The Ultimate Guide To Crafting Mala Hot Pot

Making mala hot pot is a fun and interactive way to enjoy a meal with friends and family. The spicy, savoury, and fragrant dish is highly customisable and can be made with various ingredients, including meat, seafood, and vegetables.

The process of making mala hot pot can be broken down into a few simple steps: preparing the broth, selecting and cooking the ingredients, and assembling the hot pot.

First, the broth is made by simmering a variety of spices, aromatics, and meat or bones in water to create a flavourful base. This can be done using a pre-made hot pot base or by making a broth from scratch.

Next, a variety of ingredients are selected and cooked individually. This includes proteins such as thinly sliced steak, fish cakes, and tofu, as well as vegetables like mushrooms, napa cabbage, and bok choy.

Finally, the cooked ingredients are assembled in a large pot with the broth and brought to a gentle boil. Diners can then add their desired ingredients to the pot and cook them to their preferred doneness.

Mala hot pot is a delicious and interactive dining experience that is perfect for sharing with others.

Choosing your ingredients

The fun part of mala hot pot is the variety of ingredients. You can pretty much use any ingredients you want and still make a great dish. The key is to select various ingredients that have different textures and tastes so the final dish is more balanced and fun to eat.

Meat and seafood

If you're feeling adventurous, you can include innards such as chicken gizzards, beef tripe and tongue, and pork liver. Other options include:

• Very thinly sliced beef, lamb, pork, or chicken (you can buy these meats pre-sliced for hot pot in Asian markets)
• Larger pieces of meat like chicken wing flats (these often come pre-marinated)
• Seafood, including thinly sliced white fish, whole scallops, shrimp, and Asian fish balls

Tofu

• Dried tofu "skin" (pre-soaked in hot water)
• Fried tofu puffs

Vegetables

• Green vegetables like spinach, baby bok choy or yu choy, thinly sliced zucchini, celtuce or cucumber (try cucumber vertically sliced on a mandolin)
• Root vegetables such as thinly sliced lotus root, potato, turnip, or daikon
• Mushrooms: shiitake, enoki, portobello

Noodles

• Pre-soaked sweet potato noodles
• Fresh udon
• Other types of noodles that don’t release a lot of starch
• Instant ramen noodles

Dumplings

Mini dumplings from the freezer section; no need to thaw them first

Other

• Boiled and peeled quail eggs
• Bamboo shoots
• Sweet potato noodles
• Rice cakes
• Corn

Dipping sauces

Toasted sesame oil mixed with vegetable oil and fresh garlic are the basics. You can also provide:

• Soy sauce
• Black vinegar
• Oyster sauce
• Scallion
• Cilantro
• Sesame paste
• Black vinegar
• Soy sauce
• Chili oil

Preparing your stock

Firstly, you will need to make a basic stock. You can use chicken, pork bones, or beef soup bones. Cut the chicken into large chunks and clean the chicken chunks and pig or beef bones. Break the ginger and cut the scallion into large sections.

Prepare a pot or wok with enough water, adding in ginger, scallion, white peppercorn, chicken, and pig or beef bones. Bring to a boil and then simmer for around 40 minutes to an hour. You can also add in onions, shallots, and garlic to enhance the flavour.

For a more intense and spicy stock, you can add in spices such as star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, and dried chillies. Toast these spices in a dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant, and then add them to your stock.

For an even spicier kick, you can add in chilli bean paste, fermented black beans, and ground chillies. Fry these ingredients in oil before adding your stock.

For a clear stock, you can add in tomatoes, shiitake mushrooms, red dates, celery, and corn to your serving pot. Season with salt and you have yourself a mild hot pot broth.

For a spicy mala hot pot, you will need to prepare a "red oil" by rendering beef fat or using a combination of animal fat and vegetable oil. You can use turkey or chicken fat as well. Heat up the fat in a pot and add in spices such as star anise, black cardamom, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Fry these spices until aromatic, and then add in chilli bean paste, Chinese rice wine, garlic, and ginger. Continue to cook until all the moisture has evaporated.

Now, add in chilli flakes, ground Sichuan peppercorn, and curry powder. Stir and cook for a further minute before adding in your stock. Let the mixture sit overnight to allow the flavours to develop.

Before serving, strain the mixture and discard the solids. You should now have a hot pot base with equal parts red oil and stock. Adjust the heat level by skimming off some of the red oil or adding more stock.

