The Art Of Crafting A Delectable Hot Pot Stock

Hot pot is a fun and versatile meal that's perfect for entertaining. It's a communal dining experience where diners cook their choice of meats, seafood, vegetables, and starches in a vessel of roiling broth. There are two types of broth for hot pot: spicy and clear. The spicy version is made with beef tallow or cooking oil, dried chilli peppers, Sichuan pepper, aromatics, and spices. The clear broth is typically made with stock, aromatics, herbs, and sometimes vegetables.

Choosing a broth type: spicy or clear

Choosing a broth type is one of the most important considerations when making hot pot. The two most common types of broth are spicy and clear.

Spicy broth is one of the most popular choices across China and is a must-have for many hot pot dinners. It is made with a concentrated, highly flavoursome soup base and water (or stock). The most popular type, known as Hong You Guo Di, comes from Sichuan and Chongqing and has a high content of fat (usually beef tallow but can also be cooking oil), a strong aroma, and a distinctive mouth-numbing and spicy taste.

The clear broth, on the other hand, is a general term for non-spicy broth that typically consists of stock, aromatics, herbs, and sometimes vegetables. It is the default type of broth in northern China and is usually made with simple ingredients such as water, scallions, ginger, peppers, shiitake mushrooms, and jujubes.

When choosing between a spicy or clear broth for your hot pot, consider the preferences of your guests. If you have a guest who does not eat spicy food, it is helpful to have a mild broth available. Alternatively, you can use a split pot and serve both types of broth.

Making the basic stock

There are two types of hot pot broth: spicy and clear. The first step in making either is to make the basic stock. For the spicy version, you will need beef tallow (or a neutral cooking oil), dried chilli peppers, Sichuan pepper, aromatics (scallions, onion, coriander, garlic, and ginger), Shaoxing rice wine, and sugar. For the clear version, you will need chicken or pork bones, ginger, scallion, and white peppercorn.

Start by preparing your ingredients. For the spicy version, rehydrate the dried chillies in hot water until soft, then chop them into a coarse paste using a blender or spice grinder. You can also do this manually with a knife or cleaver, but be sure to wear kitchen gloves to avoid the spice burning your hands. In a separate bowl, mix the Sichuan pepper with Shaoxing rice wine and set aside. For the clear version, cut the chicken into large chunks and clean the chicken chunks and pig bones. Break the ginger and cut the scallion into large sections.

Next, it's time to cook your ingredients. For the spicy version, add the cooking oil and beef tallow to a wok or pot over medium heat, along with star anise, cassia cinnamon, bay leaves, and Chinese black cardamom. Heat this mixture until the bay leaves start to brown. Turn off the heat and use a slotted spoon to remove the spices. Leave the oil to cool for a minute, then add the onion, scallions, and coriander. Turn the heat back on to medium and fry until the onion begins to brown at the edges. Be careful not to burn the aromatics. For the clear version, prepare a pot or wok with enough water (at least 4L) and add the ginger, scallion, white peppercorn, chicken, and pig bones. Bring the contents to a boil, skimming any floats off the surface, then turn down the heat and simmer for 40 minutes to 1 hour.

Now it's time to bring your stock together. For the spicy version, gently add the chilli paste, Sichuan chilli bean paste, fermented black beans, minced garlic, and ginger to the wok. Simmer for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid sticking. Finally, add the sugar, Sichuan pepper, and rice wine, and cook for a further 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool. For the clear version, simply add tomatoes, shiitake mushrooms, red dates, celery, and corn to your serving pot, along with the stock. Season with 2 teaspoons of salt.

Your basic stocks are now ready to be used as a base for your hot pot broth!

Preparing the ingredients

Broth

The first step in making hot pot is to choose the type of broth you want as your base. There are two main types of broth: spicy and mild. The spicy broth is typically made with a concentrated, flavourful soup base and water or stock, while the mild broth is usually a clear broth made with stock, aromatics, herbs, and sometimes vegetables. You can also choose to have both types of broth and serve them in a divided pot.

Meat and Seafood

When it comes to meat, thinly sliced beef is a must-have for hot pot. You can buy pre-sliced beef from Asian markets, or slice it yourself by choosing a fatty cut like ribeye, brisket, or short ribs and freezing it for 15-30 minutes to make it firmer and easier to slice thinly. Other meat options include pork belly, which should be sliced about 1/8" thick, and leg of lamb, which should be sliced narrowly. For seafood, popular choices include shrimp, crab, fish, clams, mussels, and squid.

Vegetables

There is a wide variety of vegetables that can be used in hot pot, including Napa cabbage, chrysanthemum greens, yu choy, mountain yam, taro, lotus root, celtuce, kabocha squash, and potatoes. Greens such as spinach, baby bok choy, morning glory, and kale are also great options. Be sure to cut the vegetables into bite-sized pieces that will be easy to cook in the broth and eat.

