Mushroom Hot Pot

By polloazul

Ingredients

• To serve (obviously just pick and choose, these are just suggestions):
• 4 cups mushroom or vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon organic cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil (regular vegetable oil will do, too)
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• Big pinch salt
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons minced lemongrass
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 star anise
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 oz dried shiitakes
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce (or tamari to make it gluten free)
• 1 roughly chopped tomato
• Fresh black pepper
• Cooked rice noodles or jasmine rice
• Fresh cilantro
• Fresh basil (thai basil if you can find it)
• Grilled tofu (seasoned simply with sesame oil, black pepper and salt)
• Roasted cashews
• Cooked aduki beans
• Thinly sliced sauteed seitan
• Steamed broccoli or cauliflower
• Finely sliced bok choy
• Extra wedges of fresh lime
• 15 oz can lite coconut milk
• Juice of half a lime

Details

Adapted from theppk.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat a 4 quart pot over medium heat. Mix the cornstarch into the broth and set aside (this is easiest if you just mix it into about a cup of broth, then pour the rest of the broth in.) Saute onion and pepper in the oil with a big pinch of salt, until onions are soft, about 5 minutes.

Add garlic, lemongrass, ginger and red pepper flakes and mix in. Cook until fragrant, about a minute, then stream in the broth/cornstarch mixture and add most of the other ingredients: star anise, cinnamon, shiitakes, soy sauce, tomatoes and fresh black pepper. Stir often for the first 10 minutes or so, until the cornstarch has thickened the broth a bit. Now cover pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat to simmer and cook covered for a good half hour, until mushrooms are completely softened.

Add coconut milk and lime, and taste for salt. Heat through and serve with fresh herbs and other accoutrement.