Canadian Geoduck hot pot & sashimi

Recipe created by Stephen Wong

Stephen Wong is a popular and well respected Vancouver chef, journalist, cookbook author, and food and hospitality industry consultant who is highly regarded in Canada as the leading expert in geoduck and Asian cuisine. Born in Hong Kong, Wong moved to British Columbia, Canada in his early adult life and started his career as a chef, a manager and owner of a number of top restaurants in Vancouver throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Today, he is in demand by local food producers, harvesters and merchants to help them develop and promote their specialty food and beverage products. He is also the founding Chair of Canada’s Chinese Restaurant Awards and regularly hosts visiting media groups as a local food and hospitality industry resource. With his inherent understanding and passion for Asian cuisine and vast knowledge and commitment to products grown in British Columbia, Stephen Wong has naturally become the country’s expert in Geoduck from Canada.

Ingredients

1 Geoduck from Canada shelled, skinned, cleaned, and very thinly sliced

Broth for Hot Pot

8 cups chicken stock, or water

5 slices ginger root

3 dried Chinese (shitake) mushrooms

1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed

1 green onion, smashed

1 cup Siu choy (Napa cabbage), shredded

Dipping Sauce

½ cup light soy sauce

2 Tbsp chicken stock (unsalted), or to taste

Pinch of sugar, to taste

1 to 2 fresh red chilies, sliced

1 Tbsp sesame oil

Garnish

2 Tbsp wasabi, grated

½ cup Japanese soy sauce

¼ cup XO sauce

Preparation method:

Arrange geoduck slices attractively on a platter. Garnish with extra leafy vegetables such as sliced Napa cabbage or leaf lettuce if desired. In a large saucepan, combine all broth ingredients and bring to boil. Transfer to a hot pot and bring to the table and set on an electric or butane burner. Set burner to high initially to start broth boiling and adjust the heat to medium simmer when serving. In a small saucepan, combine all dipping sauce ingredients and bring to a boil. Adjust ingredients amounts to taste for intensity and spiciness. Transfer into small serving bowls for individual diners to use as dipping sauce for blanched geoduck. Set out each of the extra garnish ingredients in separate saucers or bowls and provide each diner with a small sauce plate to mix their own sauce for dipping the sashimi-style geoduck. Geoduck can be eaten sashimi style (raw) or blanched lightly (about 15 seconds) in boiling broth and dipped in dipping sauce. Other hot pot ingredients such as sliced raw fish, meats, jiaozi, and noodles can be added to broth and served as a complete meal if desired. Enjoy the rich broth as a soup to finish the meal. XO sauce is essentially a premium chili-spiked Chinese condiment enhanced with dried scallops, shrimps, garlic and sometimes even dry-cured ham. There are commercial versions available in Chinese supermarkets or you can buy some from your favourite Cantonese or Hong Kong-style seafood restaurants as many restaurants make their own version of it. As they often vary in flavour profile, I recommend tasting the sauce you choose and adjust seasoning and amount to your taste.