Mushroom Hot Pot
Ingredients
- 4 cups mushroom or vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon organic cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil (regular vegetable oil will do, too)
- 1 pc red onion thinly sliced
- 1 pc red bell pepper thinly sliced
- Big pinch salt
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons lemongrass minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger minced
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes crushed
- 2 pcs star anise
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 oz dried shiitakes
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce (or tamari to make it gluten free)
- 1 pc tomato roughly chopped
- Fresh black pepper
- 15 oz can lite coconut milk
- Juice of half a lime
To serve (obviously just pick and choose, these are just suggestions):
- 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
Instructions
- 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.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
