Little Sheep Hot Pot: A Hearty Feast

Little Sheep Hot Pot is a Chinese cooking method and type of meal. It involves a simmering pot of soup placed in the middle of a dining table, with a variety of raw ingredients such as meat, seafood, tofu, noodles and vegetables. The raw ingredients are then cooked in the boiling liquid at the table by each individual diner.

There are many types of Little Sheep Hot Pot, including Mongolian Hot Pot, Seafood Hot Pot and Spicy Sichuan Hot Pot. The type of broth used is one of the most important considerations when making Little Sheep Hot Pot, as all the food will be cooked in this broth.

You can make your own broth or buy a pre-made hot pot soup base. If making your own, you will need ingredients such as chicken, pig bones, white peppercorn, long green onion, ginger, and spices.

Choosing a broth

There are many different styles of hot pot in China, and they vary depending on the region. The primary difference between regions is the broth.

You can either buy a hot pot broth base or make your own. However, making your own broth can require a lot of special ingredients that may be expensive or unavailable at your local Asian market.

If you're making your own broth, a clear broth is the default type in northern China. This is made using simple ingredients such as water, scallions, ginger, peppers, shiitake mushrooms, and jujubes.

If you're buying a broth base, there are a few types to choose from:

• Spicy broth is one of the most popular broths across China. There are a few types of spicy hot pot base to choose from – Sichuan, Chongqing, and Mongolian style. The Sichuan and Mongolian styles might be the most popular, but the Chongqing style features a thicker, richer broth.
• Clear broth is the default type in northern China.
• There are also other types of hot pot base, such as tomato, seafood, satay, and even soy milk.

If you're hosting a hot pot party, it's ideal to use a split pot and serve two types of broth – a spicy broth and a mild broth. This is helpful if you have guests who don't eat spicy food.

Preparing the ingredients

Step 1: Meat and Seafood

Start by preparing the meat and seafood, which are the stars of a hot pot. Slice lamb, beef, and pork as thinly as possible to ensure they cook quickly and remain tender. Aim for paper-thin slices, which you can find pre-sliced in the frozen section of Asian supermarkets. If you can't find pre-sliced meat, use a sharp knife to cut the meat against the grain. In addition to the sliced meat, prepare some meatballs, such as fish, beef, shrimp, or pork balls. You can either make these yourself or purchase frozen ones.

Step 2: Tofu and Soybean Products

Tofu and soybean products are a must-have for a hot pot. They add variety in terms of taste and texture. Include blocks of firm or extra-firm tofu, sliced yuba sheets (tofu skin), deep-fried tofu puffs, and frozen tofu that has been thawed and sliced. These products soak up the flavour of the broth beautifully.

Step 3: Mushrooms

A variety of mushrooms will elevate your hot pot, adding depth of flavour and texture. Include king oyster mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, enoki (golden needle mushrooms), shimeji, and oyster mushrooms. Clean and slice the larger mushrooms, and separate the smaller ones into smaller threads or bunches.

Step 4: Vegetables

Select a range of vegetables to add colour, flavour, and nutrition to your hot pot. Choose leafy greens such as napa cabbage, baby bok choy, Chinese broccoli, yu choy, and chrysanthemum leaves. Also, add some non-leafy vegetables like Chinese cauliflower, winter melon, bamboo shoots, potatoes, daikon radish, squash, and corn on the cob. Cut the vegetables into bite-sized pieces or thin slices.

Step 5: Noodles and Dumplings

Noodles and dumplings are essential for a well-rounded hot pot. Include hand-pulled noodles, fresh noodles, dried noodles, and shirataki noodles. If you want to make your own dumplings, try the Easy Hand-Pulled Noodles recipe. Simply follow the cooking instructions on the packages for the noodles and dumplings.

Step 6: Dipping Sauces

Prepare a variety of dipping sauces to enhance the flavours of the cooked ingredients. Here are some options:

• Sesame paste-based sauce: Mix toasted sesame paste with water, soy sauce, fermented tofu, fermented garlic chives, sesame oil, chopped cilantro, and green onions.
• Shacha sauce: This sauce is perfect for seafood. It is made from fish paste and various spices, with a hint of sweetness. Thin it out with a bit of broth from the hot pot.
• Sesame oil and garlic sauce: A combination of toasted sesame oil and finely grated garlic. You can also add sesame sauce, sesame oil, and garlic for a richer sauce.

Step 7: Final Preparation

On the day of your hot pot party, wash and chop all the ingredients and prepare the dipping sauces. Add the hot pot base and water to your hot pot, set it on a portable stove, and place it in the centre of your table. Arrange all the ingredients around the pot, and provide each guest with one to two small bowls, one plate, and a pair of chopsticks. Don't forget to sanitise the chopsticks by dipping them in the boiling broth before using them to eat.

