The Art Of Hot Pot: A Culinary Adventure

Hot pot is a dish that encapsulates the communal dining ethos. It is an interactive and customisable meal, where diners cook an array of raw ingredients in a single pot of seasoned broth. The ingredients include thinly sliced meats, seafood, vegetables, tofu, and starches. The cooked food is then dipped in sauces of choice and eaten.

The hot pot is placed on a heat source at the centre of the dining table, and the raw ingredients are placed around it. The broth is brought to a boil and left to simmer for the duration of the meal. The raw ingredients are then placed in the broth and cooked. The cooked pieces are then dipped in sauces and eaten.

Hot pot is a social way of eating, and it is popular both at home and in restaurants. It is a low-stress, fun, and interactive meal to have with family or friends.

Broth

Hot pot is a fun, interactive, and social meal. It is an experience that encapsulates the communal dining ethos. The dish is prepared with a heat source placed on the dining table that keeps a pot of soup stock simmering. This is accompanied by an array of raw foodstuffs and ingredients for the diners to cook in the broth and dip into their chosen sauce.

The broth is a key component of a tasty hot pot. There are many different types of broths that can be used, from spicy to mild, and from savoury to sweet. Here is a closer look at how to make some of them:

Spicy Sichuan Broth

This is the most popular type of hot pot broth, known as Hong You Guo Di/红油锅底. It comes from Sichuan and Chongqing and has a high content of fat, a strong aroma, and a distinctive mouth-numbing and hot taste, which is the iconic feature of Sichuan food. The key ingredients are beef tallow, dried chilli peppers, and Sichuan pepper, which create the mala flavour. Other spices used include star anise, cassia cinnamon, bay leaves, and tsao-ko (Chinese black cardamom). Aromatics such as scallions, onion, coriander, garlic, and ginger are also added, along with Sichuan chilli bean paste and fermented black beans for umami and saltiness. Shaoxing rice wine and sugar are added to balance the flavour.

Chicken Stock-Based Mild Broth

This is a general term for non-spicy broth that typically consists of stock, aromatics, herbs, and sometimes vegetables. It is light and easy to prepare. A simple version can be made with water, scallions, and ginger. A more flavourful version would use stock made from pork, beef, chicken, mushroom, or tomatoes as the liquid. Additional ingredients can include rehydrated shiitake mushrooms, scallions, Chinese dates, and goji berries.

Cantonese-Style Broth

This broth tends to be very light as the cuisine from the Guangdong region is not too spicy. The focus is on the original flavours of the food, rather than adding a lot of seasonings to the dish. Chicken broth is often used for its light taste, although beef or pork bone broth can be added for extra creaminess. Shiitake mushrooms, daikon radish, green onions, and ginger are also added.

Other Broth Ideas

Other ideas for broths include a savoury mushroom broth, a sweet-and-sour tomato broth, or even a coconut-infused seafood broth. A basic cloudy broth can be made from chicken, ginger, goji berries, and other aromatics.

Dipping ingredients

The fun part about hot pot is that you can tailor the ingredients to your personal taste and dietary needs. Here are some ideas for dipping ingredients to get you started:

Meat and Seafood

• Thinly sliced lamb, goat, beef, pork, chicken, or other poultry
• Whole or sliced fish
• Clams and other bivalves
• Shrimp balls and shrimp paste
• Offal, especially beef tripe
• Squids and other inkfish
• Crab
• Lobster
• Scallops
• Oysters
• Mussels
• Abalone
• Geoduck
• Fish balls
• Fish cakes
• Fish tofu
• Fuzhou fish balls
• Lobster balls
• Cuttlefish
• Dried cuttlefish

Vegetables and Fungi

• Leafy greens, such as watercress, Chinese spinach, snow pea leaves, lettuce, chrysanthemum greens, and baby bok choy
• Hearty greens, such as rapeseed vegetable, Napa cabbage, and bok choy
• Root vegetables, like daikon, carrots, lotus root, potatoes, pumpkin, and sweet potatoes
• Mushrooms, including button mushrooms, portobello, shiitake, maitake, enoki, shimeji, straw mushrooms, and oyster mushrooms

Tofu and Bean Products

• Regular or firm tofu
• Tofu puffs
• Pressed tofu
• Bean curd sticks
• Bean threads
• Soy puffs
• Frozen tofu
• Firm tofu
• Dried bean curd sticks
• Fermented bean curd
• Fu zhu
• Japanese-style fish tofu
• Fried tofu

Starches

• Rice
• Noodles, such as ho fun, needle noodles, rice stick noodles, yam noodles, shirataki noodles, rice noodles, udon noodles, mung bean vermicelli, and spinach noodles
• Rice cakes
• Dumplings
• Dumpling wrappers

Eggs

• Egg dumplings
• Raw egg
• Egg yolk

Other

• Chive flower paste
• Vinegar (white or black)
• Coconut milk
• Chrysanthemum flowers

Sauces

Light Sesame Soy

A simple recipe that is perfect for those craving an Asian-inspired dish. Combine sesame oil, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, minced garlic, and chopped spring onion. To add a crunchy texture, sprinkle some sesame seeds on top.

