Change things up this weekend with a delicious and flavorful seafood hot pot together with TasteVN. What are you waiting for? Prepare the ingredients and get cooking with us to make this enticing hot pot for the whole family!
1. Mixed Seafood Hot Pot
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Preparation
30 minutes
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Cooking
20 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Mixed Seafood Hot Pot Serves 4
Beef 200 gr Fillet fish 200 gr Clams 200 gr (ngao) Shrimp 200 gr Squid 200 gr Shallots 1 bulb Tomato 1 fruit Pineapple 1/4 fruit (thơm) Shiitake mushrooms 5 pieces Enoki mushrooms 100 gr Chili a little (sliced) Lemongrass 2 stalks Garlic 3 cloves Ginger 1 bulb (small bulb) Bone broth 1.5 liters Thai hot pot seasoning 1 pack Cooking oil 2 tablespoons Vegetables for dipping a little (enoki mushrooms/ napa cabbage/ chrysanthemum…)
Implementation tools
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose fresh beef
- To choose good beef, you should observe the color of the meat. Fresh beef usually has a bright red color, not dark red, and the fat should be light yellow.
- You should choose smaller, tender pieces of meat, with fine fibers and good elasticity when pressed.
- If you observe the meat has small white spots that easily separate, it could be a sign of parasites. You should also avoid small pieces of meat that have been pre-cut, as they often contain parasites.
How to choose fresh clams
- You should choose live clams, with hard shells and tightly closed mouths.
- If the clam’s mouth is open, touch it; if it closes, you should buy it as it is fresh.
- Try to pry the clam’s shell apart; if it opens easily, it is dead, and you should not buy it.
How to choose fresh and delicious fish fillets
- You can choose any type of fish fillet that you like, such as salmon, tilapia, basa fish,… Or buy fresh fish to fillet yourself.
- Good fish fillets will have a pink-red or pink-white flesh, with bright colors.
- Choose fillet pieces with skin tightly attached to the fish meat; when pressed, they should still feel elastic.
- If you buy frozen fish fillets, pay attention to information about the production date, expiration date, and product origin.
- Do not choose fillet pieces that have strange odors or flaky meat, with skin peeling off from the flesh.
How to choose fresh and delicious tomatoes
- You should choose tomatoes with a pink-red skin and plump skin, as they are naturally ripened tomatoes.
- When you touch them, they should have a certain softness, and when held, they feel firm.
- Do not choose tomatoes that are dark red and have a hard skin, as these are chemically treated or artificially ripened tomatoes.
- Do not buy tomatoes that feel too soft to the touch, with wrinkled skin that is no longer shiny, as these are old tomatoes that have been stored for a long time.
How to choose fresh and delicious vegetables
- You can buy any type of vegetable for hot pot that you like, such as green mustard, water spinach, napa cabbage, squash blossoms, …
- Fresh and delicious vegetables will have a bright green color, intact and smooth leaves, with stems of moderate size, not too big or too small.
- Do not buy vegetables that are bruised, have rotten leaves, or are wilted.
How to choose fresh and delicious pineapples
- Sweet pineapples will have a bright yellow color from the crown to the top, or may have some green mixed in.
- You should choose short, evenly cylindrical pineapples as they will have more flesh and be sweeter than long-bodied pineapples.
- Choose pineapples with large and sparse eyes, and when smelled, have a sweet aroma.
- You should choose pineapples that feel heavy in your hand, with the crown still fresh and green.
- Do not choose pineapples that have yellow-orange skin or have black spots.
- Do not buy pineapples that are still green because they are very sour and will not be delicious when cooked.
How to Prepare Mixed Seafood Hotpot
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Prepare the Seafood
Rinse the clams and soak them with sliced chili for 30 – 50 minutes to allow them to expel sand. After that, rinse with clean water.
Wash the beef, slice it thinly, clean the squid, rinse well, cut into bite-sized pieces or leave whole as desired, and devein the shrimp before rinsing.
Rinse the fish fillets and let them drain, then slice into bite-sized pieces.
