Hot Pot Revolution: Electric Roaster Edition

Electric roasters are versatile and can be used for baking, steaming, slow-cooking, and warming food. They are a great addition to your kitchen, especially if you are cooking for a large group of people. However, it is not recommended to use an electric roaster for making hot pot. Instead, you should use a specialised electric hot pot, which comes with a pot and a built-in electrical heating element.

What is a hot pot?

Hot pot is a communal dining experience with a long history in East and Southeast Asian cuisine. It is less of a dish and more of an interactive and customisable experience. Diners gather around a vessel of roiling broth, into which they add a variety of raw ingredients such as meat, seafood, vegetables, tofu, and starches. These ingredients are cooked in the broth and then dipped in a sauce of choice before eating. The process is then repeated until everyone is full.

Hot pot is a very versatile dish, with many variations and no fixed set of rules. However, there are three main components:

• Soup or broth: This can range from a simple light broth to a spicy Sichuan broth, a sour lemon broth, an earthy mushroom or miso broth, or a sweeter broth using soy sauce, mirin, and sugar.
• Dipping ingredients: These are the ingredients added to the broth and cooked. Common options include vegetables, noodles, meats, tofu, rice cakes, and seafood.
• Dipping sauces: These sauces are essential to the hot pot experience and can be either store-bought or homemade. Popular varieties include ponzu, goma shabu, and regular shabu shabu sauce.

Hot pot is a social and communal meal, often enjoyed with friends and family. It is a very inclusive dining style, allowing people to choose their own ingredients and cook them to their liking.

What equipment do I need?

To make hot pot, you'll need two main pieces of equipment: a burner and a pot. The burner should be portable and able to sit at the centre of your table. It's important to avoid using charcoal as it will produce carbon monoxide. Electric burners are a good option, such as induction or coil, or you could use a tabletop gas burner.

For the pot, a Chinese stainless steel hot pot is ideal due to its round shape and depth. It should be wide and deep enough to hold a good amount of food without being too deep. Alternatively, any wide, relatively shallow pot will work. If you want to have two types of soup, you can use a pot with a ""yin-yang" feature, allowing you to have two different flavours at the same time.

In addition to the burner and pot, you will also need:

• Chopsticks (bamboo or wooden)
• Small bowls for dipping sauces (2 per person is recommended)
• Small ladles to scoop broth and ingredients

How do I make the broth?

Making the broth is a crucial step in preparing a hot pot. The type of broth you make depends on your taste preferences and the ingredients you have available. Here is a guide on how to make the broth for your hot pot:

Spicy Broth

If you prefer a spicy kick to your hot pot, you can make a Sichuan spicy broth. This type of broth has a high fat content, a strong aroma, and a distinctive mouth-numbing and spicy taste. Here are the ingredients and steps to make it:

Ingredients:

• Beef tallow or cooking oil (neutral-flavoured)
• Dried chilli peppers and Sichuan pepper
• Other spices such as star anise, cassia cinnamon, bay leaves, and Chinese black cardamom
• Aromatics like scallions, onion, coriander, garlic, and ginger
• Sichuan chilli bean paste and fermented black beans
• Shaoxing rice wine and sugar

Steps:

• Rehydrate the dried chillies in hot water until soft, then chop them into a coarse paste.
• Add Shaoxing rice wine to Sichuan pepper and set aside.
• Melt beef tallow in cooking oil over medium heat with spices like star anise, cassia cinnamon, bay leaves, and Chinese black cardamom.
• Remove the spices and add aromatics (scallions, onion, coriander) to fry and lend aroma to the tallow.
• After removing the aromatics, add the dried chilli paste, Sichuan chilli bean paste, fermented black beans, minced garlic, and ginger. Simmer to release their flavours.
• Finally, add sugar, Sichuan pepper, and rice wine.
• Transfer the mixture to a heat-proof container and refrigerate until cooled. Allow 24 hours for the flavour to develop.
• Cut the solidified soup base into blocks and store in the freezer.
• When ready to serve, place one or two blocks into your hot pot and dilute with hot water or stock.

Mild Broth

If you prefer a milder, less spicy broth, you can make a chicken stock-based mild broth. This type of broth is light and easy to prepare. Here are the ingredients and steps to make it:

Ingredients:

• Whole chicken or leg/thigh pieces
• Ginger
• Shiitake mushrooms
• Scallions
• Chinese dates (optional)
• Goji berries (optional)
• White pepper and salt to taste

Steps:

• Boil the whole chicken or chicken pieces in water with sliced ginger. Skim off any froth that appears.
• Lower the heat and simmer for 1½–2 hours until the water becomes slightly milky.
• Pour the liquid into your hot pot and top up with hot water if needed.
• Add rehydrated shiitake mushrooms, scallions, Chinese dates, and Goji berries (if using).
• Season with white pepper and salt.
• Turn on the heat source for your hot pot and wait for it to boil before dipping ingredients into the broth.

