Fire Pot or Mongolian Stove (ho go )

From the ancient Asian steppes, where nomadic tribes, gathered around a fire, cooked their food in a primitive cauldron by immersing chunks of meat on skewers.

The stove is made of brass or aluminum. It is about 15 inches or more in diameter, and features a metal "chimney" in its center in which charcoal is placed and burned. These central coals heat soup and other ingredients that are placed in the bowl surrounding the chimney. A central stove is used much like a charcoal broiler, employing about six chunks of charcoal. When the coals are red hot, ingredients are added to the hot soup in the surrounding bowl or container. A cover fits around the chimney and over the bowl.

Ingredients to be cooked should be placed on separate dishes about the firepot; also soup bowls, plates, and spoons. Everyone helps themselves by picking up a slice of meat or vegetable, placing it in the boiling broth until cooked, and then extracting and eating it. Because the soup is boiling hot and the meat and vegetables are sliced thin, it takes no more than a few seconds to a few minutes cooking time; later the soup is served in the bowls, its flavor enhanced by the foods cooked in it.

This stove is essential for all fire-pot cooking, and, of course, it must be kept clean.