Yot Hot Pot

FIFA 2010 did nothing to raise temperatures in South Africa. It seemed to do just the opposite, with temperatures all around the country falling like a sky diver without a parachute.

East London may be the gatkant of nerens, but we also got smacked silly by the miserable weather as it passed by en route to the rest of the country.

In the kitchen I created a hot pot (not real pot, its a term that is used to describe a kind of meal). The theory behind a hot pot is that one uses only one pot in which to cook the meal, and similar to a traditional hairyback potjie, it doesn't get stirred.

The hot pot can be cooked on any cooking tool, from a paraffin stove to a full on Russell-Hobbs range.

For 4 of us, I used about 500g tenderised steak, 4 onions, 4 potates, and a packet of bacon. The other bits and pieces, the herbs (not pot, only what went into the pot) and spices, went in as I found them.

By the way, use shoulder bacon, you get less fat on this particular bacon cut.

In order now, braise onions until they're glassy. I don't know what that means, but I read it somewhere and it sounds intelligent. Then add the steak. Cut it into smallish chunks first. Add the potatoes now too.

The picture should give you some idea of how big the bitty pieces should be. Add water to the pot, level with the potatoes. Now add the other pot stuff, such as aromat, pepper, a touch of curry, some chilli sauce, mustard, mixed herbs, whatever.

Leave the lot to cook. Go have a coffee. Just as it starts catching, you will smell the pot burning. The pot on the stove. The pot on the stove with the food in it. Now dash in a glass of water, let it boil, and switch the stove off.

Prepare the plates. All you need is a decent slab of buttered home made bread.

Now add some of the hot pot. from the pot that was on the stove, not the pot you're growing at the back of the yard.

Serve hot, with a decent sized glass of Old Brown.


And why Yot Hot Pot? My nickname on Mxit was Yot(tie). And it rhymes with Hot Pot.

Lekker Vreet!

Old Brown decanter pic from Bid or Buy:liz2steel