Add in scallions, whole dried chillies, and whole Sichuan peppercorns to the base. Season with chicken bouillon and salt to taste, and bring to a boil. Your mala hot pot stock is now ready to be served!

Making the mala hot pot base

Firstly, gather all the necessary ingredients. The exact measurements may vary depending on your preference and the size of your pot, but the key ingredients include:

• Dried red chillies (less spicy but red ones are preferred)
• Sichuan peppercorns (red and green)
• Chinese spices such as star anise, fennel seeds, cassia bark, cloves, bay leaves, and ginger
• Oil (beef tallow, roasted rapeseed oil, or a neutral cooking oil)
• Chicken or turkey stock
• Doubanjiang (Sichuan broad bean chilli paste)
• Aromatics like garlic, ginger, and scallions
• Meat, such as beef or pork bones, or a mix of both
• Seasonings like light soy sauce, salt, and sugar

To begin making the base, start by preparing the spices. Cut the dried chillies into small sections and soak them in boiling water until they become soft. You can also simmer them over low heat. Once soft, mash the chillies into a paste. For the Chinese spices and Sichuan peppercorns, grind them coarsely using a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. Soak the ground spices in water for about 15 minutes.

Next, heat your chosen oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the aromatics like garlic, ginger, and scallions, and cook until fragrant. You can also add other spices like cloves at this stage. Then, place your store-bought mala hot pot seasonings or all the spices you've prepared into the pot and fry them over low heat for 1-2 minutes.

At this point, you can add the doubanjiang (chilli bean paste) and continue cooking for a couple of minutes. Pour in your chosen stock and bring it to a boil. If using meat, add the bones now. Reduce the heat and let the broth simmer for at least 30 minutes to an hour. For an even more intense flavour, simmer the broth for up to 4 hours.

Finally, season the broth with light soy sauce, salt, and sugar to taste. If you want a spicier broth, you can add more dried chillies. And that's it! Your mala hot pot base is now ready to be served with your choice of meat, seafood, vegetables, and noodles.

Cooking your ingredients

The fun part of mala hot pot is the variety of ingredients. You can use just about anything you like, and the result is always good.

The key is to select various ingredients with different textures and tastes, so the final dish is more balanced and fun to eat.

Some recommended ingredients include:

• Very thinly sliced beef, lamb, pork, or chicken
• Seafood, including thinly sliced white fish, whole scallops, shrimp, and Asian fish balls
• Offal, such as chicken hearts and gizzards, beef tripe, and tongue
• Green vegetables like spinach, baby bok choy, or zucchini
• Root vegetables such as thinly sliced lotus root, potato, turnip, or daikon
• Mushrooms: shiitake, enoki, or portobello
• Noodles: pre-soaked sweet potato noodles, fresh udon, or other types of noodles that don't release a lot of starch
• Mini dumplings from the freezer section; no need to thaw them first

For the meat and seafood, it is recommended to pan-sear or brown them first. For fattier and higher-quality meat, such as ribeye steak, chicken thighs, and shrimp, you can simply sear the meat. If using lean meat such as chicken breast, flank steak, or fish, it is preferable to marinate them in a bit of Shaoxing wine and cornstarch so they will stay tender and juicy.

For the vegetables, you can stir-fry or blanch them. Since you will be using a super-strong sauce, the vegetables will be flavorful enough without stir-frying them individually. Blanching will also help you consume a bit less oil at the end.

Putting it all together

Once you have prepared and cooked your ingredients, it's time to assemble your mala hot pot.

• Heat up your broth in a large pot or electric hot pot.
• Add your desired ingredients to the broth and cook until done to your liking.
• Remove the ingredients from the broth and set them aside.
• Continue adding and cooking ingredients in small batches to avoid overcooking.
• Once all your ingredients are cooked, you can enjoy your mala hot pot!

Serving and enjoying

Before serving, ensure you have prepared a variety of ingredients for your guests to cook in the broth. These can include:

• Paper-thinly sliced meats
• Dumplings
• Meatballs
• Starches like noodles and fried doughs
• Vegetables

You will also need to prepare some dipping sauces. These can include:

• Toasted sesame oil mixed with vegetable oil and fresh garlic
• Soy sauce
• Black vinegar
• Oyster sauce
• Scallions
• Cilantro

When serving, place the pot of broth in the centre of the table, and arrange the ingredients and sauces around it. Each guest can then choose their ingredients and cook them in the broth. They can also mix their own dipping sauces.

As the night goes on, top up the broth with hot water as it evaporates.

Frequently asked questions