Hot Pot Hospitality: Navigating Taiwan's Ultimate Comfort Food

Hot pot is a popular dish in Taiwan, especially during the winter months. It is a social and communal dining experience where a pot of flavoured broth is placed on a burner in the centre of the table, and diners add their choice of raw ingredients to cook in the broth. Typical hot pot ingredients include thinly sliced meat, seafood, vegetables, noodles, tofu, and various fish and meat balls.

The main difference between Taiwanese hot pot and hot pot from other countries is the dipping sauce. In Taiwan, the dipping sauce is often made with shacha sauce and raw egg yolk. Shacha sauce is a Chinese condiment made from soybean oil, garlic, shallots, chillies, brill fish, and dried shrimp. Taiwanese hot pot is also differentiated by the soup base and type of meats used.

Choose a soup base

When choosing a soup base for your hot pot, you'll be spoiled for choice. The soup base is the broth that goes into the yuan yang pot (a hot pot split in two for different broths).

Some restaurants offer a dual-sided pot, which means you can have two flavours at once. It's recommended to have both a mild and spicy broth to cater to different tastes.

• Shabu – a clear, basic broth, generally made from bonito and kombu, though sometimes made with chicken bones, pork bones, or dried cod.
• Mala – a spicy, numbing broth flavoured with chillies and Sichuan peppercorns.
• Herbal/Chinese medicine – made with Chinese herbs that are considered good for your health, such as goji berries.
• Pickled cabbage – a sour and salty broth.
• Pork bone – a milky, pork-based broth.
• Kombu – a seaweed-based broth.
• Milk – made by simmering milk with butter, garlic, onion, and vegetables, sometimes thinned out with stock.
• White pepper – a different kind of spicy broth.
• Sukiyaki – a sweeter broth, similar to teriyaki.
• Miso – miso paste dissolved in clear broth.
• Kimchi – spicy and sour.

If you're making your hot pot at home, you can make the broth from scratch or buy a store-bought soup base.

Pick your meats

When it comes to picking your meats for a Taiwanese hot pot, the options are endless. Typically, hot pot meats are thinly sliced, allowing them to cook quickly in the simmering broth. Here are some popular meat options to consider:

Beef

Chuck or ribeye are common choices for hot pot due to their tenderness and flavour. Look for "shabu shabu" beef, which is ideal for this style of cooking. You can also ask your butcher to thinly slice the beef for you or buy it pre-sliced from an Asian supermarket.

Lamb

Lamb is a popular choice for hot pot, especially in the northern regions of China, where it is often the main ingredient. Look for thinly sliced lamb to add to your hot pot, or try shaving it yourself at home.

Pork

Ground pork is a versatile option for hot pot. You can form it into meatballs or add it directly to the broth for a heartier meal. Thinly sliced pork belly or pork shoulder are also excellent choices, offering a balance of flavour and texture.

Poultry

Chicken and other poultry, such as duck, are also commonly used in hot pot. For a unique experience, try adding duck meatballs or even duck testicles, which are said to have a flavour and texture similar to scrambled eggs wrapped in sausage casing.

Seafood

While not technically meat, seafood is an essential component of hot pot. Fish, shrimp, crab, octopus, and squid are all popular choices. For a heartier option, consider adding shrimp or fish balls, which are commonly found in Asian markets.

Remember, the beauty of hot pot is customisation. So, pick your favourite meats, gather your friends and family, and enjoy this communal dining experience, Taiwanese-style!

Prepare your vegetables

Preparing your vegetables is a key part of the hot pot experience. There are no strict rules about which vegetables to use, but common choices include napa cabbage, Chinese watercress, bean sprouts, mushrooms, and chrysanthemum leaves. It's a good idea to cut your vegetables into smaller pieces before you begin, as this will make them easier to cook and eat.

Some vegetables, like root vegetables, take longer to cook than others, so you should add these to the pot first. You can also add vegetables that can withstand longer cooking times, like cabbage and tofu, at the same time as your meats, as they will be able to cook alongside the meat without becoming overdone.

If you're using rice vermicelli, don't add it to the pot at the beginning, as it will soak up all the flavour of the soup. Instead, add it after the first batch of meat, and eat it at the end of the meal.

Remember, the key to a great hot pot is balancing what's ready to eat and what's cooking. You don't want to overcrowd the pot and end up overcooking your ingredients!

Cook your ingredients in the broth

Once you've chosen your soup base, it's time to start cooking your ingredients in the broth.

The usual hot pot ingredients include thinly-sliced beef, meatballs, sliced tofu, and mushrooms. You can also add seafood, such as shrimp, and vegetables, like Napa cabbage, Chinese watercress, and bean sprouts. Some people recommend cooking the vegetables last, while others suggest adding root vegetables first as they take longer to cook. Meat, on the other hand, cooks fast, so keep an eye on it. For thinly sliced meat, a few swishes with a chopstick should be enough.

If you're using a dual-sided pot with two different broths, you can cook your meat on the non-spicy side first and then move it to the spicy broth for a kick.

Once the ingredients are done, place them on a plate to cool before dipping them in your sauce and eating. Don't forget to drink the soup at the end—it will have taken on a rich flavour from all the ingredients you've cooked!

Dip your food in a sauce of your choice

Hot pot is a popular dish in Taiwan, especially during the winter months. It is a social and interactive dining experience where diners cook their food in a pot of simmering broth placed at the centre of the table.

The fun part about hot pot is that you get to customise your meal by choosing your own dipping sauce. After cooking your food in the broth, you can dip it in a sauce of your choice before eating it.

In Taiwan, the dipping sauce is often made with shacha sauce and raw egg yolk. Shacha sauce is a Chinese condiment made from soybean oil, garlic, shallots, chillis, brill fish, and dried shrimp. However, different restaurants may offer variations of this sauce or alternatives such as ponzu, green onion, and radish.

At some hot pot restaurants, you may be given the option to mix your own dipping sauce. Common ingredients provided at the condiment bar include soy sauce, black vinegar, Japanese soy sauce, white vinegar, sha cha paste, sesame oil, sesame paste, chile oil, chopped scallions, chopped garlic, cilantro, sliced chiles, grated daikon, and sesame seeds.

Get creative and experiment with different combinations of sauces and condiments to find your favourite!

Frequently asked questions