The Art Of Eating Hot Pot: A Beginner's Guide To This Flavorful Feast

Hot pot is an interactive and customisable meal, less of a dish than an experience. It encapsulates the communal dining ethos that many Western restaurants have only recently adopted.

Hot pot is a cook-it-yourself dining experience to be shared with friends and family. It includes a single pot of delicious, bubbling broth in the centre of the table and lots of delicious ingredients. You cook the ingredients yourself at the table to your own liking, then dip them in your favourite condiment and enjoy!

Hot pot is very much a communal, social meal, so sharing is key. You can choose from a variety of broths, meats, vegetables, and dipping sauces to create your own unique experience.

Choose your broth

Choosing the broth is the first step to a delicious hot pot. The broth is the foundation of your meal, so it's important to select one that suits your taste preferences and dietary needs. Here are some popular options:

Chicken Broth

A basic, mild broth that is perfect for beginners. It is often used as a base for other broths and can be customised with additional ingredients.

Tom Yum Broth

A slightly sweet and spicy Thai-inspired broth that goes well with meat. It is made with a combination of aromatic herbs and spices, including lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, and chillies.

Ma-La Broth

A spicy and bold Szechuan broth with curry-like flavours. It is known for its numbing spiciness, achieved through the use of Sichuan peppercorns, red chillies, and preserved mustard greens.

Savory Mushroom Broth

A vegetarian-friendly broth that is rich in umami flavour. Mushrooms lend a savoury, earthy taste to the broth, creating a satisfying and hearty base for your hot pot.

Herbal Mushroom Broth

This broth is another option for vegetarians, offering a milder and refreshing experience. It serves as a great palate cleanser when served alongside a spicy broth.

Chongqing Broth

A bold and spicy option, similar to the Ma-La broth, but with a stronger emphasis on the numbing sensation from Sichuan peppercorns. It also includes red chillies and preserved mustard greens.

Spicy Hot Pot Soup Base

For those who enjoy a challenge, this broth is packed with chilli peppers and Sichuan peppercorns. It can be purchased as a store-bought base or made from scratch with dried red peppers, beef tallow, ginger, scallions, and cloves.

Clear Broth (清汤)

A basic, mild broth that is perfect for those who want to enjoy the natural flavours of the ingredients. It is made with chicken or pork bones, ginger, scallions, white peppercorns, and other simple ingredients.

When choosing a broth, consider whether you want a divided hot pot with two different broths or a full pot with a single broth. A divided hot pot allows you to experience a variety of flavours, while a full pot lets you focus on one flavour profile.

Select your meats and proteins

Beef

Thinly sliced beef is one of the most popular choices for hot pot as it cooks quickly, usually within 10 to 30 seconds. You can buy it pre-sliced from an Asian market, where they sell wagyu cuts in paper-thin slices. If you're slicing beef yourself, choose a fatty cut like ribeye, brisket, or short ribs, and place it in the freezer for 15-30 minutes to make it easier to cut into thin slices.

Pork

Pork belly, pork jowl, and pork shoulder are also popular choices for hot pot. You can slice the meat yourself or buy pre-sliced trays from your local Asian grocery store.

Chicken

Chicken pieces are available but less popular as they take longer to cook.

Lamb

Lamb shoulder is another option for hot pot.

Seafood

Head-on shrimp is a good choice as they cook in their shells, adding flavour to the broth. Other options include haddock, seabass, squid, eel, mussels, oysters, crab, and lobster.

Meat and Fish Balls

Meatballs, fish balls, and other seafood balls are also popular additions to hot pot. They usually take around 5 minutes to cook and will puff up and float when they're done.

Tofu

Tofu is another popular protein option for hot pot as it soaks up all the flavours of the broth. Medium-firm tofu and egg tofu are good choices, but any variety will work.

Dumplings

Frozen dumplings are a great addition to hot pot. Get the fully cooked variety to avoid the risk of eating raw filling.

