Hot Pot Haven: Transforming Your Home Into A Flavorful Feast

Hot pot is a fun and social meal to share with family and friends. It's an interactive dining experience where guests cook their food in a pot of broth at the table.

To make hot pot at home, you'll need a burner and a pot. The burner needs to be portable enough to sit at the centre of your table. For the pot, a shallow option is best so that food doesn't get lost at the bottom. You'll also need a variety of raw ingredients, including meat, seafood, vegetables, tofu, and starches, cut into thin slices or small pieces for quick cooking.

Before serving, prepare your broth and lay out your ingredients on plates or trays around the pot. When you're ready to eat, bring the broth to a boil and let your guests add their chosen ingredients. They can then use wire ladles to retrieve their cooked food and flavour it with individual dipping sauces.

Choosing a broth: chicken, beef, seafood, or veggie

When it comes to choosing a broth for your hot pot, you have several options. Chicken, beef, seafood, and veggie broths are all popular choices and can be easily customised to your taste preferences.

For a simple version, you can use chicken soup with added goji berries, ginger, and sliced scallions. You can also add other ingredients like soy sauce, shaoxing wine, toasted sesame oil, and garlic to enhance the flavour.

If you're looking for a particular flavour profile, you can experiment with different types of broth. Some people prefer clean-tasting plain broths that are meat or mushroom-based, while others enjoy thicker options like tomato soup or fiery, oily Sichuan hot pot.

You can also find packaged hot pot soup bases that offer a variety of flavours, such as satay, Japanese-style pork, tomato, and spicy Sichuan. These bases can be a convenient way to create a delicious hot pot broth with minimal effort.

For a more unique twist, you could try a Japanese dashi broth with soy, sake, mirin, and a touch of sugar. This combination adds a deep umami richness to your hot pot, creating a flavourful base for all your ingredients to soak up.

Ultimately, the choice of broth is up to your personal preference and dietary needs. Whether you opt for a simple chicken broth or a spicier Sichuan option, the customisability of hot pot is what makes it such a fun and interactive dining experience.

Picking proteins: meats, seafood, or tofu

When it comes to picking proteins for your hot pot, the world is your oyster. As with all aspects of hot pot, the beauty of choosing your proteins is that you can tailor it to your preferences.

Meat is a popular choice for hot pot. It's best to opt for thinly sliced meat, as this will cook quickly in the broth. You can buy pre-sliced meat from your local Asian supermarket, or slice it yourself at home. If you're slicing it yourself, choose cuts of meat that are heavily marbled and pop them in the freezer for about 30 minutes before slicing. This will make them slightly firmer and easier to slice thinly. Popular options include ribeye, pork belly, pork jowl, lamb shoulder, and pork shoulder. Beef, lamb, chicken, and pork are all good choices, and you can also add chicken wings to the broth and simmer them for 10-15 minutes before starting your hot pot.

If you're a seafood lover, you can add this to your hot pot too. Shrimp, squid, scallops, and fish slices are all great options. You can also add pre-cooked seafood balls, which are usually found in the frozen section of your Asian grocery store.

For vegetarians, or those who simply want to add more plant-based options, tofu is a fantastic choice for hot pot. It soaks up all the flavours of the broth and is a great meat alternative. There are lots of different types of tofu to choose from, including medium-firm tofu, firm tofu, tofu puffs, pressed tofu, deep-fried tofu, and egg tofu.

Selecting aromatics: spices, garlic, ginger, Thai basil, and scallions

Aromatics are a quick and easy way to add a ton of flavour to your hot pot. They are vegetables and herbs that add flavour and aroma to a dish. When cooked together, these ingredients help create layers of flavour in your food.

Aromatics are usually cooked in oil or fat, which gives them an opportunity to soften and release their essential flavours, creating the first layer of flavour in the dish.

Spices

Spices are a great way to add flavour and aroma to your hot pot. Some common spices used in Asian cuisine include star anise, cinnamon sticks, and bay leaves. You can also use spice blends such as curry paste or Chinese five-spice powder.

