Red Dzao salmon steamboat (lao ca hoi dzao do)

By mahto

Ingredients

• 4 lemongrass stems, bruised
• 4 cm knob ginger, sliced
• 15 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in water for 30 minutes
• 2 black cardamom
• 2 star anise
• 2 coriander roots
• 3 litres water
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 2 long red chillies, sliced
• 1 tbsp sate sauce (available from Asian grocer)
• 1/2 pineapple, sliced
• 2 limes, juiced
• 1 tbsp salt
• 6 tbsp fish sauce
• Raw ingredients
• 1 salmon, filleted, sliced into 3 x 5cm pieces (bones and head reserved for stock)
• 4 tomatoes cut into wedges
• 500 g silken tofu, sliced into cubes
• 1 kg soft rice noodles
• 1 Chinese white cabbage, sliced
• 1 bunch watercress
• 1 bunch water spinach
• 1 bunch mustard greens

Preparation

Step 1

In a stockpot, add lemongrass, ginger, mushrooms, black cardamom, star anise, coriander roots and reserved salmon bones and head. Cover with 3 litres of water and bring to the boil.

Skim all impurities until clear. Reduce the heat to a low simmer and cook for an hour.

Now add diced tomatoes, chilli, sate sauce, pineapple, lime juice and season with salt and fish sauce, and cook for a further 5 minutes on low.

Distribute all raw ingredients on separate platters and place around the portable gas cooker in the middle of the dining table. Place the stockpot on top of the cooker and turn to medium heat.

Everyone at the table chooses their own ingredients and cooks them to their liking.