Chaoshan beef-bone broth

Ingredientsserves 6

Equipment

• A stockpot of 6 litres or more
• A fine sieve, for a clear broth
• A small mesh scoop for each person, so the beef comes straight back out

How the time splits

1. 15 minBlanch the beef bones from cold and rinse themhands on
2. 3 hrThe bones simmer at a bare tremble with the radish and galangalhands off
3. 10 minStrain and seasonhands on
4. 15 minLay the beef out by cut and keep it in the fridgehands on

Method

1. Put the beef bones in a pot of cold water, bring it to the boil and boil for ten minutes, then lift them out and rinse each one in warm water to clear the scum. A clear broth depends on this step.
2. Bring a big pot of water (about 4 litres) to the boil and put in the bones, radish, galangal and pepper. When it comes back to the boil, turn it straight down to the lowest flame, half cover and simmer for three hours. The surface should only tremble; a hard boil turns the broth cloudy.
3. Strain it through a fine sieve; the radish can go back in. Salt it lightly: the beef has its own flavour, and the broth gets saltier as the night goes on.
4. Lay the beef out on plates by cut and keep it in the fridge until it goes in the pot.
5. Pour the broth into the hotpot, add the Chinese celery and bring it to a full boil at the table.
6. Dip the beef a slice or two at a time in a mesh scoop, swishing it in the boiling broth until the colour turns, then eat it with sha cha soy. Never tip a whole plate in; beef cooked too long turns tough.
7. When the beef is gone, put in the beef balls, radish and greens, and finish with flat rice noodles. Top up with boiling water, and wait for a full boil after every top-up before raw food goes in.

The short route

• Boxed beef stock let down with half as much water, simmered for half an hour with the radish and two slices of galangal, in place of the bones.
• Frozen shaved hotpot beef from a Chinese grocer, dipped straight from frozen. It is a different bite from fresh-cut beef, but just as good to eat.

What goes in this pot

• Fresh sliced beef: a few swishes, out as soon as the colour turns
• Beef tendon balls and beef balls: a minute more once they float
• White radish: already soft from the broth, eaten as it is
• Dried beancurd sticks: they soak up the beef broth
• Lettuce and Taiwanese lettuce: last, eaten as soon as they wilt
• Flat rice noodles: to finish

What to put in, and for how long ›

The sauce plate

Sha cha and soyChilli soy

Safe at the table

• Indoors, an induction plate or an electric hotpot is the safe choice. Australia’s gas safety regulators say butane cartridge stoves are for outdoor use only, because of the risk of carbon monoxide. If you do use one indoors, as Hong Kong homes do, keep it well ventilated, and never in a small or closed-up room.
• With a portable gas stove, never use a pot wider than the pot stand, about 20 cm at most unless the maker’s instructions allow more, and never one that reaches over the canister compartment. Never put two stoves side by side, and never leave one burning.
• Fit and remove the canister away from any flame or heat, with its notch facing up. Check for leaks with soapy water first, and do not use a stove that leaks or is damaged. Never put the stove on another cooker (an induction plate especially) or on anything hot, and put nothing between stove and pot that the maker did not supply: no foil, no extra stand.
• Buy a stove certified for Australia, set it on a level surface that will not burn, never on glass, and do not run it longer than the maker’s instructions allow. Keep sprays, lighters and paper well away. When you finish, turn it off, take the canister out and store it somewhere cool, dry and ventilated, never in a car or in the sun.
• Keep raw and cooked apart: use a separate pair of chopsticks or a slotted spoon for raw meat and seafood, and never eat from them.
• After topping the pot up, wait for it to come back to a full boil before anything goes in.
• Chicken, pork, liver and seafood must be cooked through before eating. Sliced pig’s liver needs at least three to five minutes at a full boil; Hong Kong’s Centre for Food Safety advises at least five minutes for seafood; clams boil until they open and then three to five minutes more, and any that stay shut are thrown away. Enoki boils at least two minutes and is never eaten raw.
• For pregnant women, children under five, older people and anyone with a weakened immune system: beef until no pink remains, and seafood for the full five minutes.
• Raw meat plates stay out no longer than two hours. Leftovers go into the fridge within two hours, keep no more than three days, and are reheated only once, until boiling hot.

Take care

• Beef tendon balls and beef balls usually contain wheat (gluten) and soy; read the pack. The sha cha sauce in the saucer contains fish, shrimp (a crustacean), soy and sesame, and some brands contain peanut, and the soy contains soy and wheat.
• Keep raw beef away from other food: pick it up with the raw chopsticks and eat with your own. Keep the sliced beef in the fridge, and do not leave it out on the table for more than two hours. For pregnant women, children, older people and anyone unwell, cook the beef until no pink remains. Beef tendon balls need a minute more once they float. Wait for a full boil after every top-up before raw food goes in.

The story

The Chaoshan beef hotpot once had sha cha sauce cooked into the broth; later the broth turned clear and the sha cha moved to the saucer. Hong Kong people often say they took to this pot only in recent years, eating across the border in Shenzhen, where the point is fresh beef, cut by the muscle and eaten after a few dips.

Same kind

Clear chicken brothHong Kong satay brothPeppery pork-bone broth

Lo Fo Tong is cultural food-heritage reference, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, unwell or on medication, talk to your doctor or registered practitioner before changing what is in the pot.