Cooking the ingredients

Little Sheep is a famous Chinese restaurant chain that produces its own line of soup bases and sauces. You can find their products in many Asian grocery stores and on Amazon. Their hot pot soup base is available in spicy and non-spicy varieties. If you want to make a Sichuan-style mala hot pot, you will need to add more chilli peppers and Sichuan peppercorns to the spicy soup base.

To cook a delicious hot pot, you will need to prepare a variety of raw ingredients, including meat, seafood, vegetables, tofu, and noodles. Here is a list of ingredients you can use:

• Meat: thinly sliced lamb, beef, pork, and chicken. You can also add meatballs, such as fish, beef, shrimp, or pork balls.
• Seafood: shrimp, mussels, scallops, lobster, crabs, oysters, clams, and abalone.
• Vegetables: root vegetables like potatoes, lotus root, yam, taro, and radish; melons like cucumber, winter melon, pumpkin, and tomatoes; leafy greens like bok choy, cabbage, snow pea leaves, and Chinese broccoli.
• Tofu: firm or extra firm tofu, sliced or cubed; deep-fried tofu puffs; frozen tofu, thawed and sliced.
• Mushrooms: king oyster, shiitake, enoki, shimeji, and oyster mushrooms.
• Noodles: handmade noodles, glass noodles, bean vermicelli, potato noodles, sweet potato noodles, or dried noodles.

When preparing the ingredients, cut the meat into thin slices and the vegetables into small pieces. Remove the hard ends of the mushrooms and break the large pieces into smaller ones. Open the tofu, meatballs, and hot pot meat slices. You can also marinate the meat with a splash of rice wine, salt, white pepper, and julienned ginger before cooking.

Once you have prepared all the ingredients, it's time to cook them in the hot pot. Bring the broth to a boil and add the ingredients in small batches. Meat and seafood usually cook quickly, so keep an eye on them to avoid overcooking. Frozen meatballs and tofu may require a longer cooking time, around 2 to 4 minutes. Leafy greens only need about 30 seconds to cook, while heartier vegetables like bok choy and napa cabbage will take a few minutes longer.

Table setting

When setting the table for a hot pot, it's important to keep in mind that hot pot is a social dining format, so the table setting should facilitate this. Here are some tips:

Use a pot with a separator in the middle to accommodate two different types of broth. This will allow your guests to choose their preferred broth and avoid any allergies or spice preferences. Place the pot on a burner in the middle of the table to keep the broth simmering throughout the meal.

Arrange the various raw ingredients for dipping on plates around the hot pot. This includes meat, seafood, mushrooms, vegetables, and noodles. You can place ingredients that go well together on the same plate, such as fatty beef and lamb, or fish balls and fish cakes. It's not necessary to put out all the ingredients at once; you can keep some in the fridge or freezer and replenish the plates as needed.

Provide each guest with two sets of chopsticks: one for dipping ingredients into the communal pot and the other for eating. You will also need mini tongs, small strainers, spoons, shallow bowls for eating, and small bowls for dipping sauces.

Remember to follow proper hot pot etiquette, such as not "chopstick washing" (swishing your eating chopsticks in the broth), respecting the broth divide by not cooking in both broths, and ensuring you only cook food that belongs to you.

Hot pot etiquette

Hot pot is a social and interactive meal, so it's important to be mindful of your fellow diners. Here are some tips to ensure you don't fall out with your friends over dinner:

• Don't mix your utensils: Use separate utensils for handling raw ingredients and for eating. This is to avoid cross-contamination, especially when dealing with raw meat and fish.
• No plastic: Don't use plastic utensils that might melt into the soup.
• Take your time: Hot pot is not a race. Cook and eat your food slowly, savouring each ingredient. Don't dump all your ingredients into the pot at once.
• Cook food properly: Some ingredients, like meat, need to be cooked thoroughly. For thinly sliced meat, try the "seven up, eight down" method: dip the meat into the broth seven times, then remove it, and finally dip it eight times.
• Be considerate: Ask your fellow diners if they'd like to try something before you eat it all. Also, check if anyone has food allergies before adding ingredients to the pot.
• Don't double-broth: If there are multiple broths, don't cook an ingredient in one broth and then finish it in another.
• Wait your turn: Don't go fishing in the pot for your food before it's cooked.
• Don't refill the broth without asking: The broth will absorb the flavours of the ingredients, creating a delicious soup. Don't dilute it by adding more broth without checking with your fellow diners.
• Share: Hot pot is a communal meal, so share your food and drinks. It's considered polite to serve others before yourself.
• Keep your hair back: If you have long hair, tie it back to avoid it getting in the food or the broth.

Frequently asked questions