Wok & Roll by Peter Kwong, (Frederic) Inter-County Leader
» Download this column as a Word document
It is a tradition for Chinese families that during Chinese New Year the family would get together and feast. Almost like Thanksgiving here in the States, but the feast would last for days.
Hot pot feast is one of the most popular, as it has the true meaning of “bringing the family together.” The family would gather around a round table, with a hot pot set in the center. The standard hot pot is like a brass pagoda — with a tall chimney set on top of a small furnace; wood pieces would be added to the fire constantly to keep the fire going and the soup boiling. A normal feast would last for hours.
A hot pot dinner is perfect for the Northwoods in winter. Who cares if there’s a foot of snow outside when you are sitting in front of a hot pot, surrounded by plenty of foods and drinks ready to be consumed? Lucky for us, Chinese New Year follows the lunar calendar, so it falls in late January or early February each year; which is right in the midst of winter. What a great way to welcome the new year, celebrating with your friends.
The traditional dinner was postponed this year as I had my shoulder replacement operation in December. Delay no more, I told my wife, let’s have this hot pot dinner before summer hits. Naturally, we invited the Foxwells (Al and Colleen) and their grandson Elijah to join us. As a trade, I asked him to write a story on his experience with the hot pot tradition, and he happily agreed. What a guy! So, here is the story of Elijah Stuart’s Hot Pot Feast:
A few years ago, I met Peter Kwong at his house for Chinese New Year. I was very excited to meet him and learn about what we were going to do that night. When I got there, the other guests were there too. I introduced myself to Peter and soon we were great friends.
Earlier that year, my Grandpa and I picked up a small 14-foot fishing boat to fish and have fun in that day. I promised Peter that I would teach him how to fish out of a boat. Since then, I have grown and passed boaters safety and I cannot wait to see him again. So that’s how it started!
Tonight, I am going to Peter’s to celebrate Chinese New Year. We are going to celebrate with Peter and Colleen and my grandparents Allan and Colleen Foxwell. When we arrived, we gave Peter a bottle of wine. Peter then described what the celebration was and why we celebrated. The purpose of Chinese New Year is to be renewed and let go of all difficulties in your life.
Peter showed us how hot pot cooking is done. You have a pot in the center of the table with soup broth and very little oil boiling. For each course you put the food in the pot and then you talk — or “eat, talk, wait” for each different food you experience. When the food is done, you get a straining ladle to get the food out of the pot.
Peter showed us to our seats and the meal began. The first thing Peter did was to give me a red envelope with money in it. This tradition is where an elder gives the money to the youngest. “Thank you, Kung Hey Fat Choy,” which means “I wish you prosperity.” That is said to both parties.
The first thing Peter cooked was homemade potstickers. These are meat and veggies inside a dough pocket. It is a must during New Year dinner, as the potstickers resemble a loaded purse. What a way to start a new year! The best way to eat them is to bite off the end and dip it into Peter’s special sauce. Peter’s sauce is made with soy sauce, wine, sugar, hot pepper flakes and chopped onions. (Editor’s note — wish I never told him that.)
The next course was fish balls and squid sections. There were three types of fish balls — shrimp balls, fish balls, and fish balls with eggs inside; and others, including beef balls. I personally thought the fish balls with eggs inside were the best, because when you bit into the eggs, they would crack and release a whole new flavor into your mouth. Then came the meat courses. We were first served the abalone mushrooms and Gai Lan (Chinese broccoli), and Napa cabbage. I love Gai Lan (means release of all difficulties) because of its sweet taste; it did not look like our broccoli. With Chinese broccoli, you eat the stem and leaves, not the florets.
Tofu and noodles came next; the tofu was a new experience for me, because when you boiled it in the soup stock, all of the flavors from the other foods got sucked up into the tofu and the flavor was fabulous! The last course was steak. I never tasted anything so juicy and tender. Never would I have imagined boiling steak! I personally thought it was the best part of the meal.
After we had eaten all the food, there was the broth that had flavors from all the food that had cooked in it. We drank the broth slowly, tasting various foods that were cooked in it. YUM!
After we ate and drank the broth, there was still food left over. Then I looked and saw something that I did not remember trying. It looked like a small piece of potato and so I decided to give it a try. I popped it in my mouth to see how it tasted. It was one of the worst decisions ever. It just so happened to be a piece of very strong ginger. For the next two hours, I had the strongest breath and a burning mouth.
I would like to thank Peter again for sharing his culture with me and showing me how a hot pot dinner works! For a meal like this I may have to give him two boat rides and fishing trips. — Elijah Stuart
After eating all the fun foods that resemble luck, prosperity and good fortune, we are all ready for the upcoming year. Great food, great friends, and a grand time.
Oh, how we love living in the Northwoods. Maybe Elijah will keep his promise and give me a few lessons in fishing?
