Shared by DeniseM
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For Mother’s Day, instead of going out, and there is something very wrong with this picture, I decided I wanted a hot pot dinner, but I wanted to do it myself at home! 😳 What was I thinking? Actually, I had only been to a hot pot restaurant once before and absolutely loved it. I think I posted about it in the Community because it’s VERY easy to do it, Keto. In fact, it was one of the best keto meals ever because it was so good and was just so much fun to be there for a couple of hours, cooking these wonderful meats and seafood and veggies in deliciously flavored broths. And we were served by a robot! 🤖
I didn’t have a robot for Mother’s Day, but I did have a Korean BBQ grill and a hot pot! Pretty impressive. The hot pot and grill I bought were absolutely amazing! Both things made everything so delicious; everyone kept saying over and over how good everything was.
I had planned this for a while, so I watched Hot Pot YouTube videos and looked at cookbooks. I have Kindle Unlimited on Amazon, so I looked at all the free Asian hot pot and Korean BBQ cookbooks. I even searched ChatGPT! Have you tried that A.I. website yet? So fun. Life 'chattingly' fun, I think. I’ll post what ChatGPT had to say about hot pot. Actually, it was very helpful.
I’ll describe how I planned everything, and now that I know what to do, it won’t take as long next time. I did a lot of searching, trying to find keto/sugar-free ingredients. Asian products and recipes have SO much sugar, so it’s definitely something to watch out for, but I’ve found some good ones, I think.
So here’s how to do a great keto hot pot!🍲
The first thing to do is find a hot pot!
I looked at all the different versions on Amazon and found one with a grill around the hot pot. This hot pot by Ankyne also cleans very easily because the whole hot pit and grill are separate from the heating element; not every hot pot has that feature. It also can do stir fries and has an oil catcher. Both the grill and hot pot can operate simultaneously, which is very important. This hot pot was a huge hit with the guests, and the grilled meats and veggies were AMAZING!
Here is my lovely hot pot and grill! 🥢 (Don’t forget to click on the $18 coupon if you want one!)
The next thing I did was plan the table
I always try to have a pretty table; it really sets the mood. I try to find the best, most inexpensive things. I used the plates and glasses I already had and bought some very cool ramen bowls that are SO pretty. I served four different kinds of noodles, so the bowls worked great for that. You can fill your bowl with noodles, hot pot, and grill.
The Ramen Bowls have beautiful wooden chopsticks, spoons, and flower-shaped dipping sauce bowls. Very pretty!
How about some accessories for Hot Pot Night?
A few inexpensive accessories are unnecessary but could make grilling easier, such as tongs to pick up meats and veggies. However, a fork can also do the job. I prefer using chopsticks instead of forks, but this requires some skill in handling things with them!
Also, individual baskets help put your noodles, meats, and veggies into the hot broth to lower them. You can also just put everything interesting directly in the broth and let it be communal cooking, and everyone takes out what they like.
Then I just had to add to my napkin collection! I will use them so many times. So pretty!
Here’s what the table looked like. The photos are not the best. I had been at the hospital all day with my Mom, then had to rush home and put this dinner together, and I was so tired I didn’t get the best photos. It's so upsetting, but this gives you some idea. The table was small, too, so all the food was on the bar. Usually, it’s all at the table. But it worked fine. Doesn’t the hot pot look all bubbly and wonderful?🍲
Now the really good part! The menu!
This is where your imagination can go wild!
Broths: I did a spicy one and a seafood one
Protein: I did brisket, pork belly (you HAVE to have pork belly), chicken wings, ribs, and shrimp! (And I didn’t have ALL those things, just two of them!)
Veggies: Cabbage, bok choy, spinach, Brussel sprouts, mushrooms, green onions (I tried to find lotus root, but that was a no-go)
Noodles: I had low-carb Angel hair and spaghetti, carby spaghetti and rice noodles
Dipping sauces: I bought a low-carb Korean BBQ sauce; I made Thai peanut sauce and soy sauce mixed with crunchy garlic
I also had some carby dumplings from Walmart that were a big hit.
Here’s what ChatGPT had to say about the whole hot pot experience! Even ChatGPT thinks about dietary restrictions! 😀
OK, this will be coming to an end sometime in this decade! Ha!
This is what I did for the two broths:
There are plenty of recipes for the broths. but I was thinking time-saving, so I found a good spicy broth on Amazon. I added a couple of containers of chicken broth, instead of the suggested water per the instructions. Plus, I added a can of tomato paste, dried chili peppers, and some seasoning salt and pepper. Just taste and see what you think it needs. It was delicious! 🌶️
Here’s what I used, Fly by Jing. There is a little wheat flour, but with two containers of chicken broth or water, you won’t be getting much at all! Also, making a sauce completely from scratch is definitely doable. I’ll be doing that next, I think.
The other broth I chose was a seafood one. I did make this one from scratch. I started with two large containers of seafood broth and just added things I thought would taste good in it. Garlic, of course, onion, chunks of ginger, some soy sauce, mushrooms, green onion, seasoning salt and pepper, and any other herbs and seasoning you like. If you want it spicy, add some red chili flakes and/or dried peppers. Cilantro would be good too! 🌿
Here are the low-carb noodles I used that I really like. 🍜
The Korean BBQ sauce I used for the meats and shrimp to be dipped in for the grill was this sauce by Kevin’s. Everything cooked on the grill was absolutely delicious. No one wanted to stop! It’s only four carbs for 2 Tablespoons, with just a little sugar, but you could do some G Hughes, sugar-free BBQ sauce, or any other that you like. Add a little soy sauce, garlic, and ginger to give it a more Asian flavor.
That‘s almost it, guys! I hope you’re still with me. Gosh, I hope I haven’t forgotten something! I’ll have to save it for Hot Pot Part Two! So you basically sit around for hours, talk, grill, dunk things in broth, and have the best, most delicious time! Amazing for holidays and birthdays. I just served some keto ice cream for dessert. I couldn’t find anything like Green Tea, so I did mint chocolate chip; it was green! 🍧
I hope you can do your hot pot and have a great time with it! 😊
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