Would you be okay with this meal if you were a dinner guest?

[Anonymous]

We have new friends from my son's school coming for dinner on Saturday. I'm stressing out over what to make and wanted to get feedback. They only dietary restrictions are that the wife is gluten intolerant. I'm thinking about doing a Japanese hotpot (sukiyaki) that we can serve ourselves family style: http://japanesefood.about.com/od/beef/r/beefsukiyaki.htm. I've done this many, many times for family and friends who love it, but it's normally with people that I know well. Would you feel weird eating out a communal pot with people that you only know marginally well? She's from Brazil and he's from Portugal, so my thought is that they'd be somewhat adventurous eaters, although I may be projecting. Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

Personally, I'd love that! It's something I probably wouldn't make for myself, so it would be quite a treat.

[Anonymous]

Sounds great! I would make sure to use gluten-free soy sauce (if using) since most brands contain wheat.

[Anonymous]

Are there wheat noodles going in the pot at all? If everything is gluten free (including any sauce) and you have rice or rice noodles only, it would probably be fun.

[Anonymous]

I would love it! Are the kids going to be there? My only concern is that not all kids would like it.

[Anonymous]

My only concern with letting people try sukiyaki for the first time is that you dip the hot cooked food into raw egg.

Maybe a different hot pot or nabe would be better? Like shabu shabu or oden?

[Anonymous]

OP, wheat-free soy sauce is usually labelled "tamari"

You should make the broth from scratch to avoid gluten in pre-made broth or mixes.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for the information about the soy sauce. I had no idea. I'll be sure to check all the ingredients to make sure that there's no gluten in them. Also, the noodles are rice noodles, so that won't be an issue.

There will be two kids (age 6), but I'm hoping to have enough sides to make them happy. I'll make rice in the rice cooker, edamame and might make some yakitori (grilled chicken skewers) for them.

Thanks for the feedback! My husband wants me to make pork tacos, but they're so much more labor intensive than the hotpot, which requires almost no prep other than shopping for the ingredients.

[Anonymous]

As long as there was no double dipping or used utensils going into the communal pot I wouldnt mind. Is this different than say, a big pot of spaghetti that people serve themselvs from? Maybe I'm not picturing this communal pot right??

[Anonymous]

Op here. Yes, you actually serve yourself with chopsticks straight from the pot. You can turn the chopsticks around and serve yourself with the ends, but normally we just all dig in with the ends we're eating with. I could always give everyone a second set for serving themselves.

[Anonymous]

Excellent idea! Sounds like there would be something for everyone.

[Anonymous]

OP, usually Japanese people don't use rice noodles in sukiyaki or shabu shabu because they fall apart.

Use potato starch noodles or arrowroot starch noodles instead. You can leave them in the hotpot for hours and they will still be nice and firm and won't fall apart.

[Anonymous]

As far as the raw egg dip, sukiyaki tastes perfectly good without it. Or, if it skeezes a guest, have a carton of pasteurized eggs clearly visible. My mom used to use egg substitute occasionally when we made it at home- like when my aunt was pregnant & salmonella would have been even worse than usual.

[Anonymous]

OP here. After reading all the feedback, I think we'll do shabu shabu instead, since it doesn't really require stock. Then we can skip the raw eggs. I appreciate the tips!

[Anonymous]

Sure thing, OP~!

For the dipping sauces for the shabu shabu, it's also a good idea to make them yourself to avoid gluten. They are easy! I do them this way:

Ponzu:

Juice from 2 lemons
Juice from 1 lime
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 cup tamari soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin
Green onions (add when serving)

Gomadare:

1 cup tahini
1/3 cup tamari soy sauce
a few tbsp sugar (to taste)
1/3 cup vinegar
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
salt to taste
water to achieve thickness you want (I make it pretty thick since you get a lot of broth in it as you dip the veggies! Maybe 1/2 cup)


You can make these in advance and put them in the fridge overnight. They actually taste better with some time for the flavors to blend in the fridge!