This is the first time I join the "Medicinal cooking competition" and it gave me a real headache to choose the healthiest dish because there are so many good and nutritious dishes.

I asked myself what kind of dish that I can add lots of vegetables in it and it is also tasty, then hotpot immediately pops up, it is a well-balanced meal between proteins and fiber, you can practically add any source of proteins (meat, fish, mushroom, tofu) and many kinds of vegetables.

It is a popular Asian dish that is favored by people of all ages, nothing gets better than gathering around the hotpot in the wintertime when it is chilling. I am sure this dish will satisfy your whole family as it does for mine.

Ingredients: (recipe for 4 people)

• Thai hotpot soup base 280g (it says you can make 1.5l of broth)
• 6 lemongrass stalks
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 2 chilies
• 3 tomatoes
• 3 salmon head (fillet is also good, or no fish if you prefer a veggie version)
• 200g mushroom (I use enoki mushroom, but you can add any kind of mushrooms)
• 300g plain tofu
• 300g egg tofu
• 250g of seafood tofu (p/s: I love tofu 😂)
• 1 kg of rice vermicelli (I use the fresh one, but you can also use the dried one)
• Vegetables (water spinach, Chinese cabbage, watercress, etc...you name it)
• a tablespoon of oil
• fish sauce
• sugar
• seasoning powder

INSTRUCTION

Making the broth.

Step 1

Cleansing all vegetables, mushrooms, fish, herbs, and spices.

Step 2

Cut off the bottom of the lemongrass(the green part which is chewy and flavorless), then use the back of the knife to smash it lightly. After that, dice it into thin slices, keep half of the stalks for later, cut these into smaller chunks (5 cm).

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Slice the garlic and chilies into small pieces, then chop the sliced lemongrass, garlic, and chilies together to make them finer.

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Cut tomatoes into wedges.

Step 3

Turn on the heat, pour some oil into the pan, add the mixture of garlic, lemongrass, and chilies into the pan. Stir them over low heat until it turns golden brown and you can smell the aroma of the spices. After that, add the soup base and wedges of tomatoes, stir them together, cook for 2 minutes.

Add 2 liters of water, then add 2 tablespoons of fish sauce, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and 2 teaspoons of seasoning powder. You can adjust it to taste, it should be mildly spicy, a little sweet, and sour.

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_{Thai hotpot soup base}
First, bring it to a boil, add the rest of the lemongrass stalks, then turn the heat to medium-low and let it simmer for about 15 minutes.

While waiting for the soup, cut the tofu into small chunks.

SERVING

Now the broth is ready. It is best if you have a portable electric stove as everyone can gather around the hot pot.

Turn on the stove, put the pot of broth on the stove, bring it to boil again.

Add the rest of the ingredients, start with raw meat or fish, then mushroom, tofu, and vegetables. You can serve with rice vermicelli or just the veggie and others. My sister is cutting down on carbs, so she did not have any noodles. But for me, I prefer to add a bit of everything.

The best thing about hot pot is you can cook as you go, taste the freshness and well-balanced flavor of veggie, salmon, mushroom, and tofu.

There, you have it, I have just finished it, but I have a craving just looking at the photos and writing this post.

Personally, I think the healthiest dish is something that has a variety of ingredients. Tofu is high in protein and low in calories. Salmon is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B12, and other essential nutrients. Not to mention mushrooms and all kinds of veggies you can add to this dish. I can go on all night about the health benefits of this dish.

What else? People do not often eat hot pot alone, we usually see it at a party or family gathering when everyone comes together and shares a meal. I believe a healthy meal is also a happy meal when you are happy to enjoy good food with your beloved. And that is the healthiest dish.

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy it!