MCO - Day 46

2 May 2020     Day 46 of Movement Control Order

     

Scottish terriers observe the feast down below

       It has been ages since we last had a steamboat at home. Since I managed to get another bounty of fresh large prawns again, with the help of my neighbour, we decided that would be perfect for a steamboat. Ingredients for steamboat vary according to personal preferences, but prawns are a MUST! They should also be one of the first ingredients to go into the hotpot, as the shells will add another dimension to the sweetness of the broth bubbling away.

“Look at all the yummylicious food!”

“0h, look! There are others waiting to pounce on the food too!”

“Baa...do you see what I see? Food! Glorious food! Baaaa!”

Scottish terriers descend to stake their claim.

Being meat lovers, they sniff first at the beef and the chicken.

And say hi to the prawns too!

The herbivorous sheep are attracted to the enoki and shimeji mushrooms...

...and the greens.

So all’s well that ends well...and it’s only the quail’s eggs that need to be shared.

A feast to be shared harmoniously by all

        Although the MCO rules have now been relaxed, we did not fancy running here and there to get specific ingredients for the steamboat. So, apart from making a special trip to the nearby organic pork shop to get the shabu-shabu cuts of pork, we just laid out whatever ingredients that were already available at home. I do miss having salmon fillets with my hotpot though, but I’ll leave that for a post-MCO steamboat meal.

All in the pot

       For the all-important steamboat broth, I boiled a stock using chicken carcass, drumstick bones, ginger and long cabbage. When eating steamboat in the restaurants, I would flavour my food with the array of dipping sauces as I don’t gulp down too much of the Ajinomoto-laden soup. But when having home cooked steamboat, it’s the soup that I delight in and I find there’s no need for any dipping sauces. Hubby loves his fried garlic dip so I make that for him, as well as a simple cili padi soya sauce dip.

        Having steamboat at home on a rainy evening...bliss!

Stock for the steamboat boiling away in the afternoon

Sieve out the “treasures”