Emilie Meyer
Dry pot is a cooking method that stems from the popular hot-pot communal meal. While hot pot involves cooking raw ingredients in a spicy communal broth, dry pot is a quicker alternative that uses a stir-frying technique to cook the same variety of ingredients and spices. Dry pot is a social experience, with everyone sitting around and sharing the spoils, usually served with rice, noodles, and dipping sauces. The key to dry pot is spice-infused oil, with Sichuan peppercorns being the most important aromatic. This dish is highly customizable, as you can use whatever vegetables, meats, and proteins you want, and it can be made in a wok or pot.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Cooking Method | Stir-fry |
| Ingredients | Meat, seafood, poultry, vegetables, tofu, rice, noodles, sauces, spices |
| Preparation | Pre-cooking ingredients by deep-frying, shallow-frying, stir-frying, or blanching |
| Spices | Sichuan peppercorns, dried red chili peppers, ginger, garlic |
| Sauces | Hot pot soup base sauce, Shaoxing rice wine, soy sauce |
| Equipment | Wok, skillet, parchment paper, spice grinder, mortar and pestle |
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What You'll Learn
Choosing your ingredients
Dry pot is a social dish, where everyone chooses their own ingredients to cook in a spicy broth. It's an offshoot of hot pot, but without the soup and the time investment. You can use whatever vegetables and meats you like, and it's great for using up whatever is in your fridge.
The ingredients you choose will depend on how many people you are serving. For two people, you'll need 4-5 main ingredients, plus aromatics like garlic, ginger, and scallion or onion. For four people, you might want to add 8-10 items for a full feast.
When it comes to vegetables, you can use whatever you like. Popular choices include potatoes, yu choy, flowering cauliflower, celtuce, lotus root, green beans, mushrooms, bok choy, and cabbage. Most vegetables are partially pre-cooked by blanching or frying before being added to the dry pot. Potatoes, for example, can be sliced and blanched in boiling water, or fried.
For meat and seafood, you can use whatever you like, including chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, and fish balls. Most proteins are pre-cooked by pan-frying or stir-frying before being added to the dry pot. Marinated meats will add extra flavour to your dish. Shrimp and fish can be fried for a few minutes, while beef and chicken should be cooked until golden and tender.
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Preparing your aromatics
The aromatics you choose to use in your dry pot can be adapted to your taste, but some of the most commonly used aromatics in dry pot are garlic, ginger, and scallions/onions. You can also add dried chilli peppers, fresh chillies, or jalapeños for an extra kick of heat. For a more complex flavour, you can add spices such as Sichuan peppercorns, which will give your dish a signature numbing sensation.
To prepare your aromatics, start by heating some oil in a wok over low to medium heat. Add your choice of aromatics—for example, garlic and ginger—and cook, stirring constantly, until they become fragrant. This should take around one minute. If you are using dried chilli peppers, you can add them now and cook for a further minute, stirring to ensure they do not burn.
Once your aromatics are cooked, you can push them to the sides of the pan, making a well in the centre. This creates space to add your protein or other ingredients, ensuring they get a good sear without steaming.
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Blanching your vegetables
Blanching is a great way to prepare your vegetables for a dry pot. This technique is especially useful for hardy vegetables like potatoes, carrots, and lotus root, which may otherwise take longer to cook through.
To blanch your vegetables, start by bringing a pot of water to a boil. You can blanch your vegetables in batches or all at once, depending on the size of your pot and the quantity of vegetables. Once the water is boiling, carefully add your chosen vegetables to the pot. For potatoes and carrots, you may need to blanch them for slightly longer than softer vegetables. Keep in mind that you will also be stir-frying these vegetables later, so they should still have some bite to them.
After blanching, quickly transfer the vegetables to an ice bath. This step is important to stop the cooking process and help retain the vibrant colors of your vegetables. Once they have cooled down, drain the vegetables thoroughly and set them aside.
You can also choose to fry your vegetables instead of blanching them. Frying adds a different texture and flavor to your vegetables, but it may require more oil and can be a bit more time-consuming. Ultimately, the decision between blanching and frying depends on your personal preference and the desired taste and texture of your dry pot.
