Steam boat

Last night we had a steam boat dinner with my in laws and Hanna and Maria's family. Actually Iman, Jack and Ayden left before dinner started so Maria was for once able to enjoy dinner without anybody on her lap!

We haven't had steamboat for quite some time simply because to have steam boat for just 4 persons is not fun nor economically viable! Amin if you are reading this from Mecca don't worry we'll do it again when you get back. This time I decided to try 2 soup base - 1 Tom Yam and the 2nd a chicken broth. We had prawns, squid, chicken, various types of tofus, mushrooms and greens as well as tang hoon noodles. Oh and for Zahra especially we had lots and lots of Crab sticks! The condiments as always were lots of cut chilli padi and sweet soya sauce with minced shallots and lime juice. Always adds extra kick to the soup!

We used Mum's old steam boat which had one of the dials missong but was still workable! I also bought another new steam boat for the occaision and although at first it did not seem to work Maria saved the day by changing the plug points! Soon the soup was bubbling away. I love the taste of hot steaming soup with the fresh ingredients, so filling yet refreshing.

For those who wish to make the soup bases here are the recipes :

Chicken broth:

Carcass or Chicken bones from two pieces of chicken breasts

1 thumb sized piece of ginger - bruised

1 large onion sliced

Additional chicken broth powder for taste( about 2 tablespoons)

Salt and pepper

Water - about 4 to 5 litres

Simply boil everything for about 30 minutes and season to taste.

Tom Yam broth:

Prawn shell peelings

4 pieces lemongrass - bruised

1 thumb sized piece of ginger - bruised

1 thumb sized piece of galangal or lengkuas - bruised

Coriander leaves and coriander root- torn up roughly

7 pieces Kaffir Lime leaves -chopped up roughly

4 Tomatoes roughly chopped

4-5 tablespoons Tom Yam paste

Juice of about 8 green limes or 3 yellow lemons

Water - about 4-5 litres

Salt

Fish Sauce ( Optional ) - I left it out last night as I thought it might be too pungent for the steam boat.

Once again just boil everthing and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes. Season accordingly.

As for the stuff to put in the steam boat- you can put in anything from Chicken to beef, seafood and various vegetables and tofu.