Spicy Seafood Hot Pot

This is a very fragrant and delicious soup. I make mine with pork, shrimp, mussels and squid, but you can add crab, fish and just about any other shellfish to the dish. It has lots of ingredients but is very easy to make!

• 4 inch x 4-inch sheet of dried laver crumbled
• ½ cup of onion, sliced
• 4 ounces of lean pork, cut into thin strips, mixed with a pinch of salt and ground black pepper in a small bowl. Set aside 
• 6 large shrimp shelled and deveined
• 10 mussels cleaned and de-bearded 
• 4 ounces of squid cut into ½ inch x 2 inch pieces
• 1 tbsp. of minced garlic
• 2 tsp. of minced or sliced ginger
• ¼ cup of vegetable oil
• 2 tsp. of salt
• 3 tbsp. of hot pepper flakes 
• ½ tsp. of ground black pepper
• ¼ cup of carrot, sliced into ½ inch x 2-inch strips 
• 4 stalks of green onions cut into 2 inch long pieces 
• 1 pound of cabbage (or Napa cabbage), sliced 
• 4 ounces of leek, cut into ½ inch x 2 inch pieces 
• 4 white mushrooms, sliced 
• 1 teaspoon of sesame oil 
• Water

Pour 10 cups of water into a pot. Add laver and the onion. Bring to a boil over high heat. Then turn it down and cook for about 20 minutes. Strain and keep the clear stock. Set it aside.

In a small bowl, combine 3 tbsp. of hot pepper flakes and 2 tbsp. of vegetable oil with a spoon. Set aside. You can add more or less hot pepper flakes according to your taste.

Heat up a large wok or a heavy bottomed pot with 2 tbsp. of vegetable oil, and then add garlic and ginger and stir them until light brown.

Add pork strips and stir-fry them for 2 minutes. Add vegetables: cabbage, carrot, green onion, leek, and white mushroom and stir for 5 minutes until all are cooked nicely and light browned.

Add the mixture of hot pepper flakes and vegetable oil and mix them well.

Add squid, shrimp, and mussels and keep stirring over high heat for about 5 minutes.

Add the stock and boil it for about 7-10 minutes.
Add 2 tsp. of salt and ½ tsp. of ground black pepper.

Take out 4 portions of the noodles from the package and add them to the boiling soup and cook until the noodles are done. Take a sample to see if the noodles are cooked fully or not. The noodles should be soft and chewy. Add 1 tsp. of sesame oil and transfer to bowls. Serve it hot. 

NOTE:
You can also buy the shellfish already cleaned and shelled.