Chinese Hot Pot Adventure

(2) step 2 – learn about Chinese hot pot

Hot pot is a common meal in China, foods are cooked in a simmering broth at the dinner table.

A shallow pot filled with broth is placed in the centre of a table and heated via induction or flame. The round pot represents the idea of reunion in Chinese culture, and the burning fire and upward steam imply flourishing life. Surrounding the steaming pot are ingredients ranging from raw meat and vegetables, to starchy items like noodles and tofu. People add ingredients to the pot throughout the meal. As the different foods are added, the broth changes flavour, so over the course of the meal, a lot of different flavour profiles are visited.

Geographic location influences the type of hot pot found in China. There are two styles, Northern and Southern. The Northern style focuses more on the ingredients and has less complex broths. The Northern style includes many variations, such as Manchu hot pot, which uses Chinese sauerkraut to impart a sourness to the broth. The provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang add chrysanthemum flowers to give the broth a floral flavour. Southern styles have a more spicy broth, lots of ingredients, and a variety of dipping sauces. Southern styles include Chongqing hot pot, which is extremely spicy. In the province of Yunnan, their hot pot uses a bunch of different types of mushrooms to create a flavourful broth.

FOODS THAT ORIGINATED IN EASTERN ASIA:

Apples, apricots, buckwheat, cabbage, cinnamon, cucumbers, eggplant, grapefruit, grapes, hops, kiwi, lemons, limes, melons, millet, oranges, peaches, nectarines, persimmons, plums, raspberries, rice, soybean, tangerines, mandarins, tea

Tools used in preparing and eating hot pot

A Chinese stainless steel hot pot (the above picture is a yin yang design, where two different broths can be used) is ideal because they are wide and deep enough to hold a decent amount of food, but not so deep that the food gets lost at the bottom. Also, the thin metal allows the soup to heat up quickly when hot pot ingredients are added.  However, any wide, semi shallow pot will work.

You will want to have a specialized electric hot pot burner but, any portable heat source will work, such as an electric burner (coil or induction) or a tabletop gas burner.

You will need a variety of different metal hot pot wire ladles to scoop up the food, but they can also be used as baskets, to hold food while it cooks.

Hot pot requires a variety of dipping sauces, so a lot of  sauce bowls, will be needed. Also provide some extras so that people can assemble their own dips. Chinese rice bowls work well because of their small size.

Use good quality wooden or bamboo chopsticks as  they are heat-resistant and cool off quickly.

5 essential ingredients in Chinese cuisine

Soy sauce is the most important ingredient in Chinese food. It is used for marinating, seasoning, braising and stewing. Light soy sauce is made from the first pressing of fermented soy beans, and is generally more expensive than dark soy sauces.  If a Chinese recipe calls for “soy sauce”, you can assume it means light soy sauce. Dark soy sauce is darker and thicker, but less salty than light soy sauce. It is fermented for a longer period of time and often has added sugar or molasses, giving it a sweet-salty flavor and viscous texture.

Shaoxing Wine is made by fermenting glutinous rice, water and wheat-based yeast and must be produced in Shaoxing, China. It is used in everything from marinates, to dumpling fillings, to stir frys.

Oyster Sauce. In 1888, Lee Kum Sheung accidentally invented oyster sauce when he lost track of the oyster soup he was making, it was overcooked into a thick brawn sauce that was delicious. It is used to add umami to dishes, such as stir-fry, stews and braised dishes, or simply drizzled over blanched veggies.

Sesame oil is a vegetable oil made from sesame seeds. A few drops used at the end of cooking can add a lot of aroma to a dish, is also used in cold dishes, dressings and dipping sauces. It is used in small quantities as to not overpower the other ingredients.

Five Spice Powder is made up of star anise, fennel seeds, Sichuan peppercorns, Chinese cinnamon and cloves. It goes well with fatty meats such as pork, duck or goose and sometimes used as a rub for chicken, and seafood.

Preparation, Table set up, Serving order, and Etiquette

Preparation:  Make sure the broth is boiling before any ingredients are added. If you are short on time, there are a variety of just add water hot pot broths available.

Table set up: Arrange the other ingredients around the  hot pot.

Have empty sauce bowls available for each person, so they can mix their own dips.

Make sure there are enough scoops and ladles to retrieve ingredients of different sizes from the hot pot.

