Mushroom Hot Pot - cooking recipe

Ingredients

4 cups mushroom broth (or vegetable broth)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil (regular vegetable oil will do, too)
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 big pinch salt
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons minced lemongrass
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 star anise
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 -2 ounce dried shiitake mushroom (or a mix)
2 tablespoons soy sauce (or tamari to make it gluten free)
1 roughly chopped tomato
fresh black pepper
1 (15 ounce) can light coconut milk
juice of half a lime
Optional add ins
cooked rice noodles or jasmine rice
fresh cilantro
fresh basil (thai basil if you can find it)
grilled tofu (seasoned simply with sesame oil, black pepper and salt)
roasted cashews
cooked aduki beans
thinly sliced sauteed seitan
steamed broccoli or cauliflower
finely sliced bok choy
extra lime wedge

Preparation

Preheat a 4 quart pot over medium heat. Mix the cornstarch into the broth and set aside (this is easiest if you just mix it into about a cup of broth, then pour the rest of the broth in). Saute onion and pepper in the oil with a big pinch of salt, until onions are soft, about 5 minutes.
Add garlic, lemongrass, ginger and red pepper flakes and mix inches Cook until fragrant, about a minute, then stream in the broth/cornstarch mixture and add most of the other ingredients: star anise, cinnamon, shiitakes, soy sauce, tomatoes and fresh black pepper. Stir often for the first 10 minutes or so, until the cornstarch has thickened the broth a bit. Now cover pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat to simmer and cook covered for a good half hour, until mushrooms are completely softened.
Add coconut milk and lime, and taste for salt. Heat through and serve with fresh herbs and other accoutrement.