Hot Pot Size Secrets In Chinese Restaurants

Chinese hot pot is a popular dish in China, with a long history of over 1,000 years. It is a social and interactive dining experience where a simmering pot of broth is placed at the centre of a table, surrounded by various raw ingredients such as meat, seafood, vegetables, tofu, and noodles. Each person can then add whatever ingredients they like to the broth and cook them to their liking. The cooked food is then dipped in individual sauces before eating.

There are many regional variations of hot pot in China, with differently flavoured broths. Some of the most popular types include Sichuan hot pot, known for its spicy and numbing flavour, and Beijing mutton hot pot, which is considered representative of northern China's hot pots.

When preparing a hot pot meal, it is important to have the right equipment, such as a heat source, a wide and relatively shallow pot, and chopsticks. It is also essential to choose a broth that will please all your guests, as all the food will be cooked in it.

Hot pot restaurants in China range from casual to upscale, with some offering individual small pots and others focusing on the traditional communal dining experience.

Broth

Spicy Broth

The most popular type of spicy broth is the Sichuan style, known as Hong You Guo Di/红油锅底. This broth has a high content of fat (usually beef tallow but can be cooking oil), a strong aroma, and a distinctive mouth-numbing and spicy taste from the Sichuan pepper and chillies. 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 for extra flavour.

To make the spicy soup base, you will need:

• Dried chilli peppers & Sichuan pepper
• Other spices (star anise, cassia cinnamon, bay leaves, tsao-ko)
• Aromatics (scallions, onion, coriander, garlic, ginger)
• Sichuan chilli bean paste & fermented black beans
• Shaoxing rice wine & sugar

Mild Broth

Mild hot pot broth, also known as Qing Tang Guo Di/清汤锅底, is a general term for non-spicy broth that typically consists of stock, aromatics, herbs, and sometimes vegetables. It is light in taste and easy to prepare.

To make a mild broth, you can use either water or stock as the base. For a more flavourful option, use stock made from pork, beef, chicken, mushroom, or tomatoes. Additional ingredients can include shiitake mushrooms, scallions, Chinese dates (jujube), and Goji berries.

• Boil a whole chicken or chicken pieces in water with sliced ginger. Skim off any froth and simmer for 1.5-2 hours until the water becomes milky.
• Pour the liquid into your hot pot and top up with hot water if needed.
• Add rehydrated shiitake mushrooms, scallions, Chinese dates, and Goji berries (optional).
• Season with white pepper and salt to taste.

Tips for Preparing Broth

• It is recommended to use a specialised electric hot pot burner with a removable pot. Alternatively, any portable heat source will work, such as an electric or tabletop gas burner.
• Choose a wide and relatively shallow pot, such as a Chinese stainless steel hot pot, to allow for more efficient heating and easier access to the ingredients.
• If you want to offer your guests a choice of broth, consider using a divided "Yin-Yang" pot with two different flavours.
• Always ensure your broth is boiling before adding any raw meat or seafood to avoid undercooking.
• You can also purchase pre-made hot pot soup bases if you don't want to make your own broth from scratch.

Dipping ingredients

Hot pot is a popular Chinese dish that involves cooking various raw ingredients in a simmering pot of broth at the centre of a table. The cooked ingredients are then flavoured with individual dipping sauces.

The dipping sauces for hot pot are highly personal, and each individual can mix their own sauce according to their taste preferences. However, there are some common ingredients used in these sauces, which include:

• Chinese sesame paste or sauce
• Peanut butter or peanut sauce
• Soy sauce (light soy sauce, seasoned soy sauce, and seafood-flavoured soy sauce)
• Sha Cha Sauce (Chinese BBQ Sauce)
• Sichuan Peppercorn Oil
• Chili Garlic Sauce / Sambal Oelek
• Chinese black vinegar/rice vinegar
• Toasted sesame seeds
• Fried shallots or garlic
• Chopped scallions
• Chopped cilantro

Light Sesame Soy Dip

• 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp chopped spring onion
• Sprinkle of sesame seeds

Chilli Oil Vinegar Dip

• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tbsp black vinegar
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp chopped spring onion

Creamy Dashi Garlic Dip

• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp chopped coriander

Honey Miso Dip

• 1 tbsp chopped spring onion
• 1 tbsp chopped coriander

Spicy Peanut Dip

• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 tbsp spicy bean paste (la dou ban jiang)
• 1 tbsp chopped spring onion

Sauces

Hot pot is a popular Chinese dish that consists of a simmering pot of broth placed at the centre of a table, surrounded by various raw ingredients that diners can add to the broth and cook. The cooked food is then dipped into sauces for additional flavour.