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Cooking your proteins
Dry pot is a versatile dish that can be made with a variety of proteins. The key to cooking your proteins for a dry pot is to pre-cook them individually before tossing them in the dry pot sauce at the end. Here are some detailed instructions for cooking different types of proteins:
Poultry
For chicken, you can use blanched chicken wings or sliced chicken breast. Fry the chicken pieces until they are golden and tender. You can also use other poultry options such as turkey or duck and cook them similarly.
Seafood
Seafood options like shrimp, prawns, and fish balls are excellent choices for dry pot. Shrimp and prawns can be quickly stir-fried in a small amount of oil until they curl up. Fish balls can be added directly to the dry pot without pre-cooking. For whole fish fillets, fry them separately before adding them to the dry pot.
Meat
Meat options such as beef, pork, and lamb can be sliced into thin pieces and stir-fried or pan-fried until cooked to your desired doneness. For thicker cuts of meat, such as pork belly or beef short ribs, you can shallow-fry or pan-fry them before adding them to the dry pot. Marinating your meats before cooking can add extra flavour.
Tofu
Tofu is a great plant-based protein option for dry pot. Use dried tofu skin, which needs to be rehydrated before cooking. Soak the tofu skin in boiling water for about 30 minutes, then add it to the dry pot along with the other ingredients.
Remember, the beauty of dry pot is its customizability, so feel free to choose your favourite proteins and cook them according to your preferred methods. Just ensure that all proteins are pre-cooked before adding them to the dry pot sauce to bring everything together.
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Bringing it all together
Dry pot is a cooking method that uses the same ingredients and spices as the popular hot-pot meals, but instead of cooking in a communal broth, dry-pot cooking uses a stir-frying technique. It's a social experience, where everyone sits around and shares the dish, which is served with rice, noodles, and dipping sauces.
To make a dry pot, first blanch your vegetables. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, yu choy, cauliflower, and green beans. You can also add tofu skin to the boiling water. Once tender, transfer the vegetables to an ice bath, then drain and set aside.
Next, prepare your protein. Most recipes call for meat, seafood, or poultry, which can be pan-fried, stir-fried, or shallow-fried. Marinate your meat beforehand to improve the aroma of the dish. Shrimp and pork belly are good choices as they can be stir-fried quickly in a small amount of oil. You can also add tofu to your dish.
Now, heat oil in a wok over low to medium heat and add your spices. Let them infuse for around 20 minutes until they start to brown. Turn off the heat and remove the spices, keeping the oil in the wok. Turn the heat back on and add aromatics such as garlic, ginger, scallions or onions, and chilis. Cook, stirring, until fragrant.
Add your protein to the wok and cook until golden. Then, add your blanched vegetables and stir-fry, mixing everything well. You can also add noodles to the wok. Finally, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve with rice.
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Frequently asked questions
Dry pot is a cooking method that comes from the popular hot-pot meals where everyone selects their own raw ingredients to cook in a spicy communal broth. Dry-pot cooking often takes the same ingredients and spices but uses a stir-frying technique to cook them.
You can use whatever vegetables and meats you want. Some popular vegetables include potatoes, carrots, yu choy, flowering cauliflower, mushrooms, and green beans. Popular meats include chicken, shrimp, and pork belly.
Most of the vegetables for dry pot are partially pre-cooked by blanching or frying. Restaurants will often deep-fry most of the meat, but most meats and seafood can be simply shallow-fried or stir-fried at home. Marinating meats before cooking is recommended.
You will need a wok or a large frying pan. You will also need parchment paper, a spice grinder or mortar and pestle, and a slotted spoon.
First, heat oil in your wok or frying pan over low to medium heat. Then, add all the spices and let them infuse for around 20 minutes until they start to brown. Use a slotted spoon to remove the spices, but keep the oil in the wok. Next, add aromatics like garlic, ginger, and scallions or onions, and cook until fragrant. Add your pre-cooked ingredients to the wok and toss them in the sauce. Finally, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve with rice or noodles and dipping sauces.