Serving order: Fun things about hot pot is that you can pick and choose what to eat and when, however, you can also use the following order which helps flavour the broth and maintain constantly cooked ingredients.

  • Add thicker vegetables like, daikon, lotus root and squash.
    • Wait a minute or two
  • Then add firm tofu, which can start to marinate.
  • Then meats that will take more time to cook, such as meatballs.
    • Wait a few minutes to let ingredients absorb the flavours
    • Meatballs and fish balls float before when they are finished cooking.
  • Then add foods that take little time to cook, such as leafy greens and thinly cut meats.
    • Greens will become more vibrant when fully cooked, and thinly cut meat will change colour.
  • Add noodles throughout the cooking process, as the broth changes flavour due to the cooking of different ingredients, the noodles will absorb the new flavours, yum.

Etiquette: You can identify a person or two to help work the hot pot if access is problematic.

Use provided tools to gently place and retrieve foods from the hot pot. Do not use your personal fork or chopsticks.

After picking up raw foods with provided tools, dunk them in the boiling hot pot and keep submerged for a few seconds to sanitize.

(3) Step 3 – pick your dishes

Since I’m not a chef, I’ve scoured the internet and found some of the best recipes for you to cook. The ones I chose are not too difficult, authentic, and tasty. Cook safely and enjoy!

Pick one or more soup bases

There are a variety of different types of hot pot broth. Ideally, you have a yin yang hot pot so that there are two broths to choose from. Please take note of the different recipe’s spiciness level, some of them are really hot.

  1. Yunnan Mushroom Hot Pot Broth
  2. Sichuan Hot Pot Broth
  3. Sour Soup Fish Hot Pot Broth
  4. Mala (Spicy and Numbing) Hot Pot Broth
  5. Clear Soup Chinese Hot Pot Broth
  6. Chicken stock with fresh herbs and aromatics Hot Pot Broth
  7. Seafood Hot Pot Broth

Pick two or more leafy greens

Tear bok choy into larger pieces, quarter or halve the baby bok choy, cut choy sum into smaller 2-3 inch pieces, quarter the napa cabbage, and use watercress as is.

  1. Bok choy
  2. Baby bok choy
  3. Spinach
  4. Napa cabbage
  5. Watercress
  6. Choy sum

Pick two or more vegetables

Peel if needed, cut up into 1-2 inch chunks

  1. Daikon
  2. Lotus root
  3. Pumpkin
  4. Kabocha squash
  5. White gourd
  6. Tomatoes

pick two or more fungi

Clean and cut fungi into manageable pieces. For enokis, separate into smaller threads, and slice or halve oyster, shiitake, and button mushrooms.

  1. Shiitake mushrooms
  2. Enoki mushrooms
  3. Cloud ear fungus
  4. Shimeji Mushrooms
  5. Oyster mushrooms
  6. Button mushroom

Pick two or more types of meat

Slice meat thinly, if possible, slice against the grain

  1. Beef (short rib, rib eye, sirloin, flank steak, or beef balls)
  2. Pork (shoulder, loin, pork belly, or pork balls)
  3. Chicken (breasts or thighs)
  4. Lamb (shoulder or leg)

Pick two or more types of seafood

Keep smaller, bite size items whole, slice fish, squid, and cuttlefish into smaller chunks

  1. Sliced fish fillets (such as tilapia, halibut, salmon, monkfish, bass)
  2. Shrimp
  3. Scallops
  4. Squid
  5. Cuttlefish
  6. Fish balls
  7. Squid balls
  8. Seafood balls

Pick two or more starches

Prepare each according to package description, then rinse in cold water to stop any further cooking

  1. Glass noodles (soak in warm water for 10 minutes)
  2. Rice noodles (prepare according to package, rinse in cold water)
  3. Ho fun noodles (prepare according to package, rinse in cold water)
  4. Udon noodles fun (prepare according to package, rinse in cold water)

Pick two or more tofu/bean curd options

Cut up items into bite size portions

  1. Firm tofu
  2. Fried tofu puffs
  3. Dried bean curd rolls
  4. Pressed tofu
  5. Frozen tofu

Pick six or more dipping sauces

You should have multiple containers with the same condiment in different locations on the table

