Veggie Hot Pot: A Hearty, Healthy Feast

Hosting a veggie hot pot is a fun and delicious way to celebrate with friends and family. It's a great way to bring people together as you sit around a pot, cooking, eating, talking, and relaxing. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you host your own veggie hot pot party:

Step 1: Gather Your Equipment

You'll need a burner and a pot. The burner should be portable enough to sit at the centre of your table. For the burner, you can choose between induction, gas, or a two-in-one pot connected to an electric source. As for the pot, go for a shallow one so your food doesn't drown. A divided pot is ideal if you want to offer two different types of broth. Don't forget to get long chopsticks, serving spoons, and small plates for your guests!

Step 2: Prepare the Broth

You can go for a homemade broth or a store-bought one. If you're making your own, a simple no-sodium chicken stock dressed up with soy sauce, shaoxing wine, toasted sesame oil, ginger, and scallions will do the trick. You can also add a Japanese twist with instant dashi seasoned with soy sauce, sake, mirin, and a touch of sugar.

Step 3: Shop for Ingredients

Now it's time to hit the grocery store! For a veggie hot pot, focus on vegetables, mushrooms, tofu, and noodles.

Vegetables:

Go for a variety of colours and textures. Include crunchy veggies like bamboo shoots, lotus root, cauliflower, and broccoli; starchy veggies like squash, potato, sweet potato, and taro root; leafy greens like napa cabbage, pea shoots, baby bok choy, and Swiss chard.

Mushrooms:

Enoki, oyster, shiitake, and wood ear mushrooms are great choices.

Tofu:

Experiment with different types of tofu available at Asian grocery stores. Try fried tofu, yuba sheets, tofu skin, and frozen tofu.

Noodles:

Udon, glass noodles, rice noodles, and vermicelli are all great options.

Step 4: Prepare the Dipping Sauce

The sauce is an integral part of the hot pot experience. You can make your own by mixing Chinese sesame paste, Chinese black vinegar, soy sauce, vegetarian oyster sauce, sugar, chilli oil, garlic, green onions, and cilantro.

Step 5: Set the Table

Place the burner and pot in the middle of the table. Arrange the ingredients around the table. Set a sauce station with small dipping bowls. Provide a bowl, plate, chopsticks, and napkin at each setting. Don't forget the drinks! Beer or wine goes well with hot pot.

Step 6: Cook and Enjoy!

Bring the broth to a boil and let your guests cook their chosen ingredients. Use tongs or hot pot strainers to place the ingredients in the pot. Cook for a few minutes, depending on the ingredient. Dip the cooked pieces in your sauce, enjoy, and repeat!

Happy veggie hot-potting!

Choosing a broth

Types of Broth

There are many types of broth that you can use for your veggie hot pot, depending on your desired flavour profile and level of spiciness. Here are some popular options:

• Vegetable Broth: A vegetable broth is a great option for a vegetarian or vegan hot pot. You can make your own vegetable broth by simmering vegetables such as onions, carrots, celery, and herbs in water, or you can use a store-bought vegetable broth.
• Mushroom Broth: Mushroom broth adds a deep, earthy flavour to your hot pot. You can make your own by simmering mushrooms and vegetables, or you can use a store-bought mushroom broth.
• Tomato Broth: A tomato broth adds a touch of sweetness and acidity to your hot pot. You can make your own by simmering tomatoes and vegetables, or use a store-bought option.
• Plain Broth: A plain broth can be made with a simple chicken or vegetable stock, or even just water. This option is perfect if you want the flavours of your ingredients to shine through without competing with the broth.
• Spicy Broth: If you like your food with a kick, opt for a spicy broth. You can add spice to any of the above broths by incorporating ingredients like chilli peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, or spicy seasoning packets.

Store-Bought vs. Homemade

When it comes to choosing a broth for your veggie hot pot, you have the option of going with a store-bought option or making your own from scratch. Here are some considerations for each:

• Store-Bought: Using a store-bought broth is a convenient and time-saving option. You can find a variety of broth options at your local grocery store or Asian market. Look for broth bases, seasoning packets, or pre-made broths. Some popular brands include Little Sheep, Hai Di Lao, and Lao Gan Ma.
• Homemade: Making your own broth allows you to customise the flavour and control the ingredients. You can simmer vegetables, meats, or mushrooms to create a rich and flavourful broth. It does require more time and preparation, but the end result can be well worth the effort.

Customisation

One of the beautiful things about hot pot is its customisability. You can mix and match different types of broth to suit your taste. Here are some tips for customising your broth:

• Divided Pot: Consider using a divided pot, which allows you to offer two different types of broth at the same time. This is a great option if you have guests with varying spice tolerances or flavour preferences.
• Adjust Spiciness: If you're making your own broth, you can control the level of spiciness. Add chilli peppers, peppercorns, or spicy seasonings to increase the heat. For a milder broth, omit these ingredients or add them in smaller quantities.
• Experiment with Ingredients: Don't be afraid to experiment with different ingredients in your broth. Try adding different types of vegetables, herbs, or spices to find flavour combinations that you love.

Remember, the key to a successful veggie hot pot is to choose a broth that complements your ingredients and suits your taste preferences. Whether you go with a store-bought or homemade option, customising your broth will make your hot pot experience unique and enjoyable.