Garlic

Garlic is a universal ingredient that is used in many different types of cuisine. It has a strong aroma and flavour, and can be used in a variety of ways in your hot pot. You can mince, crush, or slice garlic to add to your broth or dipping sauces.

Ginger

Ginger is another important aromatic that is used extensively in Asian cooking. It has a unique, pungent flavour and aroma that can enhance the taste of your hot pot. Fresh ginger is best, and you can slice, mince, or grate it to add to your dish.

Thai Basil

Thai basil has a strong, fragrant aroma and is commonly used in Southeast Asian cooking. It has purple stems and flowers, with a slight anise or licorice-like flavour. It can be added whole to your hot pot or chopped and used as a garnish.

Scallions

Scallions, also known as green onions, are commonly used in Asian cuisine. They have a mild onion flavour and can be used in a variety of ways in your hot pot. You can slice them lengthwise or julienne them for steamed fish and noodle dishes, or chop them for fried rice and garnishes.

When selecting aromatics for your hot pot, it's important to consider the flavours you want to highlight and the overall taste profile you want to achieve. You can also experiment with different combinations of aromatics to find your perfect blend.

Picking a dipping sauce: soy sauce, sesame sauce, Thai peanut sauce, or oyster sauce

When it comes to hot pot dipping sauces, the options are endless. The right answer is: there are no rules! You can do whatever you like. However, if you're looking for some guidance, here are some tips and popular combinations to get you started:

Soy Sauce

Soy sauce is a common ingredient in hot pot dipping sauces and can even be used on its own as a simple dipping sauce. It adds a salty, umami flavour to the mix. If you want to make a soy sauce-based dipping sauce, you can combine it with other ingredients such as sesame oil, garlic, green onions, coriander, and/or Chinese black vinegar.

Sesame Sauce

Sesame sauce is another popular choice for hot pot dipping sauces. It has a mild and sweet flavour that balances out the salty and spicy notes of the hot pot broth. To make sesame sauce, you'll need pure sesame paste, water or broth, and optionally, peanut butter, satay, pickled tofu, leek flower sauce, oyster sauce, and/or sesame oil. You can find ready-made sesame sauces at some Asian supermarkets, or online.

Thai Peanut Sauce

For a nutty and spicy sauce, you might want to try a Thai peanut sauce. This sauce typically includes unsalted peanut butter, coconut aminos, toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, water, and optionally, garlic chilli sauce and/or cilantro. You can adjust the spice level to your preference.

Oyster Sauce

Oyster sauce adds a ton of umami and a well-rounded, sweet flavour to your dipping sauce. It's a great substitute if you find Sha Cha sauce too fishy. You can also use vegetarian oyster sauce, which is made with mushrooms, if you have a shellfish allergy.

Remember, these are just a few ideas to get you started. Feel free to experiment with different ingredients and combinations to create your own unique dipping sauce. Happy hot potting!

Choosing a pot: a divided pot for multiple broths, or a single pot

When choosing a pot for your hot pot, you have two main options: a single pot or a divided pot. Here are some things to consider when making your decision:

Single Pot

If you opt for a single pot, you can use any pot that you already have at home, such as a Dutch oven, braiser, or wok. This is a versatile option, as you can use the pot for other types of cooking besides hot pot. However, if you are serving multiple broths, you will need to use multiple pots or cook the broths separately.

Divided Pot

A divided pot, on the other hand, allows you to serve multiple broths in a single vessel. This can be especially useful if you are entertaining guests with different taste preferences or dietary restrictions. Divided pots can be made from various materials, such as stainless steel or earthenware. They typically have two sections, allowing you to offer a spicy broth and a milder option. However, divided pots may be less versatile and more challenging to clean than single pots.

Factors to Consider

When choosing between a single pot and a divided pot for your hot pot, consider your budget, the number of guests you plan to serve, and your desired level of versatility. If you want to offer multiple broths and have a higher budget, a divided pot may be the best option. If you prefer a more versatile pot that can be used for various types of cooking, a single pot may be a better choice. Additionally, if you are concerned about cross-contamination due to food allergies or aversions, a divided pot can help keep the broths separate.

Frequently asked questions