The Art Of Hot Pot: A Culinary Adventure

Hot pot is a Chinese cooking method that involves a big pot of boiling hot broth placed in the centre of the table with a heating element underneath. Raw ingredients are served on plates around the pot, such as thinly sliced meat, seafood, vegetables, tofu, dumplings, and noodles. The guests cook the ingredients in the broth and eat them with a dipping sauce.

There are many types of hot pot across China, but at its most basic, it's an interactive meal in which diners sit around a simmering pot of soup at the centre of the table with various raw ingredients in thin slices or small pieces for quick cooking.

The three basic components of hot pot are broth, dipping ingredients, and sauces. The broth is often a simple cloudy broth made from chicken, ginger, goji berries, and other aromatics, but there are many variations. The dipping ingredients include thinly sliced meats, mushrooms, head-on shrimp, Chinese lettuces, fresh noodles, and more. The sauces can be anything from sesame paste-based sauce to Shacha sauce for seafood.

Broth

Some popular types of broths include:

• Spicy broth, which is one of the most popular broths across China. It has a high content of fat (usually beef tallow but can also be cooking oil) and features the iconic Sichuan flavour of mala (mouth-numbing and spicy).
• Clear broth, which is the default type in Northern China. It is typically made with water, scallions, ginger, peppers, shiitake mushrooms, and jujubes.
• Chicken broth, which can be used as a base for a mild hot pot.
• Beef broth, which can be used as a base for a red curry hot pot.

When choosing a broth, it is important to consider the preferences of your guests. If using a split pot, you can also choose to serve two types of broth, typically a spicy and a mild option.

You can choose to make your broth from scratch or buy a pre-made hot pot broth base. Making your own broth allows you to know exactly what goes into it and to customise the flavours to your preference. However, buying a pre-made broth base can save time and effort, especially if you are using a broth that requires many special ingredients.

Meat

Beef

Beef is one of the most popular choices for hot pot. Look for fatty cuts such as brisket, short rib, or ribeye. These cuts add flavour to the broth and are usually available pre-sliced in the frozen section of Asian supermarkets. If you can't find fatty beef or want a second option, try ribeye. Slice it thinly (about a quarter of an inch thick or even thinner) against the grain.

Lamb

Lamb is another popular choice, especially in China. It is often served as paper-thin slices, which cook very quickly. You can usually find lamb in the frozen section of Asian markets. The best cuts for hot pot are the leg or shoulder.

Pork

Pork is also a common choice for hot pot. Like beef and lamb, pork is best sliced thinly. Look for pork belly, shoulder, or loin.

Chicken

If you prefer chicken, go for breast or thigh meat. Slice both white and dark meat into stir-fry-sized pieces, about an eighth to a quarter of an inch thick.

Asian-style tendon meatballs, made from beef or fish, are also a great option for hot pot. They have a bouncy texture that is unique and enjoyable.

Preparation and Cooking

When preparing your meat for hot pot, it is best to slice it as thinly as possible. Freezing the meat slightly before slicing can help achieve thinner cuts. Meat cooks very quickly in hot pot, so be careful not to overcook it. Thin slices of meat will cook in just a few seconds, while larger cubes can take up to 30 minutes.

You can cook the meat by swishing it in the hot broth with chopsticks or placing it in a small strainer ladle, which gives you more control over the doneness of the meat.

Remember, hot pot is all about variety and customisation, so feel free to experiment with different types of meat and cooking methods to find what you like best!

Seafood

For seafood hot pot, you can use any kind or combination of seafood. Crabs, shrimp, clams, mussels, squid, octopus, scallops, and firm white-fleshed fish such as snapper, tilapia, or monkfish are all good choices. You can also add salmon, sea scallops, and squid rings. If you're feeling fancy, you can include lobsters or scallops as a special treat. Whatever seafood you use, make sure you use lots of it!

When preparing seafood for hot pot, cut the seafood into bite-sized pieces for quick and even cooking. Most seafood will cook quickly in the hot pot, so keep an eye on it to avoid overcooking. Seafood medley packs that contain shrimp, squid, scallops, mussels, and clams are also a convenient option and can often be found in the frozen section of grocery stores.

In addition to seafood, you'll also want to include a variety of vegetables, noodles, and tofu in your hot pot. For vegetables, options such as napa cabbage, chrysanthemum greens, yu choy, mushrooms, potatoes, and tomatoes are all great choices. For noodles, udon, mung bean noodles, and shirataki are excellent choices, especially if you're looking for something low-carb or keto-friendly. As for tofu, medium-firm tofu, egg tofu, and tofu puffs are all good options that will soak up the flavours of the broth.

To cook your seafood hot pot, simply add your chosen seafood, vegetables, noodles, and tofu to the simmering broth in your hot pot and let it cook to your desired level of doneness. Use a hot pot strainer or designated long cooking chopsticks to retrieve your food instead of using your eating chopsticks. Enjoy your seafood hot pot!

Vegetables

The sky's the limit when it comes to vegetables for your hot pot. The key is to choose veggies that complement Asian flavours. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Leafy Greens

Wash your chosen leafy greens thoroughly and cut them into bite-sized pieces. Baby leafy greens, such as baby bok choy, can be left whole, while larger leaves, like napa cabbage, should be cut into smaller pieces. Some options include:

• Spinach
• Baby bok choy
• Morning glory
• Kale
• Watercress
• Tatsoi
• Napa cabbage
• Choy sum
• Pea tips
• Watercress
• AA Choy/Cai
• Chrysanthemum leaves

Other Vegetables

Most other vegetables should be peeled and sliced into thin pieces. You can also cut them into small chunks, but thicker slices will take longer to cook. Some options include:

• Pumpkin/Kabocha squash
• Tomatoes
• Corn
• Lotus root
• Potato
• Sweet potato
• Daikon radish
• Winter melon

Mushrooms

There are many types of mushrooms that work well in a hot pot. Simply clean them thoroughly and, if necessary, separate them into smaller bundles. Some options include:

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

Noodles and dumplings

For noodles, you can use hand-pulled noodles, other fresh noodles, packaged dried noodles, or shirataki noodles (konnyaku). Simply cook them according to the instructions on the package.

There are two ways to serve the noodles. You can serve them with the hot pot broth, in which case, the noodles should be served at the beginning of the hot pot party because the broth gets too cloudy after all the cooking. It's more common to serve the noodles in the non-spicy hot pot broth.

You can also serve the noodles with hot pot dipping sauce. A sesame dipping sauce is perfect for this purpose.

For dumplings, grab some frozen dumplings to put in your hot pot. It's recommended to get the ones that are already fully cooked since you can't really see inside them. These packages will feature a large "fully cooked" text on the front. Getting fully cooked dumplings ensures that you don't accidentally pull out a dumpling and bite into a raw filling. Get the classic pork and vegetable combo, and if you see it, go for pork and corn.

When serving the dumplings, use a slotted ladle to fish the cooked food out of the hot pot.

• Noodles – cook these according to package instructions.
• Dumplings – cook these according to package directions.

Frequently asked questions