My career as an ESL teacher officially begins tomorrow (Yeah...or is it yay...see my post of a few days ago). Today, Eve and I went to the local Toys R Us--yes, that's right, even in Taiwan people appreciate low-priced toys--to buy a few games and puzzles for the classroom. We came away with sets of darts, a basketball hoop, a set of bowling pins, and various other odds and ends. And yes, these are all necessary for ESL teaching.
Later, I decided to celebrate the start of my teaching career by going downtown for a nice dinner at one of the large department stores in Taoyuan. Every major department store in Taiwan seems to have chi-chi (and sometimes not-so chi-chi) dining options attached to it. And so it was that I encountered the Taiwanese gastronomical phenomenon known as the hot pot.
Hot pots are somewhat akin to fondue. A sterno is brought out and put on the table, upon which a broth is placed, containing flavoring and sometimes vegetables. Alongside the broth comes a plate of raw meat and sometimes vegetables, which are placed the broth to cook and eaten piece by piece. They are, I have discovered, a central part of Asian cooking, particularly in the winter months. The kind of weather that causes Americans to roast marshmallows on an open fire makes Asians--the dish is popular throughout Asia--to turn to hot pots.
My first experience with a hot pot was a rather messy affair, as I tried, foolishly, to remove the broth from the sterno once I felt the meat was sufficiently cooked. This is NOT a good idea...it just splatters broth. Better to let the sterno burn out on its own, the hard way. But all in all, it was ain interesting dining experience, with flavor somewhat akin to an Indian curry.
If you ever swing by Taiwan, be sure to sample a hot pot.
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