Hot pot is considered a deeply personal and customisable meal, as each individual can mix their own dipping sauce and choose their own ingredients.

Taiwanese Shacha Sauce

This sauce is characterised by its savoury and garlicky flavour, with a hint of seafood. It typically consists of garlic, Shacha sauce, coconut aminos, rice vinegar, scallions, toasted sesame oil, and Thai chilli peppers (optional).

Garlic Sesame Sauce

A creamy, garlicky, and savoury alternative for those who don't like spicy flavours. It can be made with Chinese sesame paste, cashew butter, coconut aminos, rice vinegar, garlic cloves, shiitake mushroom seasoning, and water.

Chinese Spicy Garlic Chilli Sauce

A spicy, savoury, and slightly tangy sauce that is perfect as a dipping sauce, or for glazing or garlic chilli noodles. It typically includes garlic chilli sauce, balsamic vinegar, toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, scallions, sesame seeds, Sichuan peppercorn powder, and oyster sauce.

Japanese Sesame Miso Sauce

A creamy, nutty, and umami-rich sauce that is perfect as a Japanese shabu shabu dipping sauce or Asian salad dressing. It is made with white miso paste, toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, Chinese sesame paste, coconut aminos, toasted white sesame seeds, and water.

Spicy Peanut Sauce

A nutty, spicy, savoury, mildly sour, and sweet sauce inspired by Taiwanese dan dan noodles. It goes well with all other hot pot flavours. It is made with unsalted peanut butter, coconut aminos, toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, water, garlic chilli sauce (optional), and cilantro (optional).

Sichuan Hot Pot Sauce

A famous Chinese hot pot sauce known for its numbing and spicy flavour, resulting from the use of Sichuan pepper and other spicy ingredients like chilli. It is typically served with a variety of broths and meats to suit different preferences, ranging from salty to sweet to sour.

Equipment

Hot pot is a social meal, with diners sitting around a pot of broth, adding and cooking their own ingredients. The equipment required for a hot pot meal is fairly simple, but there are a few essential items.

Heat Source

A portable heat source is required to keep the broth simmering throughout the meal. This could be an electric burner (coil or induction) 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.

Pot

A wide, relatively shallow pot is best for hot pot. Chinese stainless steel hot pots are ideal due to their round shape and depth, but any pot that is wide and deep enough to hold a good amount of food will work. Some designs have a “yin-yang” feature, allowing for two different soup flavours to be served at the same time.

Chopsticks

Hot pot is best eaten with bamboo or wooden chopsticks, which are heat-resistant and cool off quickly. Plastic and metal chopsticks are not ideal, as plastic may melt and metal conducts heat.

Additional Equipment

• Sauce bowls: Small bowls for each diner to assemble their own dipping sauce.
• Metal hot pot baskets/wire ladles: These are not essential, but they are useful for retrieving food from the pot. They are basically wire sieves with wide holes, which allow the boiling liquid to circulate around the food.
• Slotted ladle: To fish cooked food out of the hot pot.
• Plates and bowls: Each diner should have one to two small bowls for dipping sauces, and one plate for food.

Ingredients

Hot pot is a popular communal dining experience, where a simmering pot of broth is placed at the centre of the table, with thinly sliced meats and vegetables. The ingredients are cooked in the broth and then dipped into sauces for additional flavour.

Broth

The broth can be spicy, málà, sour, or sweet. A light broth is often preferred, as it allows the original flavours of the food to come through. The broth can be made with chicken, beef, or pork bone broth, and include ingredients such as:

• Shiitake mushrooms
• Daikon radish
• Green onions
• Ginger

Meat

Hot pot often includes thinly sliced meat, such as:

• Lamb
• Goat
• Beef
• Pork
• Chicken
• Duck
• Fish
• Prawns

Seafood

Seafood is also a common ingredient in hot pot, and can include:

• Clams
• Shrimp balls
• Squid
• Scallops
• Fish fillets

Vegetables

A variety of vegetables can be used in hot pot, including:

• Leafy greens such as baby bok choy, napa cabbage, spinach, and pea tips
• Pumpkin
• Tomatoes
• Corn
• Lotus root
• Potatoes
• Sweet potatoes

Fungi

Different types of mushrooms are often included in hot pot, such as:

• Enoki
• Shiitake
• Oyster
• King
• Shimeji
• Wood ears

Starches

Starches such as noodles and dumplings are also commonly added to hot pot:

• Vermicelli
• Rice noodles
• Fresh white noodles
• Spinach noodles
• Rice cakes
• Frozen dumplings

Tofu and Bean Curd

Tofu and bean curd products are a must-have for many hot pot meals:

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

Frequently asked questions