Offal

If you're feeling adventurous, you can also add offal to your hot pot.

Pick seafood

Seafood is a great option for hot pot, and there are many types to choose from. Firstly, head-on shrimp is a good choice as the shells will add flavour to the broth. However, be careful when eating, as very hot broth can become trapped in the shell. If you prefer seafood without shells, choose pieces of haddock, seabass, squid, or eel. Shellfish, such as mussels, oysters, crab, and lobster, are also great options.

For a Japanese hot pot, or "nabe", choose fresh, seasonal seafood such as red mullet, turbot, sea bream, salmon, cod, or cod cheeks. For a Chinese hot pot, try shrimp, squid, scallops, or tofu cubes. You could also add some greens, such as spinach, bok choy, or Napa cabbage, at the end with the noodles to make a soup.

When it comes to cooking seafood in your hot pot, it is best to add it after the broth has been boiling for a minute, along with any other quick-cooking foods. Seafood usually cooks in less than a minute, so you can remove and eat it before adding more to the pot.

Order vegetables

Ordering vegetables for hot pot is a fun part of the process, as you can include some of your favourites and try out some new ones. It's best to have a variety of textures and flavours to keep things interesting.

First, decide on the types of vegetables you want. You can go for leafy greens, starchy root vegetables, or a mixture of both. Here are some options for each:

Leafy Greens:

• Chrysanthemum leaves (tong ho)
• Baby bok choy
• Napa cabbage
• Choy sum
• Spinach
• Pea tips
• Watercress
• AA Choy/Cai

Preparation:

Rinse the greens thoroughly and cut them into manageable pieces. Baby bok choy can be left whole, while larger leaves like napa cabbage should be cut into smaller 1-2 inch pieces.

Starchy Vegetables:

• Taro root
• Lotus root
• Potato
• Sweet potato
• Japanese yam
• Corn
• Daikon radish
• Tomatoes
• Winter melon

Preparation:

Peel and slice the starchy vegetables into manageable pieces. For example, cut the potato, sweet potato, and lotus root into 1/4 inch thick half-moons. For corn, cut whole ears into 1-inch pieces.

Cooking:

Vegetables will take different times to cook depending on their type and size. Delicate vegetables like leafy greens will cook within seconds or a minute, while starchy vegetables will take longer, around 5-10 minutes.

Mushrooms:

Mushrooms are an important part of a balanced hot pot and offer a variety of textures and flavours. Here are some options:

• Enoki mushrooms
• King oyster mushrooms
• Shiitake mushrooms
• Oyster mushrooms
• Shimeji mushrooms
• Wood ears

Preparation:

For enoki mushrooms, cut 1/2-1 inch of the base off and separate the bundle into smaller, more manageable bundles. For king oyster, shiitake, and oyster mushrooms, trim the ends and slice thinly. For wood ears, soak to reconstitute, rinse to remove any dirt or sand, and remove any woody ends.

Cooking:

Mushrooms will take a few minutes to cook. Enoki mushrooms will be ready in 30-45 seconds, while other varieties will take around 2-3 minutes.

When ordering vegetables for hot pot, it's best to get a variety of types and prepare them accordingly. This will ensure a range of flavours, textures, and cooking times to keep things interesting throughout your meal.

Add noodles

Noodles are a great way to round off your hot pot meal. They're filling and cook quickly. You'll likely have a choice of udon, vermicelli, chow mein, and shandong noodles. If you're looking to cut down on carbohydrates, you could opt for yam noodle bundles or shirataki noodles.

Add your choice of noodles to the hot pot about halfway through your meal. Stir them gently and let them cook for a couple of minutes or until they're soft. They'll soak up all the flavours from the broth and the ingredients you've cooked in it.

If you're making hot pot at home, you can use instant ramen noodles. Just use the noodles and save the flavour packets for something else. You can boil these noodles for as long as you like as they've already been fried and won't overcook.

If you have leftover broth, you can use it to make congee by adding cooked rice to it.

Frequently asked questions