Seafood Symphony: Mastering The Art Of Chinese Seafood Hot Pot

Chinese seafood hot pot is a fun and interactive meal, perfect for sharing with family and friends. It's a great way to bring people together and is often enjoyed during celebrations or cosy dinners at home.

The dish consists of a variety of raw ingredients, such as seafood, meat, tofu, vegetables, and noodles, which are cooked in a pot of boiling broth. The ingredients are cooked in small batches to ensure they are cooked perfectly and are then dipped into a sauce of your choice.

Preparing a Chinese seafood hot pot is relatively simple, as you only need to wash and cut the ingredients, and perhaps make a dipping sauce. It's a great option for a dinner party as your guests will cook their food themselves, and it's easy to cater to different dietary preferences and requirements.

Choosing a broth

There are two types of broth commonly used in Chinese hot pot: a spicy version and a clear version. The spicy version, or 红汤 (hóng tāng) in Chinese, is characterised by the use of chilli peppers and other spices, while the clear version, or 清汤 (qīng tāng), is a more mild and delicate broth.

If you want to make a spicy broth, you can start by frying dried chilli flakes and cayenne powder in oil. This will give the broth a mild spiciness. For a stronger spice level, you can add fresh bird's eye chillies or other spices such as star anise and cinnamon.

For a clear broth, a simple option is to use chicken or seafood stock, which can be purchased or made from scratch. You can also add ingredients such as ginger, garlic, and green onions to the broth for extra flavour.

Additionally, there are pre-made hot pot broth options available for purchase, such as the Little Sheep brand for a spicy broth and Lee Kum Kee's Seafood Hot Pot Base for a mild broth.

Selecting seafood

Seafood is a key component of a Chinese hot pot. Here are some tips for selecting the best seafood for your hot pot:

Variety is Key

Firstly, it is important to remember that variety is key when it comes to a Chinese hot pot. You should aim to include a range of different seafood options for your guests to choose from. This will allow them to experiment with different flavours and textures, and ensure that there is something to suit everyone's tastes.

Popular Seafood Options

There are several types of seafood that are commonly used in Chinese hot pots. These include:

• Shrimp/Prawns
• Scallops
• Lobster
• Crab
• Oysters
• Clams
• Mussels
• Abalone
• Geoduck
• Squid/Cuttlefish
• Fish (such as halibut, salmon, monkfish, or bass)

Preparing Seafood

When preparing seafood for a Chinese hot pot, it is important to ensure that it is cleaned and cut into appropriate sizes. For example, shrimp can be left whole or headless and shelled, while lobsters and crabs will need to be chopped into large pieces. Fish should be sliced into pieces that are around a quarter of an inch thick, while squid and cuttlefish should be sliced into strips or rings.

Frozen Seafood

It is worth noting that frozen seafood can also be used in a Chinese hot pot. Frozen fish balls, for example, are a popular choice and can be found in the freezer section of most Asian supermarkets. These can be added directly to the hot pot without the need for defrosting and will take around 2-4 minutes to cook.

Cooking Seafood

Seafood is typically one of the quicker-cooking ingredients in a hot pot, so it is important to keep an eye on it to avoid overcooking. Most seafood will only need a few minutes in the hot broth. For example, shrimp will be cooked when it has curled into a C shape, while scallops will take around 5-7 minutes depending on their size.

Combining Seafood with Other Ingredients

In addition to the seafood options listed above, you may also want to consider including some seafood-based products such as fish cakes or shrimp cakes. These can add variety to your hot pot and are usually found in the freezer section of Asian supermarkets.

You could also include some seafood-based dumplings or meatballs, which can be purchased pre-made or made from scratch. These can add extra flavour and texture to your hot pot and are sure to be a hit with your guests!

