Chinese hotpot

• 300g tiger prawns
  peeled and deveined, head and tail left on
• 250g beef sirloin
  excess fat removed and thinly sliced
• 300g smoked tofu
  drained and cut into 1 inch cubes
• 300g pork fillet
  sinew removed, thinly sliced
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
  sliced to strips
• 300g assorted seafood
  (we used scallops, fish balls and squid rings)
• 400g assorted vegetables
  (we used pak choi, Chinese cabbage, long-stem broccoli, carrots and red peppers), chopped
• 300g assorted mushrooms
  (we used oyster, chestnut, button, shiitake and wood ear fungus), halved or torn into large pieces
• 200g bean curd skin
• 400g assorted noodles
  (we used mung bean, vermicelli rice noodles, egg noodles)

For the soup base

• 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 3-4 dried long ‘chao tian jiao’ chillies
• 30g Sichuan peppercorns
• 1 tbsp chilli bean sauce
• 1.7l chicken or vegetable stock
  hot
• 6 dried Chinese mushrooms
• 1 star anise
• small handful of dried tangerine peel
  (optional)
• 50ml chilli oil
• 5cm piece ginger
  peeled and sliced
• ½ Chinese cabbage
  washed, leaves separated, sliced into 2.5cm thick pieces
• 3 spring onions
  sliced at an angle

For the Taiwanese-style dipping sauce

• 2 tbsp low-sodium light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp satay sauce
• 1 tbsp black rice vinegar
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp garlic
  crushed
• 1 tsp ginger
  grated
• 1 tbsp coriander
  finely chopped
• 2 spring onions
  finely sliced
• 1 egg yolk
  (optional)
• 1 tsp toasted white sesame seeds

For the dipping sauce

• 1 tsp garlic
  crushed
• 2 spring onions
  finely chopped
• 2 tbsp low-sodium light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp black rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil