Hot Pot Broth: Vegetarian-Friendly Or Not?

Hot pot is a popular dish in Asia that consists of a simmering pot of soup placed in the centre of a table. It is a communal meal where people cook their choice of vegetables, tofu, and greens in the soup. The broth can be made in advance and reheated, but the noodles and greens should be prepared just before serving. There are many vegetarian and vegan options for hot pot, including tofu, mushrooms, and various vegetables.

Vegetarian hot pot ingredients

Hosting a vegetarian hot pot dinner party is a fun and delicious way to celebrate with friends and family. The best part is that it's easy to prepare and there are endless combinations of ingredients to choose from. Here are some ideas for vegetarian hot pot ingredients to get you started:

Tofu and Tofu Products:

Freezing and thawing a regular block of tofu before using it in hot pot will change its texture, making it more porous and able to hold up better in the broth. You can also find a variety of tofu products at Asian grocery stores, such as fried tofu, yuba sheets, yuba knots, tofu skin, and tofu sheets, which offer different textures and flavours.

Vegetables:

When selecting vegetables for your hot pot, aim for a variety of colours and textures. Here are some options to consider:

• Crunchy vegetables: bamboo shoots, lotus root, cauliflower, radish, broccoli, and carrot
• Starchy vegetables: squash, potato, sweet potato, and taro root
• Leafy greens: napa cabbage, pea shoots, baby bok choy, Chinese broccoli, yu choy, and Swiss chard
• Other Chinese vegetables: winter melon, celtuce, and bean sprouts

Mushrooms:

Add a variety of mushrooms to your hot pot for extra flavour and texture. Some popular choices include enokitake (golden needle mushrooms), oyster mushrooms, seafood mushrooms, shimeji, and wood ear mushrooms (pre-soaking is required for this type).

Noodles and Dumplings:

Noodles are a great addition to your vegetarian hot pot and can be found easily. Wheat noodles made from flour work well, or you can opt for gluten-free options like potato starch noodles or sweet potato noodles. If you want to include dumplings, look for vegetarian frozen varieties, such as kimchi mandu, which can be boiled.

Dipping Sauces:

Dipping sauces are an essential part of the hot pot experience. You can either make your own or purchase them from a grocery store. Some popular options include sesame paste-based sauces, Taiwanese shacha, garlic sesame, Chinese spicy chilli, Japanese miso, and spicy peanut sauce.

Hot pot equipment

Hot pot is a fun and communal way to cook and eat with family and friends. The equipment you will need depends on the type of hot pot you want to make and the number of people you are serving. Here is a list of the essential equipment you will need to prepare and serve a hot pot meal.

The Hot Pot Itself

The hot pot vessel is the most important piece of equipment. It should be wide and shallow to allow everyone around the table to reach the pot and add or remove ingredients. The size of the pot will depend on the number of people you are serving. For a large group, you may need two pots and two burners or be prepared for a slower meal. Pots with a capacity of 3 to 6 quarts are suitable for groups of up to eight people.

The pot can be made from various materials, including stainless steel, cast iron, ceramic, or stoneware. Some pots have a divider, allowing you to cook two different broths at the same time, which is ideal if your guests have different spice preferences or food allergies.

Burner

You will need a portable heat source for your hot pot. The two most common options are a butane stove or a portable induction cooktop. Butane burners are cordless and work with any flat-bottomed pot, including traditional earthenware donabe pots. They are also quieter and cheaper than induction burners. However, the main drawback is that you will need to procure and dispose of butane canisters.

Induction burners are safe, efficient, and electric. They heat the pot itself, rather than the surface of the burner, making them slightly cooler and safer. However, they require magnetic pots with flat bottoms, and they tend to be noisier due to the built-in fan.

Utensils

You will need utensils for cooking and serving the hot pot ingredients. These include ladles, large spoons, strainers, slotted spoons, and chopsticks. It is helpful to have a strainer for each type of soup base and a separate pair of chopsticks for handling raw and cooked food.

