Hotpot is an easy and delicious way to eat healthy. This recipe is based on my mom’s (Dr. Judith Andrews) hotpot recipe. The basic steps:
1. Add Chinese herbs to boiling water and simmer for 30 minutes.
We chose huang qi (astragalus), hei zao (black jujube date), gou qi zi (go ji berries), gan cao (licorice root), long yan rou (longan berries), and dang gui (Chinese angelica root). This is a general Qi and Blood tonifying combination. It can be used to strenghten immunity, recover from workouts, and to alleviate gynecological symptoms.
2. Add seasonings and spices/herbs.
Here we are using Thai cooking herbs because they smell amazing and disguise the medicinal herbs well. They also provide a warming and blood-moving function. This means they speed recovery after workouts, help with menstrual cramps and other stagnation-related gynecological symptoms. We use ginger, galanga, kefir lime leaves, tumeric root, shallots, and lemongrass.
3. Add protein.
We chose chicken breast slices but you can choose anything you like: tofu skin, seitan, beef, fish, etc.
4. Add vegetables.
All vegetables have cooling and detoxifying properties.
5. Cook until vegetables are cooked. Serve alone or over rice/grains/noodles.
Includes my mom’s special tip on how to chop corn cobs.