Hot Pot Buffet Strategies: A Guide To Getting The Most From Your Feast

Hot pot is a fun, interactive and communal dining experience with a long history. It's not just a meal, it's an occasion. The concept is simple: a pot of broth bubbles away at the centre of the table, and diners add and cook their choice of raw ingredients. It's a great social occasion, where friends and family can chat, drink and have fun while they cook and eat.

Hot pot is an extremely customisable meal. The broth can be spicy or mild, and there are endless ingredients to choose from. The most popular choices include thinly sliced meat, seafood, vegetables and tofu. You can cook your food to your own liking, and dip it in your favourite sauce or condiment.

Hot pot is a very inclusive meal, and there are options for vegetarians and vegans, too. It's also a great way to try new foods in a relaxed setting.

Choose your broth

Choosing the right broth is essential to creating a delicious hot pot. There are two main types of broth: spicy and mild (or clear).

For a spicy broth, a popular choice is the Sichuan-style broth, characterised by a high fat content (usually beef tallow), a strong aroma, and a distinctive mouth-numbing and spicy taste. To make this broth, you'll need ingredients like dried chilli peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, spices such as star anise and cinnamon, aromatics like scallions and garlic, and fermented ingredients like chilli bean paste and black beans.

If you're looking for a milder option, a chicken stock-based broth is a great choice. This type of broth is light and easy to prepare. You can make it with water, scallions, ginger, and optionally, stock made from pork, beef, chicken, mushroom, or tomatoes. For extra flavour, you can add ingredients like shiitake mushrooms, Chinese dates, and Goji berries.

When choosing a broth, consider the proteins, vegetables, and other ingredients you plan to cook in it. You may want to choose two different broths—one spicy and one mild—to offer a variety of flavours and accommodate different preferences.

You can make your broth from scratch, or you can opt for store-bought soup bases and seasonings. If making your own, remember to prepare the ingredients and cook them at the right temperatures and durations to bring out the best flavours.

Order your ingredients

Ordering the ingredients for a hot pot is a crucial part of the experience. The variety of options can be overwhelming, but here is a guide to help you navigate the process:

Meats and Proteins

Thinly sliced meats, especially beef, are a popular choice for hot pot as they cook quickly, usually within 10 to 30 seconds. Lamb and beef are also recommended as they impart a delicious flavour to the broth. Other options include chicken pieces, pork belly, lamb shoulder, tofu, and offal. If you prefer something different, you can also opt for dumplings or balls made from meat, fish, or pork.

Seafood

Head-on shrimp is a great choice as they cook in their shells, adding flavour to the broth. Other options include haddock, seabass, squid, and eel. Shellfish like mussels, oysters, crab, and lobster are also good choices. Just remember that if you opt for head-on shrimp, be cautious when eating as the hot broth can get trapped in the shell.

Vegetables

Include a mix of your favourite vegetables and some new ones to try. Keep in mind that different vegetables have varying cooking times. Delicate vegetables like lettuce and bean sprouts will cook within seconds, while heartier options like potatoes, corn, pumpkin, and radish will take several minutes. Other suggestions include Chinese cabbage, bok choy, mushrooms, carrots, and daikon.

Noodles

Noodles are a great addition to your hot pot as they cook quickly and are filling. Popular choices include udon, vermicelli, chow mein, and shangdong noodles. If you're looking for low-carb options, go for yam noodle bundles or shirataki noodles.

Remember, the key to ordering ingredients for a hot pot is to provide a variety of options that will enhance the flavour of the broth and offer a well-rounded dining experience. Don't be afraid to experiment and try new things!

Make a dipping sauce

Making your own hot pot dipping sauce is a fun and creative process, and there is no single "right" recipe. The key is to experiment with different combinations of ingredients to find your favourite flavour. Here is a step-by-step guide to making your own dipping sauce for a hot pot buffet:

Choose your base

The base of your sauce will be the predominant flavour, so choose wisely! Common options include sesame paste, peanut butter, Shacha/Chinese BBQ sauce, light soy sauce, hoisin sauce, or sesame oil. You could also use a combination of these, such as sesame paste with a little peanut butter or Shacha sauce with soy sauce.

