Mongolian hot pot (or Chinese fondue)
This dish is ideal for cold winter nights. A Mongolian hotpot is traditionally a copper stove with a chimney in the centre, in which charcoal is put. The lighted charcoal keeps the stock around it at a steady simmer, and pieces of sliced mutton are cooked by just plunging them shortly in the stock. In Peking, this is eaten with mutton only, but it is now also fashionable to eat a freer version of hotpot: putting in all kinds of meat, fish and vegetables, served with different sauces.
We will focus on the real Mongolian hotpot: mutton, glass noodles, Chinese cabbage with a kind of sesame sauce.

what you need:
Mongolian hot pot: hotpot, steamboat, Chinese fondue set, chafing pot, or whatever name is given this original Chinese cooking equipment
Mutton: You will need a piece of lamb, suitable to eat very fresh and pink. No braising lamb - this will be tough.
Charcoal: when barbecue is out of season, charcoal can be found in supermarkets, grilled-chicken shops or gas stations - give it a try!).

Sauces: check the list of ingredients on the left hand side, we'll get back on that later.
Starting to cook: you might have an electric cooking pan or electric wok or something, this is easier than the original Mongolian hot pot. Just put on the switch and put in boiling water. If you go for the original experience, start kindling the fire in the pot with the charcoal. This is not easy and might take half an hour or more. You need a little patience here! Putting in a small dish with some blue alcohol (spiritus) might get the coals burning, but be careful here. Place the hot pot in a tray with about 2 cms of water. Put some water in the pan to stop it from overheating: I have once ruined a hot pot this way (the seams cracked and it has leaked ever since).
Slicing the meat: Meanwhile, you can slice the meat. It is easiest to have the meat (partly) frozen. Take it out of the freezer and put a cloth around the handle of the knife you are using. Cutting the meat into paper-thin slices can be a long and tedious chore: but well worth the effort!! It is the most work of this otherwise quite relaxed meal.
Soaking the noodles: boil water, take it off the heat and soak the glass noodles (made of mung beans) until soft. Drain and put in bowl on the table.
Dipping sauce: make the dipping sauce. The dipping sauce can be made in a big bowl, then everybody can put sauce in their own bowl and add more flavours to their own taste. Combine sesame paste and Shaoxing wine in a 1:1 consistency. Stir. Put in soy sauce and a little sesame oil. Add fermented bean curd (sold in Asian shops in glass pots or fancy ceramic pots), stir until creamy. Now the Chinese put in jiucaihuar - Chinese leeks, cut very finely. This is sold in China in little pots, ready to go, but quite impossible to find in European Chinese stores. Omit it, or use fresh Chinese chives instead. You can put chili oil and cilantro in separate bowls on the table.
How to eat: When the charcoals are burning happily and everything is ready to go, put in boiling water with 3 or 4 dried shrimps, and 2 dried Chinese mushrooms if you like. Everybody gets his own bowl to eat from, and a pair of chopsticks or a small wire basket to scoop out the goodies. Every guest takes a slice of meat between his chopsticks (or uses the wire basket) and moves it around in the stock. Eat when cooked with the dipping sauce. When halfway the meat, start putting in glass noodles or vegetables, these will be really tasty in the then mutton-flavoured stock. Be careful: if using an original charcoal pot, air the room you are eating in or you will suffer from asphyxiation! In the end, when you are full, the guests can ladle the hot soup from the pan in their bowls to drink.
This meal is traditionally served with sesame buns, not rice.