Platters and Bowls

You will need platters and bowls for serving the raw ingredients and cooked food. It is important to keep raw meat and seafood separate from other ingredients. You may also want a small sauce bowl for each diner and a large bowl for cooked food that no one is ready to claim yet.

Ingredients

In addition to the equipment mentioned above, you will, of course, need ingredients for your hot pot. This includes a soup base or broth, proteins such as meat or tofu, vegetables, and starches like noodles or rice. Don't forget the dipping sauces!

Hot pot preparation

Hot pot is a fun and social meal to share with family and friends. It's also easy to prepare, as your guests will be cooking the food themselves. Here's a step-by-step guide to preparing a delicious hot pot:

Step 1: Gather Your Equipment

You'll need a heat source, such as a portable gas stove or an electric burner. If you plan to use two different types of broth, get a pot with a divider or use two separate pots. You'll also need long chopsticks, serving spoons, small bowls for dipping sauce, and a slotted ladle.

Step 2: Choose Your Broth

The broth is one of the most important considerations when planning your hot pot. You can make your own broth from scratch or purchase a pre-made hot pot base. There are many types of broth to choose from, including spicy, clear, tomato, mushroom, and seafood.

Step 3: Prepare the Ingredients

Wash and cut your ingredients into thin slices or small pieces. Here are some popular options:

• Vegetables: Leafy greens (e.g., napa cabbage, baby bok choy), root vegetables (e.g., daikon, potatoes), mushrooms (e.g., shiitake, oyster), and corn.
• Meat and Seafood: Thinly sliced beef, lamb, pork, chicken, shrimp, squid, and fish balls.
• Starches: Noodles (e.g., rice noodles, shirataki noodles), dumplings, and rice cakes.
• Tofu and Soy Products: Frozen tofu, firm tofu, dried bean curd sticks, soy puffs, and tofu sheets.

Step 4: Make the Dipping Sauce

Hot pot dipping sauce is a personal preference. You can use store-bought sauce or make your own by combining ingredients such as sesame paste, soy sauce, chili oil, garlic, green onions, and cilantro.

Step 5: Cooking and Serving

Place the pot of broth on the heat source in the center of the table. Arrange the plates of raw ingredients and dipping sauce around the pot. Once the broth is boiling, your guests can start adding their chosen ingredients to the pot and cooking them to their desired level of doneness. Remind your guests to cook their food thoroughly, especially meat and seafood. Enjoy your hot pot!

Hot pot serving suggestions

Hosting a hot pot party is a fun and interactive way to gather friends and family around a table. Here are some tips and suggestions to help make your hot pot party a success:

Equipment

Before preparing the food, make sure you have the right equipment. You will need a large pot, preferably with a divider to allow for different broth bases. A tabletop burner or electric hot pot set is ideal for keeping the broth simmering throughout the meal. Provide each guest with two sets of chopsticks or long cooking chopsticks and serving spoons. Strainer baskets, ladles, or tongs are also useful for retrieving food from the pot.

Broth

The broth is one of the essential components of hot pot. You can choose from various options, including mushroom, tomato, or vegetable broth. If you want to make your own broth, consider a simple chicken broth with vegetables or a spicy Szechuan peppercorn and chili option. Keep one broth mild and the other spicy to accommodate different preferences. It's a good idea to have a plain broth on hand to top up the other soups as they evaporate.

Dipping Ingredients

Hot pot is all about variety, so offer a wide range of dipping ingredients for your guests to choose from. Here are some suggestions:

• Meat: Thinly sliced beef, lamb, pork belly, or chicken.
• Seafood: Shrimp, scallops, squid, clams, mussels, fish balls, or whole unpeeled shrimp.
• Vegetables: Napa cabbage, baby bok choy, daikon radish, enoki mushrooms, watercress, leafy greens, bamboo shoots, lotus root, broccoli, carrots, starchy vegetables like potatoes or sweet potatoes.
• Tofu and Soy Products: Fried tofu, yuba knots, tofu skin, tofu sheets, bean curd, or frozen tofu.
• Noodles: Udon, vermicelli, rice noodles, ramen, or yam noodles.
• Dumplings: Steamed or fried dumplings, or vegetarian frozen dumplings.

