Emilie Meyer
Hot pot is a Chinese dish that is less of a dish and more of an experience. It is an interactive and social meal where a group of friends cooks an array of ingredients in a single pot of seasoned broth heated on the table. The three basic components of hot pot are broth, dipping ingredients, and sauces. The broth is usually a simple cloudy chicken broth, but can also be mushroom, tomato, or coconut-infused seafood. Dipping ingredients include thinly sliced meats, vegetables, tofu, seafood, and noodles. The cooked pieces are then dipped into individual sauces for additional flavouring. Hot pot is a fun, filling, and social way to spend an evening eating and chatting.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Broth | Chicken, ginger, goji berries, and other aromatics; mushroom; tomato; coconut-infused seafood tom kha; Japanese dashi with soy, sake, mirin, and a touch of sugar |
| Dipping Ingredients | Thinly sliced meats, mushrooms, head-on shrimp, Chinese lettuces, fresh noodles, clams, other bivalves, meatballs, vegetables, fish balls, dumplings, rice cakes, egg dumplings, tofu, seafood, potatoes, sweet potatoes, sliced potatoes, bean products, vermicelli, vinegar, chive flower paste, fermented bean curd |
| Dipping Sauces | Sesame paste, peanut butter, soy sauce, sha cha (Chinese BBQ sauce), Sichuan peppercorn oil, chili garlic sauce, Chinese black vinegar, toasted sesame seeds, fried shallots or garlic, oyster sauce, sesame oil, black vinegar, minced cilantro, oyster sauce |
What You'll Learn
What is hot pot?
Hot pot, or huǒ guō, is an interactive and social dining experience with roots in East and Southeast Asian cooking. It is less of a dish and more of an experience, with diners gathering around a vessel of broth to cook and season their own ingredients.
The hot pot is centred around a pot of seasoned broth, kept simmering throughout the meal by a heat source on the dining table. Diners choose from an array of raw ingredients, such as thinly sliced meats, seafood, tofu, vegetables, and starches, which they place into the broth to cook. The cooked ingredients are then dipped into sauces for added flavour before being eaten.
The broth is the foundation of the hot pot, with the most well-known style being a cloudy chicken broth seasoned with ginger, goji berries, and other aromatics. Other popular options include mushroom, tomato, and spicy Sichuan peppercorn and chilli pepper broths.
The dipping ingredients are typically thinly sliced meats, such as beef, pork, lamb, or chicken; seafood, including shrimp and fish; and vegetables, like mushrooms, Chinese lettuce, and potatoes. Noodles, dumplings, and rice cakes are also commonly served alongside the hot pot.
The dipping sauces can be as varied as the ingredients, with common options including sesame oil, oyster sauce, black vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic.
Hot pot is a social and communal meal, with diners sharing their chosen ingredients and sauces with one another. It is often served with alcoholic drinks, such as cold beer or báijiǔ, and side dishes such as mixed nuts, spicy cucumber salad, and scallion pancakes.
Hot pot is a highly customisable and interactive meal, allowing diners to create their own unique combinations of flavours and textures. It is a fun and social dining experience that has gained popularity worldwide.
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The history of hot pot
Hot pot, or huǒguō, is a dish that involves a heat source placed on the dining table that keeps a pot of soup stock simmering. It is served with an array of raw Chinese foodstuffs and ingredients for the diners to dip into the broth. The cooked pieces are then dipped into sauces for additional flavour.
During the Song Dynasty, hot pot moved further south into China, with each successive region adapting it to their local ingredients and tastes. The hot pot gained popularity among emperors during the Qing dynasty. The Qianlong Emperor, for example, was very fond of hot pot and would eat it almost every meal. The Jiaqing Emperor had a banquet with 1,550 hot pots at his coronation.
By the 19th century, the hot pot had become the common communal dish we know today, with a multitude of flavours and ingredients representing different regional cultures.
Today, hot pot can be prepared and eaten at home or in a restaurant. It has become globally recognised, especially with the growing number of Chinese immigrants entering the United States since the 1990s.
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What to serve with hot pot
Hot pot is a highly customizable meal, so the options for what to serve alongside it are endless. Here are some ideas for what to serve with hot pot, bearing in mind that versatility and variety are key.
Broth
Hot pot is centred around a pot of broth, so this is a must. You can make your own broth with aromatics like ginger, goji berries, and scallions, or buy a pre-made soup base. There are many types of broth to choose from, including chicken, mushroom, tomato, and spicy Sichuan.