How to Make Clams Expel All Sand
- After washing the clams, soak them in diluted salt water for about 2 hours so that they expel all the sand and impurities. Rinse them again with clean water to be ready for cooking.
- You can soak the clams in water for about 1 hour to make them open. Then place the clams in a container, cover it, and shake vigorously for about 5 minutes. Continue soaking the clams for another 30 minutes, and they will be clean.
See details: How to Clean Clams to Expel All Sand
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Prepare other ingredients
Pineapple, peel it, remove the eyes, and cut it into small pieces. Tomatoes are washed and then cut into bite-sized pieces.
Garlic is peeled and then crushed. Ginger is peeled and then sliced. Lemongrass is cut into slices.
Pick the young leaves and stems of the vegetables served with the hot pot, cut off the stems of the enoki mushrooms and tear them into small pieces, and remove the hard stems of the shiitake mushrooms. After that, wash the vegetables and mushrooms thoroughly and let them drain.
Quick way to peel pineapple without cutting out the eyes:
- Cut off the two ends of the pineapple, then slice it in half; after that, turn the pineapple upside down and use a knife to peel off the skin, ensuring the knife goes deep enough to remove the eyes as well.
- You can cut the pineapple into quarters and peel it like you would a watermelon.
See details: Quick way to peel pineapple without cutting out the eyes
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Cooking Hot Pot
Add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil into the pot, heat the oil and then add garlic to sauté until fragrant. When the garlic is golden and fragrant, add pineapple and tomato, stir-frying evenly over medium heat for about 3 minutes.
Next, add lemongrass and ginger, stir for another minute until fragrant, then add shiitake mushrooms.
Stir-fry for another 2 minutes, then add 1.5 liters of broth, season with 1 packet of Thai hot pot seasoning, and bring to a boil over high heat. When the water is boiling, taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking, then reduce to medium heat.
Gradually add ingredients such as squid, fish fillet, shrimp, clams, and various accompanying vegetables, finishing with beef and enoki mushrooms, wait for the ingredients to cook, and then you can enjoy.
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Finished Product
The Thai hot pot is fragrant, with an eye-catching array of colors from shrimp, tomatoes, pineapple, and green vegetables boiling on the stove, emanating steam, extremely appealing.
The broth is slightly sour, sweet, fragrant with lemongrass and ginger, blended with the aromatic hot pot spices. The beef is tender, and the fish, shrimp, and squid are fresh and sweet, served with vermicelli or noodles is delicious.
2. Mushroom Seafood Hotpot
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Preparation
40 minutes
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Cooking
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Mushroom Seafood Hotpot For 4 people
Chicken bones 1 kg Shrimp 300 gr Squid 300 gr Fresh shiitake mushrooms 100 gr Enoki mushrooms 100 gr White reishi mushrooms 100 gr Brown reishi mushrooms 100 gr Spinach 100 gr (spinach) Thai flower 100 gr Water spinach sprouts 100 gr White radish 1 piece Carrot 1 piece Shallots 2 pieces Onion 1 piece Jujube/Goji berries a little Garlic 1 bulb Ginger 1 bulb (medium-sized) Chili 2 pieces Sesame oil 1 tablespoon Salt and pepper 1/2 tablespoon Seasoning powder 1/2 tablespoon Rock sugar 1/2 tablespoon Fish sauce 3.5 tablespoons
Tools for Implementation
How to Choose Fresh Ingredients
How to Choose Fresh Chicken Bones
- It is advisable to choose large pieces of chicken bones with red color and bright appearance.
- The meat attached to the bone should be pink or light yellow and firmly attached to the bone, indicating that it is fresh chicken bone.
- Choose pieces of bones that feel heavy when picked up; they should not be cold.
- If you buy frozen chicken bones, choose products with clear packaging, known origin, and pay attention to the expiration date of the product.
- Avoid buying chicken bones with pieces of meat that have come off the bone, bones that are white or pale, or feel light when picked up.
