The Hearty Comfort Of Taiwanese Hot Pot

Taiwanese hot pot is a fun and social meal, often enjoyed with family and friends. It's a cook-it-yourself dining experience, where you get to choose your own ingredients and make your own dipping sauce.

The key to Taiwanese hot pot is that you cook and eat together around the table. The meal is usually served in a large pot placed in the centre, with a portable butane burner underneath to keep the broth bubbling away.

First, you'll want to choose a soup base for your broth. This could be chicken broth, or a dual-sided pot with both mild and spicy flavours. Then, it's time to add your meats, such as thinly-sliced beef, meatballs, or pork and beef slices. Next, you'll want to add your vegetables – a bundle of crown daisy (also known as garland chrysanthemum), napa cabbage, and enoki mushrooms are popular choices. Finally, cook your noodles or rice, and enjoy your hot pot!

Broth/soup base

The broth/soup base is the heart of a Taiwanese hot pot. While there is no set recipe, the type of broth you choose will influence the flavour of the hot pot and the ingredients you cook in it.

Types of Broth

There are many types of broth you can use for a Taiwanese hot pot. Here are some options:

• Shabu: A clear, basic broth generally made from bonito and kombu, though sometimes made with chicken bones, pork bones, or dried cod.
• Mala: Spicy and numbing, flavoured with chillies and Sichuan peppercorns.
• Herbal/Chinese medicine: Made with Chinese herbs that are considered good for your health, such as goji berries.
• Pickled cabbage: Sour and salty.
• Pork bone: A milky, pork-based broth.
• Kombu: Seaweed-based.
• Milk: Made by simmering milk with butter, garlic, onion, and vegetables, sometimes thinned out with stock.
• White pepper: A different kind of spicy broth.
• Sukiyaki: Sweeter soy, similar to teriyaki.
• Miso: Miso paste dissolved in clear broth.
• Kimchi: Spicy and sour.

Making Your Own Broth

You can make your own broth from scratch or buy a store-bought hot pot base. Here are some ideas for making your own:

• Chicken broth: Use chicken stock with chicken broth, dried shrimp, garlic, ginger, dried chilli peppers, and onions.
• Spicy Mala broth: Use water with cooking oil, chilli bean paste, sliced ginger, dried red peppers, Sichuan peppercorn, and apples.
• Clear broth: Use chicken stock with garlic, ginger, dried chilli peppers, onions, and napa cabbage.

Tips for a Great Broth

• You can use a dual-sided pot to have two flavours at once. Try a combination of mild and spicy broths.
• The broth will get more flavourful as you cook in it, so you might want to start with a milder broth and let it develop flavour as you go.
• If you're using a dual-sided pot, consider cooking thinly sliced meat in the non-spicy broth first, then moving it to the spicy broth. This will make the non-spicy broth more tasty.
• You can also add ingredients like veggies, tofu, meatballs, and kamaboko to the broth while it's cooking to give it more flavour.
• If you're using a portable burner, place the pot in the middle of the table so everyone can reach it easily.

Meat and seafood

The beauty of Taiwanese hot pot is that there is no set recipe, and you can cook whatever ingredients you like. However, there are some classic meat and seafood options to include.

Meat

Meat is usually thinly sliced to ensure it cooks quickly. Common options include:

• Lamb
• Pork
• Beef
• Chicken
• Duck

Seafood

Seafood is also a popular choice for hot pot. You can include:

• Prawns/shrimp
• Fish slices/balls
• Squid/cuttlefish
• Scallops
• Clams
• Mussels
• Octopus
• Crab legs
• Fish cakes

There are also a variety of meat and seafood products that you can add to your hot pot, such as:

• Meatballs (Asian-style meatballs are made with pulverised meat for a softer texture)
• Fish cakes
• Spam
• Dumplings
• Beef balls
• Pork balls
• Squid balls
• Mixed seafood balls

Vegetables

Suggested vegetables

• Napa cabbage
• Cabbage
• Chinese watercress
• Bean sprouts
• Mushrooms (shiitake, enoki, white button, straw, king oyster, and lion's mane)
• Leaf vegetables
• Crown daisy/garland chrysanthemum
• Water spinach
• Watercress
• Buk choy
• Lettuce
• Burdock
• Pumpkin
• Carrot
• Tomato
• Red leaves
• Chives
• Chrysanthemum flowers

Preparing the vegetables

Cut the vegetables into small pieces, usually around 1-2 inches. The more leafy and soft parts can be bigger.

