I really can’t remember whether it was a rainy night. There was a single-burner electric stove sitting on top of the kitchen table. It was the first sign that something was in the works! It was hotpot cooking night! “Shabu-shabu”, that’s what we call it back home and it can be prepared in a hundred different ways.

We had always enjoyed hotpot cooking in a restaurant. The experience is exotic. The current Covid19 pandemic though has curtailed most outside activities and we started to shelter in place months ago as a way of staying safe. The current situation appears to have improved over the months but there are still some uncertainties. The night’s meal promised a good break.

The soup stock with the seaweed pieces were the first in the pot. The soup stock started to simmer and the aroma, by itself, already smelled good!

The two kinds of meat were all laid out in rows. I liked the combination of beef and pork as it added different flavors to the soup. The meat were immersed in the soup and it took only a few moments of simmering before it started to add flavor and aroma to the soup.

I looked at the vegetables and remembered my vegetable patch at the backyard. How I wish my produce looked as good as these. I can only wish and try harder.

The green, leafy vegetables and vermicelli went in the pot once the meat lost its pink color. The soup looked and smelled good enough to have everybody gathering around. Each one enjoyed a bowl of hot soup or two. A bowl of hot, steaming white rice completed the ensemble.

It was notable that my granddaughter was the esteemed cook for the night. It was her first time and it showed by the look on her face.