Seafood and Vegetable Hot Pot with Tofu, Napa Cabbage, and Mushrooms

A restrained hot pot built on clarity, sweetness, and clean marine depth. The seafood is cooked just to tenderness, the vegetables retain shape and freshness, and the tofu carries the broth’s salinity with quiet grace. Served as a composed platter, it is a dish of balance rather than excess.

Recipe essentials

Dish category: Hot pot platter

Cuisine or origin: East Asian-inspired

Course type: Main course

Yield: 2 servings

Serving size: 310 g

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 12 minutes

Total time: 32 minutes

Difficulty: Moderate

Equipment

1 medium saucepan or shallow pot, 20 cm

1 small tray or platter for serving

1 cutting board

1 chef’s knife

1 fine grater or peeler for carrot

1 pair of tongs or chopsticks

1 slotted spoon

Ingredients

Main ingredients

Shrimp, peeled and deveined: 120 g

White fish fillet, skinless and cut into bite-size pieces: 140 g

Firm tofu, cut into 2 cm cubes: 120 g

Napa cabbage, cut into wide ribbons: 120 g

Chrysanthemum greens, stems trimmed: 40 g

Enoki mushrooms, root trimmed and separated: 30 g

Shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and caps sliced: 30 g

Carrot, cut into fine batons: 20 g

Salt: 6 g

Method

1. Prepare all ingredients before heating the pot. The seafood should be dry and cold, the tofu intact, and the vegetables cut into neat, even pieces so they cook at the same pace.

2. Bring 900 g water and 4 g of the salt to a gentle simmer in the saucepan over medium heat. The liquid should be clear and barely moving, not boiling hard.

3. Add the carrot and shiitake mushrooms first. Simmer for 2 minutes until the carrot begins to soften at the edges and the mushrooms release their aroma.

4. Add the napa cabbage and tofu. Simmer for 3 minutes more, turning the tofu once with a spoon so it warms evenly and the cabbage turns glossy and supple.

5. Add the white fish and shrimp in a single layer. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, just until the fish turns opaque and flakes at the edge, and the shrimp become pink and lightly curled. Do not let the broth boil vigorously.

6. Add the enoki mushrooms and chrysanthemum greens with the remaining 2 g salt. Simmer for 30 to 45 seconds, only until the greens soften slightly and the enoki lose their raw stiffness.

7. Lift the contents gently with a slotted spoon and arrange them on the serving platter. Spoon a small amount of the hot broth over the ingredients so the surface glistens without flooding the plate. The final dish should be neatly composed, steaming, and distinct in texture.

Plating and serving

Arrange the tofu and vegetables as the base, then place the shrimp and fish prominently on top so the seafood remains visible. Serve immediately while the broth is clear and the vegetables are tender but defined. The balance should be delicate: sweet cabbage, earthy mushrooms, clean fish, and a short, precise finish of salt.

Professional notes

Keep the simmer gentle throughout; a hard boil will toughen the shrimp and cloud the broth.

Add the greens last and briefly, so they remain vivid and lightly wilted rather than collapsed.

The dish is at its best when each component remains identifiable on the plate and in the mouth.