Sauces

The sauce is an integral part of the hot pot experience. You can offer a variety of store-bought sauces or set up a DIY sauce station with ingredients such as:

• Soy sauce
• Chinese sesame paste
• Black vinegar
• Oyster sauce
• Sugar
• Chili oil
• Garlic
• Green onions
• Cilantro
• Peanut sauce
• Minced garlic and ginger
• Lime juice
• Hot chili oil or sesame oil

Preparation and Serving

• Wash, trim, and cut the vegetables into bite-sized pieces.
• Slice the meat and clean the seafood.
• Prepare the broth and keep it simmering.
• Set out the first round of ingredients before your guests arrive.
• Provide each guest with two pairs of chopsticks: one for cooking and transferring food, and the other for eating.
• Encourage guests to cook their chosen ingredients in the broth and transfer them to individual plates when cooked.
• Serve the cooked ingredients with a rich dipping sauce.
• Cold beer or sour plum tea pairs well with hot pot.
• Hot pot parties can go on for hours, so serve the food in stages: start with seafood and vegetables, then meat, and finally, noodles.

Hot pot variations

Hot pot is a dish that has many variations, with as many versions as there are households in China. Here are some of the most popular styles:

Chongqing Hot Pot

Chongqing hot pot is often regarded as China's "hotpot capital". It is known for its heavily flavoured broth and numbing hot spiciness, with Sichuan peppercorns, red chillies, and mustard greens. The soup base uses premium butter as its special ingredient, giving the broth a rich taste that pairs perfectly with red hot chilli. The typical dipping sauce contains sesame oil, which is used to balance the spice.

Beijing-Style Hot Pot

Beijing-style hot pot is characterised by its simplicity and the use of copper Mongolian pots. The focus is on the quality of the ingredients, such as tender meat and fresh vegetables, rather than the broth. The ingredients are often cooked in clear water or a lightly flavoured broth, with some scallions, goji berries, and ginger. The traditional dipping sauce is Zhīmajiàng, a sesame-based sauce that tastes similar to Tahini sauce but stronger and sweeter.

Yunnan Hot Pot

Yunnan hot pot has become increasingly popular across China in recent years. It is a 'Chinese' hot pot with clear Southeast Asian influences. It is characterised by its rich broth flavour and focus on fresh vegetables, different kinds of mushrooms, and edible flowers. The dipping sauces are mixed with sesame oil and chilli, and the hot pot is often served with a side of fresh mint salad.

Shabu Shabu

Shabu Shabu is the Japanese name for hot pot, referring to the sound that meat makes when it sizzles in boiling water. It differs from the Chinese version by using more Japanese ingredients and different sauces. It is also the name of a Taiwanese hot pot, due to Japanese influence, and a Chinese chain of hot pot restaurants that serve hot pot as fast food.

Chrysanthemum Flower Hot Pot

The 'Flower Hot Pot' is a distinctive type of hot pot from Jiangsu-Zhejiang cuisines, commonly found in Hangzhou and Suzhou. It is usually made with chicken stock, and the hotpot ingredients are cooked together with chrysanthemum petals, resulting in a soft and tender flavour.

Tibetan-Style Hot Pot

Tibetan-style hot pot is characterised by the use of yak bone broth and yak meat, eaten with various tofu and vegetables such as carrots and broccoli. It is typically served with a spicy Tibetan dipping sauce and juicy meatballs.

Coconut Chicken Hot Pot

Coconut Chicken hot pot has become increasingly popular in China in recent years. It is made with Hainan chicken and fresh coconut milk, resulting in a healthier option compared to other hot pots that use butter or fatty oils. The dipping sauce uses soy sauces and freshly squeezed lime juice for an extra flavour kick.

Frequently asked questions