A Steamboat Party

My worst steamboat experience was during a church event in Kuching many years back. I was literally drinking plain water for soup. Lol. I remember pouring soy sauce into my bowl as everything seemed just so tasteless.

I do love a good steamboat dinner. It is quite novel to have to cook whatever you wish to eat at the table. Besides that, the fellowship over the meal is always great! Over in West Malaysia, families often have steamboat dinners during their reunion dinners on Chinese New Year's eve. In Sarawak, however, this practice is quite uncommon.

Sometime last year, Mom and I thought of buying a multi-cooker so that we could have a steamboat dinner at home. But Dad poured cold water over our idea, arguing that it would be too much of a hassle to prepare so much food for just the 3 of us. And so, I put the purchase on hold.

The soup stock is extremely important for steamboat. Typically, chicken or pig bones are boiled for long hours. Sometimes, anchovies can be added to the boiling soup stock for that super umami taste. Other people prefer a spicy and tangy tom yam base for the soup. I do not mind either.

HK and CH just moved into their own house. And tonight, this young couple invited us over for a little steamboat party. There were plenty to eat!

First up, there were the raw meats and seafood.

Pork

Chicken

Prawns

Squid rings

I lost count of the many types of "balls". I don't know what varieties they were - probably of fish, meat, mushrooms and vegetables. Some were deep-fried. Some were elongated. Interesting.

The surimi stick and the sausages were a hit with the kids.

Surimi Fish Sticks

Chicken sausages

Then, there were the mushrooms.

Shitake mushrooms

Oyster mushrooms (I think!!)

Canned button mushrooms

There were tofu and eggs too.

Soft white tofu

Raw eggs

Vegetables were of course compulsory.

Baby bok choy

Lettuce

Baby sweetcorn

Noodles were prepared, in case people needed carbohydrates!

Yellow egg noodles

Glass noodles

Condiments were important to flavour the cooked ingredients. Last night, there were homemade garlic oil to flavour the soup.

Garlic oil

Deep-fried chopped garlic

Deep-fried shallots

Except for the shacha sauce 沙茶酱, the other sauces were homemade.

Shacha sauce 沙茶酱

Belacan & Chilli Sauce

Ground chilli sauce

Another type of ground chilli dip

Chopped chilli padi for that extra fiery kick

Fresh chopped garlic for dipping

Generally, there are no rules to a good steamboat. Buy whatever you wish to eat, and cook them yourself on the table.