What is a Steamboat?
Last night, two of my students had a steamboat dinner at their Dharma house, Panchen House. They had a few friends over and prepared a huge variety of raw vegetarian dishes! They posted it on Facebook with pictures… there was so many nutritious ingredients and fresh. I wanted some. So I asked them to organize today at my place. I wanted them to film it so I can blog and share with everyone this incredible wholesome dish that is delicious. You know, they shopped, cleaned, washed, chopped, cooked, filmed, edited and got the video and pictures ready all in half a day. And here it is!
You will see Ethan and Jean Ai are WONDERFUL COOKING INSTRUCTORS AND HOSTS..they have great chemistry together. I enjoyed watching the video…. they were very engaging and professional… Beng Kooi filmed, Jean Mei washed… Justin Ripley stayed up real late to finish editing the film… and Jean Mei also prepared the pictures… Good job team!!
Interesting Background:
Steamboat, or hotpot, is essentially a big pot that is kept at a constant hot temperature. The pot contains a soup stock that is prepared before-hand… Surrounding the pot of soup are plates with a variety of raw ingredients, such as Chinese cabbage, baby corn, seafood, thin slices of meat, tofu etc. (We don’t use meat at all)
The hotpot is most commonly seen within the Chinese culture, although you could also find it in other cultures such as Korean, Thai, Hong Kong and Mongolian. Chinese cuisine is one of the most famous in the world and has a huge variety.
Hot pot cooking was first recognized during the Tang Dynasty in China… almost 1,000 years ago! This method or style of eating is usually done during the winter as the warm soup helps to nourish the body and keeps it warm.
I have added the video below which was done super fast today..thanks. It is hosted by Jean Ai and Ethan and they will explain to you the process of how to host your very own hotpot dinner!
In the video, they will go through with you the ingredients that you will need, the ingredients needed for the soup stock and even how to eat it!! The soup itself was very tasty and light… just the way I like it.
For tonight’s dinner they prepared 2 types of soup stock. One was plain and the other was tom yum-flavoured (tangy and spicy). Usually you would have 2 different types of soup stock… You can tell that meal is all about variety! There is even a dipping sauce after your preferred dish is cooked in the hotpot!
A hotpot dinner is a very interactive meal, very easy to prepare and VERY delicious! Since it is all vegetarian, as you gradually add more ingredients into the pot, the soup slowly becomes more and more nutritious.
You can do this anywhere in the world and you can even customize your meal! After all, some people might like more greens in their meal and some more mock fish balls! hehe
Tsem Rinpoche
Or view the video on the server at:
https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/VeganHotPot.mp4
Preparation for the hot pot
Jean Ai and Ethan with all of the different varieties of organic vegetables.
Showing the video viewers how to prepare the vegetables.
The different raw dishes that were added into the hotpot/steamboat
Such clean, natural, wholesome and nutritious ingredients in one delicious soup…. Beautiful stuff…
At the dinner table
A table full of food… surrounded by hungry people!
Adding the raw dishes into the steaming hot pot!
This meal can go on for hours. It will keep you full, but so addicted that you can’t stop!
I was eating upstairs in my room when they were downstairs eating here… I thoroughly enjoyed the steamboat very much. Thank you for all the effort everyone and I hope my blog friends can try this at home…
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Thank you for this wonderful sharing of vegetarian steamboat. Coupled with spicy soup or herbal soup and be enhanced by the varieties of sauces, steamboat is a mouthwatering experience and a favourite meal choice to many food connoisseurs.
Steamboat or hot pot is a Chinese soup containing a variety of Asian foodstuffs and ingredients of mixed vegetables which we could choose . While the hot pot is kept simmering, ingredients are placed into the pot and are cooked at the table. Hot pot is my favourite as it’s a healthy cooking of mixed vegetables of our choice , and a varieties of other food stuffs like deep fried bean curd skin or fu chok, fresh mushrooms and so forth depending whether one is a vegetarian or non vegetarian. There are plenty of soup choices which we can choose and will make every steamboat meal different that suits one tastes. Having hot pot with family and friends is a good way to foster relationship with every one.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing.
I love steamboat! Lol! it’s very simple and healthy food. Not heaty and oily. And also a very good way to have a gathering with family and friends.Thank you very much for sharing Rinpoche.
Nice yummy vegetarian hot pot. I only tried it once in Cameron Highlands, suits very well especially in a cold weather.