Selecting vegetables

Crunchy Vegetables

Add some crunch to your hot pot with veggies such as bamboo shoots, lotus root, cauliflower, radish, broccoli, and carrot. These vegetables will provide a nice texture contrast to the other ingredients in your hot pot.

Starchy Vegetables

Starchy vegetables like squash, potato, sweet potato, and taro root will help fill up your guests and add some heartiness to the dish.

Leafy Greens

Napa cabbage, pea shoots, baby bok choy, Chinese broccoli, yu choy, and Swiss chard are great options for leafy greens. These vegetables will add some colour and freshness to your hot pot.

Other Fun Chinese Vegetables

Include some less common veggies like winter melon, celtuce, and bean sprouts to give your hot pot an authentic Chinese flavour.

Mushrooms

Enoki (golden needle mushrooms), oyster mushrooms, seafood mushrooms, shimeji, and wood ear mushrooms are all great options for hot pot. Mushrooms will add a savoury umami flavour to the dish.

When selecting vegetables for your veggie hot pot, aim for a variety of colours, textures, and flavours to make it a fun and delicious experience for your guests.

Picking proteins

The proteins you choose for your veggie hot pot are important, as they provide an excellent source of nutrition and flavour. Here are some ideas for plant-based proteins to include in your hot pot:

Tofu and Tofu Products

Fried tofu, yuba sheets, yuba knots, tofu skin, and tofu puffs are all great options. These tofu products have different textures and flavours, and they absorb more flavour than regular tofu, making them perfect for hot pots. If using a regular block of tofu, freezing and then thawing it will change the texture, making it more porous and helping it hold its shape better in the broth.

Meat Alternatives

If you want to include some meat alternatives, there are many options available in the freezer section of Asian grocery stores. These include Asian beef meatballs, which are usually pre-cooked and just need to be warmed in the broth. You can also find vegetarian frozen dumplings, such as kimchi mandu, at some stores.

Preparing sauces

There are many different sauces you can make to accompany your veggie hot pot. Here are some ideas:

Chinese sesame sauce

Mix together Chinese sesame paste, hoisin sauce, sweet soy sauce, and shacha (Chinese barbecue sauce). You can also add in some raw egg yolk for extra flavour.

Shacha sauce

Shacha is made from soybean oil, garlic, shallots, chillies, brill fish, and dried shrimp. It is often mixed with a bit of soy sauce, sesame oil, green onions, and cilantro.

Mike's Hot Pot Sauce

A mix of shacha, soy sauce, green onions, and toasted sesame seeds.

Hot Pot Dipping Sauce

Mix together Chinese sesame paste, Chinese black vinegar, soy sauce, vegetarian oyster sauce, sugar, chilli oil, garlic, green onions, and cilantro.

Simple Sweet Soy Sauce

This is a simple sauce made from sweet soy sauce with green onion and cilantro.

Sriracha Sauce

A mix of sriracha, ketchup, and sugar.

You can also just use store-bought sauces, such as sesame sauce, soy sauce, or Thai peanut sauce.

It's a good idea to have a variety of sauces available for your guests to choose from and mix and match.

Cooking and serving

Now that all the shopping and prep is done, it's time to cook and serve your veggie hot pot.

Place the burner and the pot in the middle of the table. Arrange the ingredients around the table. Have a sauce station – usually, it's nicer to have the station away from the table since it frees up space. Place a bowl, plate, chopsticks, and napkin at each setting. Have a couple of plates with tongs and hot pot strainers, and a ladle. It's nice if you have one hot pot strainer per person, but if you're good at sharing, you can get away with one between two people.

Don't forget the drinks! You can go with beer or, if you want those authentic feels, try wine. Wine is crazy popular in China. If you're doing non-alcoholic, iced green or jasmine teas or suan mei tang (cold sour plum tea) are good choices.

Once the table is set, the soup is bubbling in the middle, and you have your own custom sauce made, this is how you do it:

Decide on a couple of pieces of what you want to eat. Most people start with meat, but if you're feeling dumplings, tofu, or vegetables, you do you!

Use a pair of tongs to gently place your pieces of choice into the pot – go for 3-5 pieces per person.

Once everything is in the pot, the bubbling will subside a bit. Let everything come back up to a simmer. If you're cooking thinly sliced beef, you can just give it a gentle swish in the bubbling soup until it is cooked to your liking, then pull it out immediately.

Use a scoop to scoop out the pieces you put in and place them in your bowl.

Dip the pieces in your sauce, enjoy, and repeat as needed!

Note: for things like tofu and balls or daikon and potatoes, you can just pop those into the pot and let them hang out while it's bubbling away. They can just chill out, cook slowly, and soak up flavour while you're cooking other items.

• Meats – since they’re thinly sliced or cut, it shouldn’t take more than 30 seconds for beef and up to 1-2 minutes for pork, chicken, and lamb.
• Seafood – seafood cooks quickly in general, 1-2 minutes should do it.
• Vegetables – leafy greens can take a quick dip, things like potatoes will take until they’re tender, up to 15 minutes.
• Dumplings – cook these according to package directions.
• Balls – these usually come fully cooked, but give them up to 5 minutes at a boil to make sure they’re heated through.
• Noodles – cook these according to package directions.
• Tofu – this can go in as long as little as you like.

Frequently asked questions