Chilli Oil Vinegar Dip

Chilli oil is the star of this recipe, adding a wonderful kick to the dip. It can be found in most Asian supermarkets or made at home by heating oil and adding chilli flakes. This dip is perfect for vegetables, meat, and more.

Creamy Dashi Garlic

A creamy, flavourful, and delicious sauce that can be used in a variety of dishes. It includes peanut butter, minced garlic, and chopped coriander.

Honey Miso Dip

A perfect balance of sweet, salty, and savoury, this dip is easy to make and adds flavour to your favourite dishes.

Spicy Peanut Dip

This dip is easy to make and full of flavour. The main ingredient is peanut butter, which adds creaminess and a nutty taste. Pair it with dou ban jiang, a popular bean paste used in Sichuan cuisine, for an extra kick.

Classic Spicy and Sweet Chilli

A classic combination of chilli paste and sweet chilli sauce, with a dash of garlic and onion powder. For extra heat, add some chilli flakes or dried chilli.

Hot and Sour Garlic

This sauce includes McDonald's garlic chilli sauce, black or rice vinegar, and light soy sauce.

Creamy Garlic Sesame Paste

A popular choice for hot pot enthusiasts, this creamy sauce is made with garlic, sesame paste, and other spices.

Spicy Garlic Hot Sauce

For those who like it hot, this sauce combines garlic, red chilli, green onion, Korean red chilli flakes, grounded Sichuan pepper, sesame seeds, black vinegar, and oyster sauce.

Taiwanese Shacha Sauce

This sauce includes minced garlic, chopped red chilli, green onion, Taiwanese Shacha sauce, and black vinegar.

Equipment

Hot pot is a fun and social meal, often eaten communally, and with a variety of raw ingredients cooked in a simmering broth. The equipment needed for hot pot is fairly simple, but there are a few key items that are essential for the full experience.

Firstly, you will need a heat source. A portable electric burner is ideal, but any portable heat source will work. You could use an induction or coil electric burner, or a tabletop gas burner. If you plan on making hot pot a regular meal, it is recommended to get a hot pot set with a built-in electrical heating element.

The second most important piece of equipment is the pot itself. A wide, shallow pot is best, and a Chinese stainless-steel hot pot is ideal due to its round shape and depth. The pot should be wide and deep enough to hold a good amount of food, but not so deep that food gets lost at the bottom. Some pots even have a “yin-yang” feature, allowing for two different soup flavours to be cooked at the same time.

Chopsticks are also essential for hot pot. Bamboo or wooden chopsticks are best as they are heat resistant and cool down quickly. Plastic and metal chopsticks are not ideal as plastic may melt and metal conducts heat, which could lead to burns.

There are also a few additional equipment items that can enhance the hot pot experience. Small bowls, such as Chinese rice bowls, are useful for each person to assemble their own dipping sauce. Metal hot pot baskets or wire ladles can be used to cook and retrieve food from the broth, though chopsticks can also be used for this.

In summary, the essential equipment for hot pot includes a heat source, a pot, and chopsticks, while additional items such as sauce bowls and metal ladles can also be useful. With the right equipment, hot pot can be a fun and interactive dining experience for all involved.

History

Hot pot, also known as steamboat, is a dish that involves cooking raw ingredients in a simmering pot of flavoured broth. The dish is typically served in a large metal pot, placed at the centre of a table, and heated via induction, flame, or a gas burner.

The history of hot pot can be traced back to over 1,000 years ago, with some experts placing its origins in the Jin Dynasty, and others in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties (c. 1600-256 BC). The emergence of copper pots during the Three Kingdoms period (220-280 AD) is widely recognised as the origin of the hot pot. During this period, hot pot was particularly popular in northern China, where cold winters made warm meals a necessity. The Mongols, who established the Yuan Dynasty, also played a significant role in the development of hot pot culture, incorporating beef and lamb into the dish.

Over time, hot pot spread throughout China, with regional variations emerging based on local ingredients and tastes. The Chongqing or Sichuan hot pot, known for its spicy and numbing flavour, is one of the most famous variations. Other notable styles include the Beijing mutton hot pot, seafood hot pot in Guangdong, sauerkraut hot pot in Northeast China, chrysanthemum hot pot in Suzhou and Hangzhou, and beef hot pot in Hong Kong.

In addition to its delicious flavour, hot pot is valued in Chinese culture for its social and health benefits. It is often enjoyed as a communal meal, bringing people together to socialise and connect. Hot pot is also considered a healthy meal, as boiling is seen as a healthier alternative to frying, and the broth contains nutrients released from the bones.

Frequently asked questions