Spicy Hot Pot with Noodles
February 2010
New Year's has a second coming: the Chinese New Year on February 14 (it's based on the lunar calendar). Celebrate by settling in with a few friends, a pile of chopsticks and a big boll of these light but crazy-spicy shrimp-and-beef noodles. The food, and the festivities, will leave you and your guests feeling warm all over.
Makes: 6 servings
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 35 mins
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 2-inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced into thin rounds
- 4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and thickly sliced
- 2 tablespoons Asian chili paste or chili-garlic paste
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 1 32 ouncecontainer (4 cups) chicken or beef broth
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/2 small head napa cabbage, cut into 2-inch pieces, stem pieces and top leaves separated
- 8 ounces fresh egg fettuccine or linguine pasta
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 3/4pound boneless beef rib eye, thinly sliced against the grain
- 3/4pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1/4cup chopped cilantro
- In a heavy, medium saucepan, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the ginger and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chili paste and brown sugar and cook, stirring often, for 30 seconds. Add 1 cup water, the chicken broth and soy sauce. Stir in the cabbage stem pieces and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water, then toss with 1 tablespoon sesame oil.
- Stir the cabbage leaves, beef and shrimp into the soup and bring to a boil until the shrimp is cooked through. Add the cilantro and remaining 1 tablespoon sesame oil. Divide the noodles among 4 to 6 bowls and add the hot broth with the vegetables, meat and shrimp.
Tip
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- Do as the Chinese do: Pick up the noodles with chopstick tips and don't twirl--slurp! In China, slurping is a compliment. Plus, it introduces cool air into your mouth to counteract the heat and spiciness.