-
1
Bring the superior stock to a gentle simmer in the hot pot vessel over the table burner. The stock must be fully clear — any cloudiness signals insufficient clarification. Skim the surface until no impurities rise.
-
2
Combine the sesame paste, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sliced fresh chilli in a small bowl. Stir until the paste is fully incorporated and the sauce is cohesive. Divide into individual dipping bowls. The sauce is done when it coats a spoon in a smooth, even film.
-
3
Arrange the thinly sliced lamb, fish maw, scallops, tofu, and vegetables on platters at the table. Diners cook each ingredient in the simmering broth to their preference — lamb and scallops require only seconds; tofu and fish maw, a minute or two. The ingredients are done when the lamb has just lost its pink and the scallops are barely opaque at the centre.
-
4
This is where the dish lives or dies: only when all diners are ready to eat, scatter the fresh white chrysanthemum petals across the surface of the simmering broth. They must not cook in advance — prolonged heat drives off the delicate floral note and tips the bitterness from subtle to harsh. The petals are ready the moment they soften and release their faint, clean fragrance, within thirty seconds of contact with the broth.
-
5
Ladle broth — now pale with petals floating at the surface — into bowls alongside the cooked ingredients. The finished dish should present as a clear, gently floral liquid with white petals drifting intact; any discolouration or wilting of the petals signals they have been held too long.