Vegetarian hot pot is a great and healthy meal. We can basically mix so many types of vegetables, mushrooms, mock meat and etc.
Also is a good comfort food to enjoy among big groups of family and friends.
Looks very healthy and all the ingredients are fresh and nourishing for the body. I have never tried hotpot but it looks good.
在看这之前，我一直以为素火锅是没有东西可吃的除了青菜，现在我知道啰，以后吃火锅不怕落单了。
This video is great! Very useful tips with clear explanation and video to guide from A-Z. With Chinese New Year around the corner, many Chinese homes will have steamboat for their reunion dinner. I am looking forward to preparing a vegetarian one for the first time this year. Thank you Jean Ai & Ethan.
After becoming a vegetarian and started to eat vegetarian hot pot, I found that actually the soup is much tastier and healthier! I love the vege taste and it is sweet and fresh!
And when it comes to the preparation for vege hot pot, it is much easier and not much time needed. It is clean and without awful smell. I must tell the ‘secret’ behind vege hot pot: IT IS OIL FREE!! Therefore, for people who wish to slim down, vege hot pot is the best choice!
To me, the best thing is, I can enjoy delicious food without the guilty feeling. No one get pain and no one suffer because of me when I enjoy my delicious hot pot. And being a vegetarian, I’m happier and glad to tell the world: “Please don’t harm animals” as I don’t eat them! Lets be vegetarian to protect the animals and your own health! 🙂
It’s very healthy dishes, love this.
Thank You Rinpoche for sharing this. 🙂
Regards: Erickksiow
Wow, this looks amazing Rinpoche. I would have loved to have this for dinner! And the best part is that it is vegetarian! Which makes it more healthy and yummy. And i am so hungry now after watching the video about how the vegetarian Steamboat. Thank you for sharing Rinpoche.
Steamboat, not only good to eat when feeling sick, no appetite or cold weather, with only vegetable in the soup, the soup will become more tasty, the longer the soup boiling with the vegetables. Some steamboat soup will used herbs to boil so that the soup become more tasty and nutritious.
Rinpoche’s students e.g: Jean Ai, Ethan, they are very fast in action do performs Rinpoche’s request.
Thank you for filming the steamboat
Steamboat doesn’t have to be with meat. In the pictures and videos they didn’t it with eat meat. A lot of people loves to eat steamboat with meat so it tasted better but actually it have no difference if you put the vegetarian meat it taste very good.
I LOVE steamboat! Its one of the healthiest and easy to prepare food. Just boil the soup and throw everything in. But there is one thing that is a must have. Its the chilli! Who says vegetarian meals are boring? There are so many types of dishes that we can have in steamboat…We usually have steamboat at home and mum does it so well! Thank you mum!
Now we are waiting for Kechara Oasis to launch their steamboat! I bet it is going to be super nice!
Yummy, yummy… Feel hungry when reading this post. Thanks Rinpoche for sharing and thanks Ethan for teaching us how to prepare a yummy yummy vegetarian steamboat.
Look at the photos above, all Kecharian are so enjoy the steamboat. It show us that the taste of vege steamboat is better than non vege steamboat. And its very good for our health also.
每一年的过年，我的家婆都会準备丰盛的年菜来奖赏我们的胃，火锅一定也会是其中一道
的重点好戏！我喜欢与家人一边吃火锅一边嘻嘻哈哈的气氛，一顿饭的时间可以吃上半天！这两年因为我吃素了，我家婆就準备了更多种类的蔬菜与斋料让我也能享受吃火锅的乐趣，我感谢她对我的细心体贴！！
I love steamboat, when I studied in Taiwan, especially like to organize steamboat dinner with housemates or schoolmates in winter time. Cold days accompany with the hotpot plus all the fresh vegetables, dumplings etc…yummy yummy.
Wow, the ingredients look really fresh. Steamboat is really common in China and many people love it because it is healthy and engaging.
It is really great that Rinpoche gave the gang this opportunity to get together and share this experience with other dynamic young adults. The fun video and photos images can be an encouragement for others to follow suit. Although preparing a meal seems like a simple gesture, it symbolizes a deeper significance of bonding, sharing and sense of family, which is uncommon today where it is so convenient to eat out. Additioanlly, the wide and delicious variety of ingredients available reveals that vegetarian cuisine is very exciting and hearty.