Add aromatics

Aromatic ingredients will add depth of flavour to your sauce. Garlic is a popular choice, whether in the form of fresh cloves, garlic powder, or garlic oil. Other options include scallions/spring onions, cilantro/coriander, and chilli peppers (fresh or dried). If you like a strong garlic flavour, you can even add minced garlic to your sauce without any other ingredients!

Include something acidic

An acidic ingredient will add a tangy flavour to your sauce. Common choices include various types of vinegar, such as Chinese black vinegar, Shanghai rice vinegar, or rice wine vinegar. Lemon or lime juice could also work.

Don't forget the umami

Ingredients that are high in umami will add a savoury depth to your sauce. Oyster sauce and fish sauce are good options, or you could try fermented bean curd or XO sauce. If you're vegetarian or vegan, you can use vegetarian oyster sauce (made with mushrooms) or stick to plant-based umami sources like mushrooms or tomatoes.

Season to taste

Don't forget to season your sauce with salt and pepper (white or black, or even better, Sichuan pepper). You could also add a pinch of sugar to bring out the flavours. If you're feeling brave, a tiny pinch of MSG will add a savoury boost.

Adjust the consistency

If your sauce is too thick, you can thin it out with water, broth, or more vinegar/acid. If it's too thin, try adding more of your base ingredient or something like peanut butter or cashew butter to thicken it up.

Get creative

Once you've mastered the basics, you can start experimenting with more unusual ingredients. Try roasted chopped peanuts, whole fried soybeans, toasted sesame seeds, or even Sichuan peppercorn powder for a tongue-tingling sensation!

Final tips

Remember, there are no rules when it comes to making your own hot pot dipping sauce. Get creative, experiment with different combinations, and most importantly, have fun!

Cook ingredients gradually

When it comes to cooking your hot pot ingredients, it's important to add them to the broth gradually. This is because dumping everything in at once will lower the temperature of the broth, and you want to maintain that bubbling heat!

Start by adding the ingredients that take the longest to cook. This includes hardy vegetables like potatoes, corn, pumpkin, radish, and daikon, as well as mushrooms. These will take around 10 minutes to cook, and you'll know they're done when they're soft. You can also add in meats at this point, as they will give the broth more flavour. Thinly sliced meats will only take a couple of minutes to cook, and you'll know they're done when the colour has completely changed.

After that, you can add your faster-cooking vegetables, like cabbage, lettuce, and spinach. These will only need a few minutes in the broth. You can also add in seafood at this point—shrimp, for example, will only take about a minute to cook.

Finally, add your starches. These include noodles, dumplings, and rice cakes. These will only need a few minutes in the broth, and you'll know they're done when they're soft.

Remember, there are no strict rules when it comes to hot pot. Feel free to experiment and add ingredients in the order that you prefer!

Pace yourself

Pacing yourself is key to enjoying a hot pot meal. Here are some tips to help you pace yourself during this interactive and communal dining experience:

• Start with several platters of meat and at least one vegetable, and then order more if everyone is still hungry. Ordering too much food at once may result in piles of uncooked food going to waste.
• Add ingredients to the broth gradually. Dumping everything in at once will lower the temperature of the broth.
• Cook your ingredients at a pace that matches your eating speed. Remember that the food will be hot when you pull it out, so keep things leisurely.
• Wait for the broth to return to a boil between batches of ingredients. This is crucial to ensure your food is cooked well.
• Cook different ingredients for varying lengths of time. For example, mushrooms might take 5-8 minutes, while thinly sliced meat will become tough if boiled longer than 10 seconds.
• Use designated cooking utensils, such as handheld baskets or long cooking chopsticks, to retrieve your food from the broth. Avoid using the same utensils for eating and cooking.

Frequently asked questions