Dipping Ingredients
The whole point of hot pot is to cook an array of ingredients in the broth. Here are some ideas for what to include:
- Meat: beef, pork belly, lamb, chicken, or fish fillets
- Seafood: shrimp, scallops, squid, clams, mussels, or fish balls
- Vegetables: Napa cabbage, baby bok choy, daikon radish, enoki mushrooms, or watercress
- Starches: rice, noodles (rice, yam, cellophane, ramen, or udon), rice cakes, or dumplings
Sauces
Hot pot is often served with sauces for dipping. You can make your own or buy pre-made sauces. Here are some ideas for what to include in a DIY sauce station:
- Soy sauce
- Hot chili or sesame oil
- Rice vinegar
- Black bean sauce
- Minced garlic and ginger
- Sliced scallions
- Slivered hot peppers
- Peanut sauce
- Fresh cilantro
- Chili paste
- Lime juice
Drinks and Side Dishes
To drink with your hot pot, try cold beer or báijiǔ (a Chinese sorghum liquor). Side dishes could include mixed nuts, spicy smashed cucumber salad, scallion pancakes, spring rolls, or mushroom salads.
Dessert
For dessert, it's best to go for something cooling like fresh fruit or ice cream.
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Hot pot equipment
Hot pot is a communal dining experience with a long history in East and Southeast Asian cooking. It involves diners cooking their own choice of raw ingredients in a shared pot of broth.
There are a few key pieces of equipment needed for hot pot:
Heat Source
A portable heat source is required to keep the broth simmering throughout the meal. Options include a specialised electric hot pot burner, an electric burner (coil or induction), or a tabletop gas burner. If you're planning on making hot pot a regular meal, it's worth investing in a hot pot set with a built-in electrical heating element and a removable pot for easy cleaning.
Pot
The ideal pot for hot pot is wide and deep enough to hold a good amount of food, but not so deep that food gets lost at the bottom. Chinese stainless steel hot pots are a popular choice due to their round shape and depth. Some pots have a
Chopsticks
Hot pot is best eaten with bamboo or wooden chopsticks, which are heat-resistant and cool down quickly. Plastic and metal chopsticks are not ideal as plastic may melt and metal conducts heat.
Additional Equipment
- Small bowls (such as Chinese rice bowls) for each diner to assemble their own dipping sauce
- Metal hot pot baskets or wire ladles to cook and retrieve food from the broth
- Handheld baskets or designated long cooking chopsticks to retrieve food from the broth
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Hot pot cooking times
Hot pot is a fun and social way of cooking and eating. It involves a pot of broth placed at the centre of the table, in which various raw ingredients are cooked. These can include meat, seafood, vegetables, tofu, and noodles. Each person can then dip their cooked food into their own customised sauce.
There are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to hot pot cooking times. Firstly, it's important to cook ingredients gradually and at a pace that matches your eating speed. The broth should be allowed to return to a boil between batches to ensure everything is cooked properly.
Different foods will have different cooking times. For example, mushrooms may take 5-8 minutes, while thin slices of meat will be tough if boiled for longer than 10 seconds. Hearty, tough greens like potatoes and other root vegetables can take up to 15 minutes to cook, so it's a good idea to put these in first so they have time to soften up. Leafy greens, on the other hand, should only be given a quick dip so they retain a slight crunch.
Noodles should be cooked according to the package instructions, as overcooking can cause them to disintegrate. Dumplings should also be cooked according to the package, usually around 8-9 minutes. Seafood such as shrimp and squid cooks quickly, usually in about 1-2 minutes.
Meats like thinly sliced beef can be cooked in as little as 10 seconds, while thicker cuts or cubes of meat will take longer, up to 30 minutes. Pork, chicken, and lamb will take around 1-2 minutes.
So, when it comes to hot pot, take your time, pay attention to cooking times, and most importantly, enjoy the experience!
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Frequently asked questions
Hot pot is an interactive and social dining experience. It is a dish where a heat source on the dining table keeps a pot of soup stock simmering, accompanied by an array of raw ingredients provided for the diners to cook in the broth.
The three basic components of hot pot are broth, dipping ingredients, and sauces.
Typical hot pot ingredients include thinly sliced meat, leaf vegetables, mushrooms, vermicelli, sliced potatoes, bean products, egg dumplings, tofu, and seafood.
For hot pot, ingredients are typically sliced thinly so they cook quickly and consistently in the simmering broth. Meats can be placed in the freezer for 20-30 minutes to make them easier to slice thinly. Vegetables should be washed and dried, and large leaf and root vegetables should be cut into small pieces. Tofu should be drained and cut into bite-sized pieces.
