Cambodian Hot-Pot Banquet With Vegetables And Seafood
- Total Time
- 6 hours, plus overnight refrigeration
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Ingredients
- 2large chickens, cut into pieces
- 8quarts water
- 6stalks fresh lemongrass (bottom 5 inches only)
- 1tablespoon coriander seeds
- 2teaspoons kosher salt
- 3grinds fresh pepper
- 4lemons
- 8cloves garlic, peeled
- ½cup sugar
- ½cup nuoc mam
- ½cup chicken broth
- 1½teaspoons chili-garlic sauce, plus more to taste
- 2fennel bulbs, trimmed and cut into 6 wedges
- 4small zucchini, trimmed, halved lengthwise and cut across into 2-inch pieces
- 8medium carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise and crosswise
- 16asparagus tips with 2 inches of stalk left on
- 16shiitake or white mushrooms, stemmed
- 2small heads Napa cabbage, quartered and tied together with string
- 2small taro roots, peeled and cut into chunks about ¾ inch by 1½ inches
- 16scallions, white and light green parts only
- 4medium baking potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
- 2heads broccoli, florets only
- 1pound salmon fillet, cut into chunks about 2 inches by 1 inch by ½ inch
- 1pound tuna steak, cut into chunks about 2 inches by 1 inch by ½ inch
- 1pound sea bass fillet, cut into chunks about 2 inches by 1 inch by ½ inch
- 1pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1pound sea scallops
- 16littleneck clams
- 16small mussels
- 1pound squid, cut into rings
The Broth
The Dipping Sauce
The Vegetables (choose 5 to 6)
The Seafood (choose 5 to 6)
Preparation
- Step 1
At least one day before serving, make the broth by placing the chickens in a large stockpot. Add the water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and skim off the foam as it rises. Cook 10 minutes. Add the lemongrass, coriander, salt and pepper. Simmer slowly for 4 hours.
- Step 2
To make the dipping sauce, juice 2 of the lemons. Peel the other lemons with a paring knife, removing all peel and pith. Cut the lemon sections away from the membranes. Squeeze out the lemon remains to get all the juice. Set aside.
- Step 3
Chop the garlic in a food processor. Add the lemon sections and juice and pulse to make a coarse puree. Scrape into a bowl and stir in the sugar, nuoc mam, chicken broth and chili-garlic sauce. Store, covered, in the refrigerator. (Let come to room temperature before serving.)
- Step 4
Strain the broth through a fine- mesh sieve. Refrigerate overnight and skim off the fat. Place in a large pot and bring to a boil.
- Step 5
Blanch the vegetables in the broth one type at a time, removing them with a slotted spoon or skimmer before adding the next group. Make sure the broth is simmering before adding the vegetables. Blanch the fennel until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes; zucchini until tender, about 3 minutes; carrots until tender, about 12 minutes; asparagus until crisp-tender, about 1 to 2 minutes; mushrooms until tender, about 3 minutes; Napa cabbage until crisp-tender, about 15 minutes, then untie; taro root until tender, about 15 to 20 minutes; scallions until tender, about 5 minutes; potatoes until tender, about 15 minutes; broccoli florets until tender, about 5 minutes. The vegetables can be blanched a few hours ahead of time.
- Step 6
To serve, strain the broth again and divide between 2 electric cook pots, large fondue pots or large pots that can be placed over electric hot plates.
- Step 7
Arrange the vegetables and the raw seafood on platters. Spoon the dipping sauce into 8 individual shallow bowls or plates. Guests should have long-handled forks, or individual dipping baskets, soup spoons, chopsticks and soup bowls.
- Step 8
At the table, heat the broth to a simmer and let guests cook the seafood and reheat the vegetables in the broth, as well as ladle some broth into their bowls.
Private Notes
Advertisement