How to Choose Fresh Chicken Thigh Mushrooms
- Choose chicken thigh mushrooms with bright colors, and select mushrooms that are uniformly sized, about the size of two fingers.
- Fresh and delicious chicken thigh mushrooms should have intact caps, not crushed or leaking.
- Avoid buying chicken thigh mushrooms that are too large or longer than about 15cm, as they are often old and hollow inside.
How to Choose Fresh Enoki Mushrooms
- When choosing enoki mushrooms, pay attention to the production date, expiration date, and origin of the product.
- It is best to choose fresh mushrooms with intact stems that are not crushed, and the entire body should be pure white.
- Pay attention to the mushroom base; if it is good, the base should still be intact.
- Avoid buying mushrooms if you notice any slime or liquid inside the packaging.
How to Choose Fresh Shiitake Mushrooms
- Choose whole shiitake mushrooms that are not broken or crumbled.
- When you pick up shiitake mushrooms, if they feel firm and dry without being sticky, they are good quality.
- It is advisable to buy mushrooms when the caps are light brown and have a mild, characteristic aroma of shiitake mushrooms.
- Avoid choosing crumbled mushrooms, or those with strange white spots on the stem, or that are crushed.
How to Choose Fresh Ganoderma Mushrooms (White and Brown)
- Choose mushrooms that are intact, in clusters, and not separated.
- Good ganoderma mushrooms will have a pure white or light brown color, vibrant colors, and a dry stem, without any moisture.
- Mushrooms of moderate size, about the height and thickness of a finger, are considered delicious.
- Do not buy ganoderma mushrooms that are bruised or feel sticky to the touch, have a strange smell, or an unpleasant odor.
How to choose fresh and delicious spinach
- Choose spinach with thick leaves and broad leaf surfaces.
- It is advisable to buy spinach with bright green leaves, fresh leaves, and short stems.
- Avoid choosing spinach with dark green leaves as they are older and won’t taste good.
- Do not buy spinach that is bruised or has yellowing leaves.
How to choose fresh and delicious carrots
- Choose carrots with a deep orange color, smooth skin, and a small top.
- Good carrots will have fresh green tops, firm when lightly squeezed, not bruised, and feel solid in hand.
- It is better to choose medium or small carrots to ensure crisp sweetness and tenderness when cooking.
- Avoid choosing overly large carrots as they are usually older, lack sweetness, and are not tasty.
- Avoid buying carrots with black spots, bruises, cracks, or green tops.
How to Make Seafood Mushroom Hot Pot
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Prepare and Simmer Chicken Bones
After purchasing the chicken bones, wash them thoroughly and let them drain.
Peel the onion and shallots, then cut the onion in half. Peel the ginger and slice it. Wash the garlic and cut the garlic bulbs in half horizontally.
Place the chicken bones in a pot and then add the shallots, onion, ginger, and garlic. Add enough water to just cover the bones, cover with a lid, and simmer over medium heat for about 1 hour.
Strain the broth using a strainer to remove the solid vegetable and chicken bone pieces, let the broth cool, and place it in the refrigerator for about 6 hours.
After 6 hours, take it out, skim or strain off the solidified chicken fat layer on top of the broth.
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Preparation of mushrooms and vegetables
You peel the carrots and white radish, wash them clean, and cut them into bite-sized pieces.
You trim the stems of the mushrooms, and for the vegetables, you pick off any spoiled or wormy leaves. Wash all types of mushrooms and vegetables thoroughly, and let them drain.
For the chicken thigh mushrooms, you cut them into small pieces, and you can cut star shapes on the caps of the shiitake mushrooms.
How to properly clean different types of mushrooms:
- For enoki mushrooms, white reishi mushrooms, and brown reishi mushrooms, you only need to cut off the stems and rinse them quickly with cold water.
- Fresh shiitake mushrooms should be rinsed under running water several times to remove sand, and cut off any tough stems.
- For chicken thigh mushrooms, soak them in a diluted saltwater solution for about 10 – 15 minutes, then rinse them with clean water.
