Nando's Hot Pot At Home: A Spicy, Simple Feast

Making a Nando's hot pot at home is a fun and flavourful experience. This interactive meal is a great way to spend an evening with family or friends, as everyone can cook and eat together. The key to a delicious Nando's hot pot is in the variety of ingredients and spices used. You'll need chicken fillets, onions, peppers, cabbage, tomatoes, Portuguese chicken spice, black pepper, salt, haldi, paprika, garlic, and a mix of Nando's sauces. Braise the onions in butter, add the chicken and spices, and cook until done. Then, add the vegetables and a generous amount of Nando's sauce. Serve with yellow rice, and you're ready to enjoy a tasty and spicy treat!

Choose your equipment: a pot, heat source, chopsticks, sauce bowls and ladles

To make hot pot at home, you'll need the right equipment. Here's a list of the essentials:

The Pot

The most important piece of equipment is, of course, the pot itself. Look for a pot made from stainless steel or another durable material with an insulated handle to prevent burns. A clear lid is also helpful so you can keep an eye on your broths. If you want to offer two different types of broth, consider a pot with a divider.

Heat Source

To keep your broth simmering throughout the meal, you'll need a heat source. You can choose between butane and electric burners. Electric burners are preferred by some as they cook more evenly and you don't have to worry about running out of fuel.

Chopsticks

Chopsticks are essential for picking up ingredients and swishing them in the broth. If you don't have chopsticks, you can use a fork or a strainer-style basket to hold your food while cooking.

Sauce Bowls and Ladles

Provide small bowls for sauces and condiments, as well as ladles or spoons for serving. This will allow your guests to customise their hot pot experience.

With the right equipment, you'll be well on your way to creating a fun and delicious hot pot meal at home.

Prepare your broth: chicken soup with goji berries, ginger and scallions, or a specialised hot pot soup base

To prepare your broth, you can go for a chicken soup with goji berries, ginger, and scallions, or opt for a specialised hot pot soup base.

For the chicken soup, you'll need a whole chicken or leg/thigh pieces, sliced ginger, shiitake mushrooms, scallions, Chinese dates, and goji berries. Start by boiling the chicken in water with the sliced ginger, skimming off any froth. Then, lower the heat and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the water becomes slightly milky. Pour this broth into your hot pot, adding hot water if needed. Next, add the rehydrated shiitake mushrooms, scallions, Chinese dates, and goji berries. Season with salt and white pepper, and you're ready to start cooking your hot pot ingredients!

If you want to go for a specialised hot pot soup base, you can either buy a pre-packaged one or make your own. Pre-packaged soup bases are becoming more popular and can be found in Chinese or Asian grocery stores. They come in different varieties, such as Mongolian Hot Pot, Seafood Hot Pot, and Spicy Sichuan Hot Pot.

To make your own hot pot soup base, you can follow this Sichuan Hot Pot Soup Base recipe:

Ingredients:

• Vegetable oil
• Garlic cloves
• Cinnamon stick
• Cloves
• Sichuan peppercorns
• Dried red chillies
• Spicy bean paste
• Chicken/vegetable/mushroom stock

Instructions:

• Heat oil in a wok over medium heat and add the ginger. Cook for about a minute until caramelized.
• Add the garlic, cinnamon stick, and cloves. Cook for another 2 minutes.
• Add the Sichuan peppercorns, dried chillies, and spicy bean paste. Cook for an additional 2 minutes.
• Pour in the stock and bring it to a boil. Transfer the broth to your hot pot.

Prepare your ingredients: vegetables, fungi, meat, seafood, tofu and starches

The beauty of hot pot is that you can choose your own adventure. You can tailor it to your preferences and dietary needs. It's a great way to use up whatever ingredients you have on hand. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Vegetables:

• Red, yellow, and green peppers
• Cabbage
• Tomatoes
• Napa cabbage
• Lettuce
• Enoki mushrooms
• Shiitake mushrooms
• Oyster mushrooms
• Lotus root
• Potato
• Sweet potato
• Pumpkin/Kabocha squash
• Corn
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Watercress
• Spinach
• Pea tips
• Gai lan/Chinese broccoli
• Choy sum
• Chrysanthemum leaves
• Daikon radish
• Winter melon
• Wood ear mushrooms
• King mushrooms
• Shimeji mushrooms

Fungi:

• Enoki mushrooms
• Shiitake mushrooms
• Oyster mushrooms
• King oyster mushrooms
• Beech mushrooms
• Wood ear mushrooms
• King mushrooms
• Shimeji mushrooms

Meat:

• Chicken fillets
• Beef short ribs
• Fatty beef (brisket or chuck)
• Leg of lamb
• Pork belly
• Flank steak
• Sirloin
• Ribeye
• Chicken breast or thighs
• Lamb shoulder
• Pork shoulder or loin

Seafood:

• Shrimp
• Scallops
• Squid
• Fish fillets (such as tilapia, bass, fluke/flounder)
• Fish balls
• Seafood tofu
• Scallops

Tofu:

• Medium-firm tofu
• Firm tofu
• Tofu puffs
• Pressed tofu
• Deep-fried tofu
• Egg tofu
• Frozen tofu
• Dried bean curd sticks
• Soy puffs
• Bean curd rolls
• Fresh tofu sheets/skin

Starches:

• Rice
• Vermicelli
• Glass noodles/mung bean noodles
• Udon noodles
• Spinach noodles
• Shirataki noodles
• Rice cakes
• Frozen dumplings
• Wonton
• Gyoza

Make your dipping sauce: sesame paste, peanut butter, soy sauce, Sha Cha sauce, Sichuan peppercorn oil, chilli garlic sauce, etc

When it comes to hot pot, your dipping sauce is a very personal thing. You can make it sesame paste-based, or if you prefer, make it with Sha Cha (Chinese BBQ sauce). It's up to you!

• Chinese sesame paste or sauce
• Peanut butter or peanut sauce
• Soy sauce (light soy sauce, seasoned soy sauce, and seafood-flavoured soy sauce are all good options)
• Sha Cha Sauce (Chinese BBQ Sauce)
• Sichuan Peppercorn Oil
• Chili Garlic Sauce / Sambal Oelek
• Chinese black vinegar/rice vinegar (a less common ingredient, but up to personal preference)
• Toasted sesame seeds
• Fried shallots or garlic

To make your dipping sauce, start with your chosen base and add additional flavourings, tasting as you go. For example, you could thin out sesame paste with soy sauce, black vinegar, and water for a dipping sauce with a balanced bite.

Cook and serve: bring the broth to a boil, add ingredients, and serve with individual dipping sauces

Now, it's time to cook. Bring the broth to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer. You're now ready to dunk. Start by adding the ingredients that take the longest to cook, such as hardy vegetables and mushrooms, or those that will impart more flavour, like meats. Be careful when adding flavour sponges like tofu and Napa cabbage to spicy broths, as they can become overwhelming to eat.

Then, it's a free-for-all. You can cook whatever you want at your own pace. Some people might prefer to start with meat, then vegetables, then starches, but this misses the point of hot pot, which is to experience different flavours and textures. Pay close attention to each item you add to ensure perfect cooking.

Remember to feed your friends. There is accountability and responsibility at the hot pot table. If you see that an ingredient is cooked to perfection, scoop it up and drop it into a dining companion's bowl.

For a Nando's-inspired hot pot, braise onions in butter until they're translucent, then add chicken and spices and cook until done. Add vegetables and let them cook a little, then add Nando's mild sauce, half a bottle of Nando's Mozambique Paprika sauce, and a spoon of Nando's Bushveld sauce. Let it cook until done.

Frequently asked questions