Recently I organised a hotpot for my church group last week. Hotpot, or steamboat is a favourite with pretty much everyone – because who doesn’t enjoy eating – and is a nice social experience, too. I thought it’d be novel to blog on my planning notes :>
Checklist:
Pick a date
(Try) Confirm numbers - how many are attending? e.g. 25 – Actually confirm, this makes it much easier to budget properly. I like $10 per person, but maybe add a dollar for getting drinks next time (wang lao ji 24 pack)
Plan shopping. Best to buy veges in daytime or right after work
Plan stoves and pots – If borrowing stuff, take a photo/label so you know what belongs to who. Avoid - “Oh, was that your pot/did you bring those ladles?”
Tip: To plan how much to buy, group people by tables. Then plan quantities for one table. Finally, multiply everything by the number of tables e.g. 5
What to buy
- A quick google search is great for inspiration.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_pot
Veges
2x Big chinese cabbage 4x Bundles of choi sum 2x Bundles of small bok choy 1x Diakon (White radish) – special request 3x Straw mushrooms – will probably want more mushroom varieties next time
Meat
22x 250g frozen meat (a mix of roll beef and lamb). 3 packets were leftover.
A good estimation is 4x 250g packs of meat per table of hungry young adults.
2x 1kg chicken (e.g. breast) – Simply cut into smaller pieces. Not too expensive and good for variety :)
Tofu
3x Firm tofu (had some leftover) 1x Large packet of fried beancurd Totally getting fried tofu next time.
Fishballs
Get more fishballs / tofu next time over meats
5kg total ~$50
The possibilities are endless: - Fishball mixed (fishcake, white fishballs) - Fishball with ‘roe’ - Fishball with cheese (good choice!)
Have enough variety for each table
Condiments
- Soy sauce
- Chili oil, e.g. black bean etc.
- Peanut butter (check for allergies)
- BYO (coriander, garlic)
Noodles
- 2x Ramen noodles (dried. like how you buy pasta)
- 2x Udon noodles
Other
- 1x dozen of eggs. >$3
- $10 Disposable bowls
- Disposable chopsticks
- Hotpot soup base (but not for gluten free)
Total cost
$248.98 for 25 people. $10 each. People can take home leftovers as they want.
#gfm