bok choy, pak choi, kale, mustard green, peas, amaranth, watercress, green onions. Important: If you use the above leafy greens, don’t use tomatoes for your broth. One time we did it and it tasted weird.

Use any kind of mushroom, the more variety the better, if you ask me.

If you decide to use seafood (shrimp, mussels, fish fillets cut into small thin pieces), you can make the broth a bit sour by adding pineapple, tamarind, tomatoes. Dill, water morning glory (greens), watercress, bean sprouts, green onion goes very well with seafood.

Wash and cut all veggies into 2 inch length (remember these are the veggies you will eat, not the ones used to make the broth).

Transfer the cooked broth to the Lau pot. Set the Lau pot in the middle of the table. Wait until it boils up and slowly put veggie/meat/seafood of your choice into the boiling broth. Cook until it’s done. Make sure the meat or seafood is done before you consume it. Drop the veggies straight into the pot, but for the meat or seafood, it’s better to use a slotted spoon to hold them slightly submerged in the broth while cooking, as it saves chasing it around and you won’t overcook it.

Cook egg noodle along with meat and veggie if you want a hearty meal.

ENJOY!