  1. Chinese sesame paste
  2. Peanut sauce
  3. Soy sauce
  4. Sha Cha sauce
  5. Chopped scallions
  6. Chopped cilantro
  7. Sesame oil
  8. Sichuan peppercorn oil
  9. Chili oil
  10. Chili garlic sauce
  11. Minced garlic
  12. Fried shallots
  13. Toasted sesame seeds

Pick one or more Non-Alcoholic beverage

  1. Green tea
  2. Chrysanthemum Tea
  3. Coconut Milk
  4. Soybean Milk
  5. Bubble tea

Pick one or more alcoholic beverage

  1. Baijiu
  2. Tsingtao Beer
  3. Huangjiu

Recommended Combinations

Combo 1 – northern style hot pot special

Clear Soup Chinese Hot Pot Broth, Sour Soup Fish Hot Pot Broth, Napa cabbage, Watercress, Lotus root, Tomatoes, Enoki mushrooms, Oyster mushrooms, Firm tofu, Lamb (shoulder or leg), Beef (short rib, rib eye, sirloin, flank steak, or beef balls), Fish balls, Seafood balls, Rice noodles, Ho fun noodles, Firm tofu, Dried bean curd rolls, Chinese sesame paste, Soy sauce, Sha Cha sauce, Chopped scallions, Sesame oil, Chili garlic sauce, Bubble tea, Tsingtao Beer

combo 2 – Southern style hot pot special

Mala (Spicy and Numbing) Hot Pot Broth, Yunnan Mushroom Hot Pot Broth, Spinach, Watercress, Daikon, Lotus root, Cloud ear fungus, Button mushroom, Beef (short rib, rib eye, sirloin, flank steak, or beef balls), Pork (shoulder, loin, pork belly, or pork balls), Pork (shoulder, loin, pork belly, or pork balls), Pork (shoulder, loin, pork belly, or pork balls), Glass noodles, Udon noodles, Fried tofu puffs, Dried bean curd rolls, Chinese sesame paste, Sha Cha sauce, Chopped scallions, Chopped cilantro, Sesame oil, Chili oil, Minced garlic, Toasted sesame seeds, Coconut Milk, Tsingtao Beer

combo 3 – meat lovers​ hot pot special

Sichuan Hot Pot Broth, Sichuan Hot Pot Broth, Book choy, Watercress, Bok choy, Pumpkin, Tomatoes, Shiitake mushrooms, Oyster mushrooms, Beef (short rib, rib eye, sirloin, flank steak, or beef balls), Pork (shoulder, loin, pork belly, or pork balls), Pork (shoulder, loin, pork belly, or pork balls), Lamb (shoulder or leg), Sliced fish fillets (such as tilapia, halibut, salmon, monkfish, bass), Squid, Ho fun noodles, Udon noodles, Fried tofu puffs, Frozen tofu, Chinese sesame paste, Soy sauce, Chopped scallions, Chopped cilantro, Sesame oil, Sichuan peppercorn oil, Chili oil, Minced garlic, Soybean Milk, Baijiu

Combo 4 – vegetarian hot pot special

Yunnan Mushroom Hot Pot Broth (do not add the chicken), Bok choy, Spinach, Watercress, Lotus root, Kabocha squash, White gourd, Shiitake mushrooms, Enoki mushrooms, Button mushrooms, Rice noodles, Ho fun noodles, Dried bean curd rolls, Pressed tofu, Chinese sesame paste, Peanut sauce, Chopped scallions , Chopped cilantro, Sesame oil, Sichuan peppercorn oil, Minced garlic, Fried shallots, Toasted sesame seeds, Green tea, Baijiu

combo 5 – the great wall hot pot special

Sour Soup Fish Hot Pot Broth, Sichuan Hot Pot Broth, Napa cabbage, Choy sum, Daikon, Lotus root, Cloud ear fungus, Shimeji Mushrooms, Beef (short rib, rib eye, sirloin, flank steak, or beef balls), Chicken (breasts or thighs), Scallops, Scallops, Glass noodles, Udon noodles, Fried tofu puffs, Frozen tofu, Soy sauce, Sha Cha sauce, Sesame oil, Sichuan peppercorn oil, Chili oil, Chili garlic sauce, Fried shallots, Toasted sesame seeds, Chrysanthemum Tea, Huangjiu

(4) cook your own, authentic, full course meal



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