Hot Pot's Culinary Cousins: Exploring The World Of Steaming Broth-Based Dishes

Hot pot is a Chinese dish that has become globally recognised. It is an interactive and social meal, where diners gather around a pot of soup at the centre of the table and add various raw ingredients such as meat, seafood, vegetables, tofu, and starches. The ingredients are cooked at the table and then retrieved with wire ladles before being flavoured with individual dipping sauces.

Hot pot restaurants can range from casual to upscale, with some offering individual small pots with rotating conveyor belts of ingredients, and others focusing on the traditional communal dining experience.

The dish is especially popular in the winter months and is considered a warm and comforting meal to share with close family or friends.

Broth

Sichuan Spicy Broth

The key ingredient in the Sichuan spicy broth is beef tallow, which serves two purposes: it makes the broth rich and aromatic, and it solidifies at room temperature, combining all the other ingredients into a block for easy storage. Other ingredients include dried chilli peppers, Sichuan pepper, star anise, cassia cinnamon, bay leaves, Chinese black cardamom, aromatics such as scallions, onion, coriander, garlic, and ginger, Sichuan chilli bean paste, fermented black beans, Shaoxing rice wine, and sugar.

Chicken Stock-Based Mild Broth

The mild broth can be made with water, scallions, and ginger, or a more flavourful version with stock made from pork, beef, chicken, mushroom, or tomatoes. Additional ingredients can include rehydrated shiitake mushrooms, scallions, Chinese dates, and Goji berries.

Other Broths

In addition to the two most common types of broth, there are other varieties, such as tomato, seafood, satay, and soy milk. There are also regional variations of hot pot broth, such as the Manchu hot pot, which uses Chinese sauerkraut to make the broth sour, and the Hubei hot pot, which is prepared with hot spices and Sichuan pepper.

Dipping ingredients

Hot pot is a highly customizable meal, and you can dip a wide variety of ingredients. Here are some ideas for your next hot pot meal:

Meat

• Beef (brisket, short rib, ribeye, sirloin, flank steak, thinly sliced)
• Pork shoulder or loin (thinly sliced)
• Pork belly (thinly sliced)
• Lamb shoulder or leg (thinly sliced)
• Chicken (boneless breast or thighs, thinly sliced)

Seafood

• Shrimp
• Squid
• Scallops
• Fish fillets (such as tilapia, bass, fluke/flounder, thinly sliced)
• Fish balls
• Mixed seafood balls

Vegetables

• Leafy greens (baby bok choy, napa cabbage, spinach, pea tips, watercress, chrysanthemum leaves)
• Other vegetables (lotus root, potato, sweet potato, pumpkin/kabocha squash, daikon radish, tomatoes, corn, winter melon)
• Mushrooms (enoki, wood ears, king mushrooms, shiitake, oyster, shimeji)

Starches

• Rice
• Noodles (mung bean vermicelli, rice noodles, thin fresh white noodles, spinach noodles, shirataki noodles)
• Rice cakes (thin ovals)
• Frozen dumplings

Soy Products

• Bean threads (dried bean curd sticks)
• Soy puffs
• Frozen tofu
• Firm tofu
• Dried bean curd rolls
• Fresh tofu sheets/skin

Sauces

There are no rules when it comes to creating your own hot pot sauce, but there are some common combinations in China. One notable difference is the preference for sesame paste in the north and its absence in the south. Sesame sauce is popular because it balances out the salty and spicy broth with its mild and sweet flavour. It also suits many different styles of hot pot.

• Crushed chilli, dark soy sauce, vinegar, and coriander
• Sesame oil, scallions, garlic, chilli oil, and vinegar
• Oyster sauce, sesame oil, soy, garlic, and scallions
• Worcester sauce, sesame oil, crushed peanuts, and BBQ sauce
• Soy sauce and sesame oil
• Lemon juice and vinegar

Some common ingredients used in hot pot sauces include:

• Chinese sesame paste or peanut butter
• Chinese BBQ sauce (Sha Cha)
• Light soy sauce
• Oyster sauce
• Sesame oil
• Chinese black vinegar or rice vinegar
• Fried shallots or garlic
• Sichuan peppercorn oil
• Chili garlic sauce or sambal oelek
• Toasted sesame seeds
• Chopped scallions
• Chopped cilantro
• 1 tbsp Chinese sesame paste
• 1 tbsp Sha Cha sauce
• 2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp oyster sauce
• 1/4 tsp sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp rice vinegar or Chinese black vinegar
• 1-3 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 1 tbsp chopped scallion

Feel free to adjust the measurements and add other ingredients to suit your taste!

Equipment

Hot pot is an interactive and social meal, so it's important to have the right equipment to ensure a smooth and enjoyable dining experience. Here are the essential pieces of equipment you'll need for your hot pot meal:

• Heat Source: A specialised electric hot pot burner with a built-in heating element is ideal, but any portable heat source will work. This includes electric burners (coil or induction) or tabletop gas burners. The pot should be removable for easy cleaning.
• Pot: Chinese stainless steel hot pots are recommended due to their round shape and depth. They are wide and deep enough to hold a generous amount of food while also allowing easy access to the ingredients. Some pots even have a "yin-yang" feature, allowing you to have two different soup flavours at the same time. Alternatively, any wide, relatively shallow pot will work.
• Chopsticks: Bamboo or wooden chopsticks are the best choice as they are heat-resistant and cool down quickly. Plastic and metal chopsticks are not ideal as plastic may melt at high temperatures, and metal conducts heat, which could cause burns.

In addition to the essential equipment, here are some optional items that can enhance your hot pot experience:

• Sauce Bowls: Small bowls, such as Chinese rice bowls, are perfect for each diner to assemble their own dipping sauce.
• Metal Hot Pot Baskets/Wire Ladles: These metal ladles are like wire sieves with wide holes. They help to cook and retrieve food from the pot easily and neatly.
• Induction Cooker: A portable induction cooker can be paired with a cast-iron shallow braiser to retain heat effectively. This option is easy to clean and maintain.
• Clear-Lid Pot: A stainless steel divided hot pot with a clear lid allows you to see when the broths are boiling and ready for ingredients.
• Spider Skimmer and Strainer: This tool can be used to skim the surface of the broth or to strain ingredients as they are cooked.

History

Hot pot, or huǒ guō, is a Chinese dish that involves cooking a variety of raw ingredients in a simmering pot of soup at the table. It is an interactive and communal dining experience where diners cook and eat together. While there are as many variations of hot pot as there are households in China, it is believed that the dish was introduced to East Asia by the Mongolian Empire thousands of years ago. The original hot pot was a simple broth served with horse meat and mutton, eaten by soldiers out of their helmets.

Over time, hot pot spread across Northern China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, evolving into myriad forms. Today, hot pot is a popular dish in China, with restaurants ranging from casual to upscale. Some restaurants offer individual small pots with rotating conveyor belts of ingredients, similar to conveyor belt sushi restaurants, while others focus on the traditional communal dining experience. Many restaurants also offer specialised regional hot pot experiences, such as Yunnan hot pot, Sichuan hot pot, and Mongolian lamb hot pot.

The hot pot gained popularity among Chinese emperors during the Qing dynasty. The Qianlong Emperor, in particular, was very fond of hot pot and would eat it for almost every meal. The dish also became a favourite of the Jiaqing Emperor and Empress Dowager Cixi, who enjoyed it during the winter season.

In recent decades, the growing number of Chinese immigrants in the United States has contributed to the global recognition of hot pot. It has become a beloved dish worldwide, with people enjoying the social and interactive nature of the dining experience.

Frequently asked questions