Vietnamese-style Thai Hotpot (Lẩu Thái)

Thai hot pot on a portable induction stove.

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Vietnamese-style Thai Hotpot (Lẩu Thái)

Thai hotpot (lẩu Thái) is among the most popular hotpots in Vietnam, featuring a flavorful sweet and sour broth and a wide variety of fresh dipping ingredients. You can easily make this hotpot at home for family and friends gatherings.

Prep Time15

Cook Time1 30

Total Time1 45

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Keyword: Thai hot pot

Servings:

Calories: 548kcal

Author: Sophie Pham

Ingredients

For the broth

shrimp heads and shells from 1 lb raw shrimp
cooking oil
8⅓ cups water
2½ teaspoons salt, divided
1.5 oz galangal, slice into thick rounds
0.5 oz peeled garlic cloves
1 oz peeled shallots
4 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges
2 mild red chilies, seeds removed and cut into shorter pieces
5 lemongrass stalks, white and light green parts, bruised
8-10 kaffir lime leaves, roughly torn
3 tablespoons tamarind paste (to taste)
3 tablespoons sugar (to taste)
2 teaspoons fish sauce (to taste)

For the dipping ingredients (See Notes for customization)

peeled and deveined shrimp from 1 lb raw shrimp
10.5 oz salmon fillets, thinly sliced
1 lb thinly sliced beef
12 oz tofu, cut into slices or cubes (either silken or firm will work)
rice vermicelli noodles
1.5 lb mixed vegetables (such as napa cabbage, garland chrysanthemum, water spinach, beansprouts)
8 oz enoki mushrooms

US Customary - Grams

Instructions

Prepare the broth

Place a pot over medium heat and once it is hot, add oil to lightly coat the bottom. Add the shrimp shells and heads. Sauté until they are browned and smell flavorful, then add the water and 2 teaspoons salt.
Bring the pot to a boil, then lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cover and simmer for 45-60 minutes (or longer for stronger flavor). You can prepare the aromatics and dipping ingredients during the simmering time.
Use a pestle and mortar to roughly pound/crush the galangal, garlic, and shallots. We will start cooking the tomatoes and all the aromatics about 10-15 minutes before the shrimp stock is ready.
In a clean pot, heat some cooking oil over medium heat. Add the tomato wedges (reserving a few wedges for serving) and chopped red chilies. Cook until the tomatoes are fully softened, about 5 minutes.
Add the galangal, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves to the pot while reserving just a small amount to add when serving the hot pot. Also add all of the garlic and shallots. Sauté and continue to cook until it is very fragrant and all the aromatics have been softened, about 5 minutes.
Once the shrimp stock is ready, discard the shrimp heads and shells. Pour the stock into the pot with the tomatoes and aromatics. Bring it to a simmer, then add the tamarind paste, sugar, fish sauce and remaining salt.
Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes (up to 30 minutes) to let the flavors combine. Taste and adjust to your liking. Discard all the solid ingredients, leaving just the fragrant and flavorful broth.

Serve the hot pot

Place a portable stove or electric hotpot cooker in the center of the table. Fill the hotpot with the prepared broth and add the reserved lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime leaves. Bring it to a simmer.
Arrange all the hotpot dipping ingredients - seafood, meats, vegetables, mushrooms, tofu, and noodles - on separate plates around the hotpot.
Once the broth is simmering, diners can start adding ingredients into the hotpot. You can continuously add ingredients as you eat and be aware that different ingredients may have different cooking times.
Use chopsticks or a slotted ladle to pick out the cooked ingredients from the hotpot. You can provide each diner with a small bowl of fish sauce and several slices of red chilies (optional) as the dipping sauce.
The broth will become more flavorful as ingredients are cooked in it. Toward the end, it may become saltier and you can top up the broth with extra stock or water as needed.

Notes

If it is not possible to make shrimp stock, you can substitute with chicken stock or pork bone broth.

Feel free to adjust the quantity of dipping ingredients to your liking. Other options include squid, clams, fish balls, shrimp balls, and oyster mushrooms.

Make sure to have separate chopsticks to handle raw dipping ingredients and cooked ones to avoid cross-contamination.

Nutrition