As usual, we each brought different ingredients to put into the steamboat.
I went grocery shopping on the way to Ling and Shallen's place. I wanted to make some yong tau foo. The store where I bought the fish paste from only had it available in the frozen state, so Ling put it in the microwave to help it defrost. After a few minutes it wasn't totally thawed out but it was manageable. Sort of like a fish granita. Fish slushee. I mixed in some chopped coriander, a splash of soy sauce and some white pepper. We rushed to stuff the tofu and eggplants with them.
There were several times when we'd add more food into the steamboat and then have to wait about five to ten minutes for the soup to boil and cook the food. The waiting part is frustrating when you're hungry. Ling had a great strategy that we'll have to adopt next time. He prepares two bowls of food - he staggers the times that he puts the food in them so that the first one can cool down and he can eat it, while waiting for the second bowl to cool down.
For dessert, I brought some ingredients with a rough idea in mind but I mostly just made it up as I went. Firstly, I whipped some mascarpone, castor sugar and thick cream together. We thought it would be nice with some brandy so I went to pour some in but sort of overdid it. I was praying that after mixing it in it wouldn't be too runny. Luckily it was fine. We had some lady finger biscuits in the pantry so we soaked them in some whisky and then broke them up to layer in glasses with the mascarpone mixture, defrosted frozen berries and left over Easter eggs that we broke into smaller pieces. It looked absolutely divine. We sprinkled cinnamon on them and put them into the fridge to set a bit before serving.
Mascarpone Berry Cups
They were really good! I could taste the brandy and whiskey. The lady fingers could have done with a slightly longer soak in the whiskey.
Shallen's Roasted Pumpkin & Bocconcini Vol au Vents
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