Mushrooms

Mushrooms add a chewy, meaty texture to the hot pot. Popular choices include enoki, beech, shiitake, and king oyster mushrooms. Simply chop off the roots and pull apart into smaller clumps before adding to the broth.

Starch

Noodles or rice are typically served alongside the hot pot to round out the meal. For noodles, you can choose from instant ramen, glass noodles, rice noodles, vermicelli, or udon. If you prefer rice, steamed white rice or congee are great options.

Dipping Sauces

While the broth itself is often flavourful enough, you can also provide a variety of dipping sauces for your guests to enjoy. Common dipping sauces include soy sauce, sesame sauce, Thai peanut sauce, and oyster sauce.

Cooking the stock

There are two main types of hot pot broth: spicy and mild. The spicy version is the most popular, known as Hong You Guo Di/红油锅底 (red oil hot pot broth), and it originates from Sichuan and Chongqing. It has a high fat content, a strong aroma, and a distinctive mouth-numbing and spicy taste. The mild version is known as Qing Tang Guo Di/清汤锅底 (clear broth) and is a general term for non-spicy broths that are usually made with stock, aromatics, herbs, and sometimes vegetables.

Spicy broth

To make the spicy soup base, you'll need beef tallow (or cooking oil), dried chilli peppers, Sichuan pepper, other spices such as star anise and cassia cinnamon, aromatics such as scallions and garlic, Sichuan chilli bean paste, fermented black beans, Shaoxing rice wine, and sugar.

First, rehydrate the dried chillies in hot water until soft, then chop them into a coarse paste. Add Shaoxing rice wine to the Sichuan pepper and set aside. Next, melt the beef tallow in cooking oil over medium heat and infuse it with the spices. Remove the spices and add the scallions, sliced onion, and coriander to fry. After removing the aromatics from the oil, add the chilli paste, Sichuan chilli bean paste, fermented black beans, minced garlic, and ginger. Simmer to release their flavour, then add sugar, Sichuan pepper, and rice wine. Transfer to a heat-proof container and refrigerate. This soup base can be stored in the freezer and used in other dishes such as Sichuan Boiled Fish or Spicy Beef Noodle Soup.

Mild broth

For the mild broth, you can use water or stock as the liquid. If using stock, you can make it from pork, beef, chicken, mushroom, or tomatoes. For a chicken-based mild broth, boil a whole chicken (or leg/thigh pieces) in water with sliced ginger. Skim off any froth, then simmer for 1.5-2 hours until the water becomes milky. Pour the liquid into your hot pot, adding rehydrated shiitake mushrooms, scallions, Chinese dates, and Goji berries. Season with white pepper and salt, and you're ready to start cooking your hot pot ingredients!

Tips

• If you don't want to make your own broth, you can buy pre-packaged hot pot soup bases, which come in different varieties such as Mongolian Hot Pot, Seafood Hot Pot, and Spicy Sichuan Hot Pot. Simply dissolve the contents of the packet in water to make your broth.
• If you're short on time, you can also buy ready-made hot pot soup bases from Chinese shops.

Serving the hot pot

Once you've prepared your broth, it's time to serve your hot pot.

First, you'll need to get your gear in order. While there are many optional pieces of equipment, the only must-buy for hot pot is a burner. There are two types: butane and electric. Electric is preferable as it cooks more evenly and won't run out of fuel. You'll also need a pot to cook your broth in. A stainless steel divided hot pot is ideal, as it allows you to serve two types of broth at once.

Next, prepare your ingredients. The beauty of hot pot is its versatility, so feel free to choose your favourites from the following categories:

• Protein: thinly sliced beef, pork, lamb, or pre-cooked Asian beef meatballs are popular choices.
• Seafood: shrimp, crab, fish, mussels, clams, and squid are all good options.
• Tofu: fried tofu is a common choice, but you can also use firm or extra firm tofu.
• Vegetables: greens (e.g. spinach, baby bok choy, kale), mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, baby corn, and garnishes like Thai basil, cilantro, and mint.
• Carbohydrates: noodles (e.g. egg noodles, ramen, rice noodles, vermicelli) or steamed rice.

Arrange your ingredients on plates or in bowls, and provide each diner with a small strainer, a pair of chopsticks, and a small serving bowl. You'll also need ladles for serving the broth.

When you're ready to serve, bring your broth to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer. Start by adding the ingredients that take the longest to cook, such as hardy vegetables and meats. Be careful when adding ingredients that absorb a lot of heat, like tofu and Napa cabbage, as they can become overwhelmingly spicy.

From there, it's a free-for-all! Cook whatever you want at whatever pace you like. Don't forget to feed your friends—if you see something that looks perfectly cooked, scoop it up and drop it into a dining companion's bowl. This kind of etiquette is all part of the communal experience of eating hot pot.

Frequently asked questions