Preparing ingredients

Firstly, it's important to wash and chop all the ingredients before arranging them on serving platters. Group similar ingredients together, such as meat with meat, seafood with seafood, and vegetables with vegetables. This makes it easier for your guests to find what they're looking for. Here are some specific preparation tips for different types of ingredients:

Meat and Seafood:

• Sliced lamb (shoulder, leg, or any well-marbled cut)
• Sliced beef (short ribs, ribeye, flank, or sirloin)
• Sliced pork (loin, sirloin, shoulder, or pork belly)
• Sliced chicken (breast or thigh)
• White fish, marinated in Shaoxing wine, salt, and cornstarch for a better texture
• Squid, cuttlefish, and scallops
• Shrimp cake, fish cake, and fish tofu
• Seafood balls, such as fish balls, shrimp balls, or crab balls

Tofu and Soy Bean Products:

• Blocks of tofu (firm or extra firm), sliced
• Yuba sheet (tofu skin), sliced
• Deep-fried tofu puffs
• Frozen tofu, thawed and sliced

Mushrooms:

• Enoki (golden needle mushrooms), separated into smaller threads
• Shimeji, separated into smaller bunches
• King oyster mushrooms, sliced
• Shiitake mushrooms, sliced or halved
• Wood ear mushrooms, soaked to rehydrate
• Oyster mushrooms, separated into bite-size pieces

Leafy Greens and Vegetables:

• Napa cabbage, sliced
• Baby bok choy, quartered or halved
• Chinese broccoli, stem peeled
• Yu choy, tough ends trimmed and served whole or halved
• Chrysanthemum leaves
• Spinach, watercress, morning glory, kale, Tatsoi, or other leafy greens
• Mushrooms, such as oyster, brown, enoki, or shiitake
• Onions, such as green onion or sliced red or sweet yellow
• Bell peppers or spicy peppers
• Baby corn
• Root vegetables, such as daikon radish, carrots, lotus root, potatoes, or sweet potatoes, sliced
• Squash, such as kabocha or other types, sliced
• Corn on the cob, cut into 2-inch rounds

Noodles and Dumplings:

• Hand-pulled noodles or other fresh noodles
• Packaged dried noodles
• Shirataki noodles (konnyaku)
• Frozen dumplings

Remember, the key to a successful hot pot is variety, so try to include a range of ingredients from each category. You can also be creative and add your own twist to the ingredients to make your hot pot unique and enjoyable for your guests.

Cooking method

To cook a Chinese seafood hot pot, you'll need a pot with a heating element underneath to keep the broth simmering, and a variety of raw ingredients to cook in the broth.

First, prepare your broth. You can make your own broth from scratch, but it's easier to buy a hot pot broth base. If you're making your own, you'll need to prepare it in advance. For a spicy broth, you can use a Sichuan, Chongqing, or Mongolian-style base. For a milder broth, opt for a clear broth, which is the default type in northern China.

Next, prepare your ingredients. For a seafood hot pot, you'll want to include items like shrimp, squid, scallops, and sliced fish. You can also add tofu, soy bean products, mushrooms, leafy greens, and other vegetables. Cut your ingredients into bite-sized pieces or thin slices, which will cook faster.

Arrange your ingredients on plates or platters around the pot. You can group similar items together, such as seafood on one plate and vegetables on another. Don't forget to prepare your dipping sauces!

When you're ready to eat, bring your broth to a boil. Add your ingredients in small batches to avoid overcrowding the pot, which will lower the temperature. Use chopsticks or a strainer to cook your ingredients in the broth, then dip them into your sauce of choice before eating.

Remember to only cook what you plan to eat, and be sure to sanitise your chopsticks by dipping them in the boiling broth before eating. Enjoy your hot pot!

Dipping sauces

Spicy Garlic Hot Sauce

This sauce can be made with minced garlic, red chilli, green onion, Korean red chilli flakes, ground Sichuan pepper, sesame seeds, black vinegar, oyster sauce, and soy sauce.

Creamy Garlic Sesame Sauce

For this sauce, you will need sesame paste, dashi powder, black vinegar, minced garlic, and green onion.

Taiwanese Shacha Sauce

To make this sauce, combine minced garlic, chopped red chilli, green onion, Taiwanese Shacha sauce, and black vinegar.

Beijing-Style Dipping Sauce

This sauce uses Chinese sesame paste as its base. It also includes red fermented bean curd, fermented leek flower sauce, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, grated garlic, and minced cilantro.

Simple Soy Sauce

A simple dipping sauce can be made with just soy sauce and a bit of sesame oil and chilli oil or chilli flakes.

Other Ideas

Other popular dipping sauces include oyster sauce, Chinese BBQ sauce, hoisin sauce, Chinese black vinegar, rice wine vinegar, Chinese chilli oil, and sesame seeds.

Frequently asked questions