Other Broth Options

In addition to the spicy and mild broths mentioned above, there are a few other options you can consider:

• Dashi and kombu broth: This is a simple, light broth commonly used in Japanese cuisine.
• Sour lemon broth: As the name suggests, this broth has a sour and tangy flavour.
• Mushroom or miso broth: Earthy and savoury, this broth is perfect for those who enjoy umami flavours.
• Sweet broth: This broth uses a mix of soy sauce, mirin, and sugar to create a sweet and savoury flavour.

What food items do I need?

Hot pot is a fun and social meal, where people gather around a pot of broth and cook their food together. The beauty of hot pot is its versatility—you can flavour it however you like and add almost any ingredient you want.

There are three main components to a hot pot: soup or broth, dipping ingredients, and dipping sauces.

Soup or Broth

You can make a simple light broth with dashi and kombu, or a spicy Sichuan broth with dried red chillies. You could also try a sour lemon broth, an earthy mushroom or miso broth, or a sweeter broth using soy sauce, mirin, and sugar.

Dipping Ingredients

These are the ingredients you will add to the broth to cook and then dip in the sauce. You can add anything you like, but most hot pots include a mix of vegetables, noodles, meats, tofu, rice cakes, and seafood.

Dipping Sauces

Dipping sauces are essential to the hot pot experience. You can make your own or buy some at your local Japanese or Asian supermarket. Popular types include ponzu, goma shabu, and regular shabu shabu sauce.

Other Ingredients

Vegetables

Any vegetables you like! But some popular options include:

• Napa cabbage
• Chrysanthemum greens
• Yu choy
• Mountain yam
• Taro
• Lotus root
• Celtuce
• Kabocha squash
• Potato
• Tomatoes

Mushrooms

• Enoki
• Beech
• Shiitake
• King oyster

Meat

• Beef short ribs
• Fatty beef (brisket or chuck)
• Leg of lamb
• Pork belly
• Chicken

Seafood

• Manila clams
• Shrimp
• Fish fillets
• Squid
• Scallops
• Mussels

Starches

• Vermicelli
• Rice
• Glass noodles
• Udon
• Shirataki
• Rice cakes

Tofu and Bean Curd

• Bean threads
• Soy puffs
• Frozen tofu
• Firm tofu
• Dried bean curd rolls
• Fresh tofu sheets/skin

How do I make a dipping sauce?

Making hot pot in an electric roaster is a great way to feed and serve large groups. It's also a good option if you're looking for a second oven to cook a large holiday meal.

Now, onto the dipping sauce!

The dipping sauce is an integral part of the hot pot experience. You can make your own or buy ready-made sauces. Here are some ideas for how to make your own:

Basic Ingredients

These are some common ingredients used in hot pot dipping sauces. You can use these as a base and add other ingredients to taste:

• Chinese sesame paste or sauce
• Peanut butter or peanut sauce
• Soy sauce (light soy sauce, seasoned soy sauce, and seafood-flavoured soy sauce are all good options)
• Sha Cha Sauce (Chinese BBQ Sauce)
• Sichuan Peppercorn Oil
• Chili Garlic Sauce / Sambal Oelek
• Chinese black vinegar/rice vinegar
• Toasted sesame seeds
• Fried shallots or garlic

Recipe Ideas

• Taiwanese Shacha: garlic, Shacha sauce, coconut aminos, rice vinegar, scallion, toasted sesame oil, Thai chilli peppers (optional)
• Garlic Sesame Sauce: Chinese sesame paste, cashew butter, coconut aminos, rice vinegar, garlic clove, shiitake mushroom seasoning, water
• Chinese Spicy Chili Garlic Sauce: garlic chilli sauce, balsamic vinegar, toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, scallion, toasted white sesame seeds, Sichuan peppercorn powder, oyster sauce
• Japanese Sesame Miso: white miso paste, toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, Chinese sesame paste, coconut aminos, toasted white sesame seeds, water
• Spicy Peanut Sauce: unsalted peanut butter, coconut aminos, toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, water, garlic chilli sauce (optional), cilantro (optional)

Tips

• If you can't find Chinese sesame paste, use a blend of unsweetened peanut butter with tahini.
• You can use store-bought bullhead BBQ sauce if you want to make the sauce faster.
• Aged balsamic vinegar tastes sweeter with a thicker consistency than regular balsamic vinegar.
• If you prefer a soy-free option, use chickpea miso paste.
• If you can't have peanut butter, use creamy almond butter instead.
• Store the sauce in an airtight glass container in the fridge and use within a week. If the sauce becomes too thick, add a little water to thin it out.
• If you like your sauce spicy, add some chilli oil or chilli flakes.
• If you like a tangy taste, add some lemon juice or vinegar.
• If you want a thicker sauce, use pure sesame paste. If you prefer a thinner sauce, use sesame sauce.
• If you want to make your sauce extra smooth, add some water to your sesame paste a tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
• If you're making hot pot for a large group, it's easier to make a big batch of broth and split it amongst two or three pots and burners so everyone can reach.

Frequently asked questions