Dear All,
May i know where did you guys purchase the mock meat items and the charcoal noodles and seaweed noodles? very very interesting items to add in 🙂
Hi Michelle, we purchased the mock meat from BMS Organic in SS2 (on the same row as Nasi Kandar Kayu), and the charcoal and seaweed noodles were purchased from Organic Recipe in Bandar Utama 🙂
I looove steamboat!
There’s something annoying about it though: you can eat steamboat till you’re really, REALLY stuffed – only to find yourself hungry again after 2 hrs and walking back to the table! Haha
It’s great to have a steamboat going on the dining table whilst you have something else going on (playing on the Play Station or Guitar Hero).
You can play, then go back and eat again and again 🙂
When was the last time I had steamboat? Probably a year ago.It was hosted by LiLi’s aunt in Old Klang Road. It was very nice,I like to have it again in her house, I always enjoy having dinner at her home,I am always welcomed by LiLi’s aunt, I am very thankful for her hospitality.
I have always loved steamboats for dinner or lunch, because it allows for people to come together and chitchat endlessly and continuously. The eating and the talking just go on in a steady flow with minimal disruption.
The food here looks so yummy, with its rich array of vegetables, mushroom and tofu and there are even mock meat dishes thrown in.
Thank you all for showing us how to enjoy a vegetarian steamboat meal with relish!
It looks so yummy yummy delicious!!! I will try cooking one of these days. It is a norm for the chinese community to have steam boat for reunion dinner during chinese new year and what a good way to cook it this way…. full of veggies with all the “mock meat”
Hum….how rich must be all!!
It’s very yummy!!
I remember a few years ago i went to Penang to visit a friend during Chinese New Year, the tradition there is to have steamboat hotpot from first day of CNY to the 6th day, so they will keep the same soup, so on the last day when i went to his house, the soup was very very delicious as it has the essence of all vege n ingredients of 5days before that. Yumyum…
What I love about steamboat is that we can modify and add whatever ingredients we like to adjust the steamboat or hot pot according to our preference and taste. It’s healthy and very easy to do. The basic ingredient must be done well. And that is the base soup. Once you’ve got that covered, the rest is easy peasy.
Steamboats and hot pots are really fun because it brings people together. Like Elena mentioned in the video, many Asians love making steamboat/hotpot during festive and special occasions because everyone gets together and eat. It’s great time to bond and catch up.
Food is an integral part of Asian way of life, because through food, we bond, we get together and share many stories. Eating is just an excuse for everyone to come together in Asia 🙂
Thanks for this post and video, Rinpoche. It’s very informative and fun to watch.
Looks super yummy!!! ;p
Thank you Ethan and Jean Ai for being such great hosts on how to prepare a steam boat dinner. And also to all the back stage crew like Jean Mei, Justin Ripley and Beng Kooi for washing up, filming and editing.
Like what Cynthia has just commented, there are a great varieties of steamboat now, basically we play along with the choices of the soup base. So you can prepare a herbal soup base if you are health concious freak, or a more spicy and zesty soup base by adding extra handful of chilli oil of your taste. I have never heard of beer steamboat, sure is something to give it a go:-)
Steam boat dinner is easy to prepare as basically minimum cooking is required except for the soup base, cleaning n cutting the vegetables . All you need to do is to buy lots of vegetables, healthy noodles and mock meat of your choice (for vegetarians)
It is a great way to have friends over as you bond and share a great time cooking and eating the dinner together. I remember when I was having steamboat at home, one of my cheeky friends would always take out my favourite fish balls (those days I was not vegetarian yet) from the pot and I ended up not able to find what I have put in. So the next few rounds when I invited my friends over, I gave each one a sieve ladel to put their food in, so no more hide and seek game for the food!
Steamboat is also a very healthy way of eating as you can see there are no deep fried stuff. Just make sure the vegetables are not overcooked in the soup.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this and yes it’s been a long time since my last steamboat dinner, may be tonight I can make one!
I love steamboat simply because it’s totally healthy and low in fat. Hehe. My favourite is tomyum and the craze these days is hot szechuan “malat” steamboat. It’s super spicy pepper cooked with chinese herbs like dong quai. Traditionally, many Chinese family in Malaysia will have steamboat during Chinese New Year Eve’s reunion dinner where relatives will gather and eat over a long period of time to catch up.
These days, there are so many variants such as porridge steamboat, miso soup steamboat and I’ve even heard of beer steamboat. Oh, I remembered preparing steamboat once and had friends over for dinner. I bought the soup from some super famous tomyum place and fooled everyone thinking I made it myself from scratch. Haha.