Welcoming year of Horse 2014 - Chinese fondue aka steamboats

This Chinese new year we don't go back to Indonesia 'cos Tromson is still too small and thinking of bringing all those baby needs already troublesome hehe..so we spent this Chinese new year at our home sweet home.
We dined at Ayam Goreng Malioboro for CNY eve since most of the restaurants and food courts were closed.
Today, we are ushering Year of Horse with DIY steamboat at home and invited Om Reynard too.

Well, steamboat ingredients are actually have meaning too, this what mommy found from the internet
Source : http://www.noobcook.com/how-to-prepare-a-sumptuous-hot-pot-steamboat-feast/

Steamboat has other name, in China it's called hotpot, in Japan it's called shabu shabu and in Malaysia Singapore it's called steamboat

Why hotpot/steamboat is an ideal meal for CNY and social gatherings:

 - It is so easy to prepare, it involves more of logistics (gathering ingredients) rather than any expertise in cooking. Hence anyone can host a fail-proof, yummy meal.
- You can easily prepare a meal for as few people (e.g. 2) or as many people (like 20) as you like simply by adjusting the quantity of ingredients.
- You can do hotpot again over the next 1-2 days with the leftovers, especially useful when many eating places, markets and shops are closed during the first few days of CNY.
- You get to sit around the table for a long time as you cook your own food, hence promoting interaction and bonding.
- It’s a healthy meal, as you are enjoying the food which has been briefly cooked in hot broth. The food is not greasy at all.
 - You can choose almost any ingredients for your hotpot based on your preference and budget. It can be really lavish (with lobster, abalone etc) or really simple. Either way is totally delicious.

Traditional beliefs: - Try to prepare excess food with the intention for leftovers* for the following 1-2 days. Do not say things like “let’s try to finish all the food”. The Chinese prefer to have leftovers which symbolizes lots of savings in the coming year. You can use the leftovers to make more hotpot meals or other dishes in the coming days.
- Refrain from bitter foods such as bittergourd and also sour foods as they are considered inauspicious.
- Some cultures believe that having cooked rice on the table is a must (whether you eat it or not), as it is a symbol of prosperity.

Auspicious foods:
- Prawns are a symbol of happiness (sounds like “ha” in Cantonese, hence 笑 “哈哈”).
- Long noodles signify longevity. Hence do not cut them to shorter lengths.
- Fish & abalone is a symbol of abundance (年年有余/年年包有余). You can use either thin fish slices or yong tau foo (which are pieces of food with stuffed fish paste).
- Dumplings are a symbol of wealth because they resemble ingots (yuan bao 元宝; ancient Chinese currency).

Today's DIY Steamboat ingredients :

Sliced beef for main items

Fish and prawn (symbol abundance and happiness )

Vegetable and tang hoon (symbol health and long life )

Dumpling ( symbol wealth )

Sausage and vegie balls (Richie's fav)

Yong Tau fu (crispy beancurd and ngohiang)

Homemade dipping sauce

The soup base is homemade chicken soup made from chicken feet, carrot, fried shallots, salty fish and pinched of salt and pepper