Carbohydrates

Noodles

Noodles are a great source of carbohydrates and can be added to your hot pot in a variety of ways. Glass noodles, also known as cellophane noodles, are a popular choice to include in a Taiwanese hot pot. They are transparent, thin noodles made from sweet potato starch. These noodles are typically added towards the end of the meal, as they cook quickly and can become mushy if overcooked. Other types of noodles, such as rice vermicelli, can also be included. Soak the rice vermicelli in cold water to soften them before adding them to your hot pot. This will help them absorb all the flavours of the soup.

Potatoes

Sliced potatoes, both regular and sweet, are another carbohydrate option for your hot pot. Potatoes are a good source of fibre and vitamins and can add a hearty texture to your meal. Be sure to slice them thinly so they cook evenly in the broth.

Taro

Taro is a root vegetable that is commonly used in Taiwanese cuisine. To include taro in your hot pot, it is important to fry it first. Frying gives it a crispy exterior and prevents it from becoming mushy when added to the broth.

Vermicelli

Vermicelli, also known as rice noodles, is another type of noodle that can be added to your hot pot. Like other noodles, it is important not to add vermicelli at the beginning of the meal, as it will continue to absorb liquid and become softer the longer it cooks.

Chrysanthemum

Crown daisy, also known as garland chrysanthemum, is a unique vegetable that is commonly eaten with hot pots in Taiwan. It has a delicious flavour and a fun nickname: "wife-beater veggie." This nickname comes from a story that the vegetable is so tasty that a husband might think the wife ate it all without saving any for him, leading him to beat his wife. While the story is not well-liked, the vegetable certainly is, and it is a popular addition to hot pots.

When preparing carbohydrates for a Taiwanese hot pot, it is important to consider the cooking time. You want to avoid overcooking items like noodles and vegetables, so be sure to add them at the appropriate time and keep an eye on them while they cook.

Dipping sauce

The dipping sauce is an integral part of the hot pot experience. The main ingredient in Taiwanese hot pot dipping sauce is Shacha 沙茶, also known as Taiwanese barbeque sauce, Sha Cha Sauce, or Taiwanese Satay Sauce.

Taiwanese Shacha Dipping Sauce

This sauce is savory and garlicky with a hint of seafood flavor.

Ingredients:

• Garlic
• Shacha sauce
• Coconut aminos
• Rice vinegar
• Scallion
• Toasted sesame oil
• Thai chili peppers (optional)
• Chinese sesame paste or tahini
• Cashew butter

Garlic Sesame Sauce

This sauce is a great alternative if you don't like spicy flavors. It is creamy, garlicky, and savory.

Ingredients:

• Chinese sesame paste
• Cashew butter or sunflower seed butter
• Coconut aminos
• Rice vinegar
• Garlic clove
• Shiitake mushroom seasoning
• Water

Chinese Spicy Garlic Chili Sauce

This sauce is spicy with a savory and slightly tangy flavor. It is also a great all-purpose sauce for glazing or for garlic chili noodles.

Ingredients:

• Garlic chili sauce
• Balsamic vinegar or Chinese black vinegar
• Toasted sesame oil
• Rice vinegar
• Scallion
• Toasted white sesame seeds
• Sichuan peppercorn powder (optional)
• Oyster sauce (optional)

Japanese Sesame Miso Sauce

This Japanese hot pot sesame sauce is creamy and umami-rich from the miso paste. It is the perfect Japanese shabu shabu sauce.

Ingredients:

• Chickpea or white miso paste
• Toasted sesame oil
• Rice vinegar
• Chinese sesame paste or tahini
• Coconut aminos
• Toasted white sesame seeds
• Water

Spicy Peanut Sauce

This sauce is nutty, spicy, savory, and mildly sour and sweet. It is inspired by Taiwanese dan dan noodles.

Ingredients:

• Unsalted peanut butter or almond butter
• Coconut aminos
• Toasted sesame oil
• Rice vinegar
• Water
• Garlic chili sauce (optional)
• Cilantro (optional)

Frequently asked questions