We visited Han Restaurant again.  Those Hot Pots are addictive, I tell ya’.  Well, we had some of the broth leftover and you know how The Goddess loves her leftovers.  We decided to “re-purpose” it a bit, so we made a fish stew.  Fish stew is more or less a Hot Pot which we made out of the Chengdu Spicy broth.  Turns out that little rest in the fridge helped the heat bloom, making it even spicier.  We got a nice assortment of seafood—scallops, shrimp, Jonah crab legs, chopped clams, cod and mushrooms and ramen noodles (without the flavor packet or it would be too salty). Reheat the broth (that’s a piece of lemon grass and a star anise floating there; the red is from chile oil!).  Add the mushrooms (some diced fresh fennel and pieces of sweet corn would be delicious, too) and toss in a packet or two of ramen noodles.  After a couple of minutes, add some Jonah crab claws (or other type of crab claws) and a piece of cod loin.  Let it cook for a couple of minutes.  Toss in chopped clams and some shrimp.  Cook for about a minute, until the shrimp just begins to turn slightly pink around the edges.  Finally, toss in the sea scallops.  You’ll only want to cook the scallops for about 60-90 seconds.  I quarter the scallops, which makes them easier to eat.  You can use bay scallops, but I prefer the sea scallops, as I find they are more tender.

Pour the soup into a bowl, sprinkle on some finely chopped cilantro, thinly sliced green onions and some chopped parsley.  We made some cornbread, which is always good with any sort of soup or stew.  And that’s all there was to it.

If you aren’t lucky enough to be near Han Restaurant and don’t have leftover broth, you can make your own.  Add some spices, like scallion pieces, lemongrass and a star anise, then boil it up.  After about 10 minutes, toss some seafood or chicken (and veggies, too) and create your own, perfect Hot Pot.

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