Yummy Yummy in Your Tummy

I am absolutely incapable of cooking, and I understand that I am not alone. So if you are also one of those people who cannot cook, here is a simple way to a delicious meal: hot pot. For anyone who may not be familiar with what hot pot is, it is a unique type of Chinese meal in which a pot of water is kept boiling in the center of the table while people add ingredients to the pot throughout the meal. At times, spices are added to the water in order to add flavor to the food and if not, all sorts of dipping sauce are usually available. Anyway, here are the things you need (note: the below ingredients are only my personal suggestions; feel free to use other ingredients):

1. A portable butane gas stove
2. Vegetables: bok choi, tofu, cabbage, and varieties of mushroom
3. Meats: fish balls, meatballs, thinly sliced pork and beef, shrimps, and scallops
4. Sauces: soy sauce and hoisin sauce
Reminder: all ingredients must be washed beforehand.

And if you get bored while eating, you can share with your friends the “hot pot legend,” which may or may not be just a story my dad made up. So, once upon a time, there was a Chinese emperor who wanted to deepen his understanding of the how the peasants lived. Thus, he decided to travel to a village with a couple of his servants. On his way there, however, there was a horrible snowstorm, which robbed the emperor of his horse and the majority of his food. For the emperor, this was the first time he had ever traveled so far on foot and not to mention, in a storm without much food, so when they finally arrived at their destination, the emperor was barely able to even stand. Immediately, the servants went to look for food from the villagers, but being the poor peasants they were, the villagers did not have any fancy food. All they had were leftovers and scraps, but under such circumstances, the emperor was willing to eat anything. So, the villagers gathered together all their leftovers and scraps and threw them all into one big pot of boiling water. To everyone’s surprise, the emperor thought the food was the most delicious thing he’s ever had, and he named it the “number one pot” (this is why hot pot is also sometimes called the number one pot). Little did they know, the emperor really only found the food delicious due to his extreme hunger at that time.