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Preparation of seafood
You cut the shrimp’s antennae, remove the intestines, and clean the squid, discarding the ink sac. Wash the shrimp and squid thoroughly, and let them drain. You can cut the squid into smaller pieces if it is too large.
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Prepare the dipping sauce and blanch the noodles
Put 3 tablespoons of fish sauce on a plate, add 2 sliced chili peppers and it’s done.
Boil about 500ml of water and blanch the brown rice noodles or noodles for about 2 minutes, then remove. Rinse with cold water, drain, and mix with 1 tablespoon of sesame oil.
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Cook the hotpot
Layer the carrots, white radish, and types of mushrooms such as chicken thigh mushrooms and ganoderma. Next, add spinach, water spinach sprouts, shiitake mushrooms, and enoki mushrooms.
To enhance the sweetness of the hotpot, add some dried jujubes and goji berries on top. Pour all the chicken broth into the pot, cover, and bring to a boil over medium heat.
When the hotpot broth is boiling, start seasoning by adding 1/2 tablespoon of pepper salt, 1/2 tablespoon of seasoning powder, 1/2 tablespoon of rock sugar (3 pieces), and 1/2 tablespoon of fish sauce.
Then add the shrimp and squid, cover, and cook for another 3 minutes before enjoying.
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Final Product
A steaming pot of seafood mushroom hotpot with fresh green vegetables, the white of the mushrooms, and the bright red shrimp, with an intoxicating aroma that makes you want to eat right away.
The broth is clear, sweet from chicken bones and rock sugar, with fresh vegetables, mushrooms, and seafood that are all very fresh and naturally sweet, making the hotpot broth rich and irresistibly delicious.
How to choose fresh squid
- You can choose any type of squid you like such as cuttlefish, tube squid, etc.
- It is recommended to choose squids with the head and body tightly attached, which indicates freshness.
- Additionally, fresh squid should have round tentacles firmly attached to the squid’s beak, and the squid’s eyes should be clear, not cloudy.
- Squid should have a characteristic red color, and the color must be bright, not pale.
- If you choose frozen squid, select squid with the head and body still tightly attached, not separated.
- Do not buy squids with cloudy eyes, where the head and body have separated, or have a strange smell.
See details: How to choose fresh squid
How to Effectively Eliminate the Fishy Smell of Squid
- To eliminate the fishy smell of squid, you first need to clean the squid’s pouch and intestines.
- Marinating the squid with sugar for about 3 – 5 minutes and then rinsing it with clean water will help the squid become clean and no longer fishy. Alternatively, you can blanch the squid briefly in boiling tea or scald it with boiling water.
- The simplest way to eliminate the fishy smell is to use one of the types of lemon juice, vinegar, or white wine to wash the squid and then rinse it with clean water.
How to Choose Fresh and Delicious Shrimp
- Choose shrimp that have a translucent shell, with a light sea smell, not fishy, and avoid shrimp with dark patches or inconsistent colors.
- Fresh and delicious shrimp usually have their tails curled together; if the shrimp’s tail is spread out, it has likely been injected with chemicals or water to make it look plump.
- Fresh shrimp usually have their legs tightly attached to the body; if you see the shrimp’s legs turning black or no longer firmly attached to the body, do not buy them as they are no longer fresh.
See details: How to Choose Fresh Shrimp
How to quickly remove the shrimp’s intestine
- After peeling the shrimp, place the shrimp on a cutting board and use a small knife to cut along the back of the shrimp to expose the black intestine, then use the pointed end of the knife or a bamboo skewer to remove the shrimp’s intestine.
- Alternatively, you can use your fingers to gently pull out the black intestine from the shrimp’s tail.
- You can also use scissors to cut along the back of the shrimp for easier removal of the intestine.
See more:
Above is a detailed guide on 2 ways to cook seafood hotpot that are delicious, easy to make, and authentic for your party. TasteVN hopes this hotpot will be a great suggestion for you to showcase your cooking skills to your family. Wishing you success!
