Chinese hot pot

What is Chinese hot pot?

Hot pot, 火锅 (huǒguō), is a pot of simmering broth in the middle of the table: everyone cooks raw meat, seafood, tofu and vegetables in it a few pieces at a time, then dips them in their own sauce. The best known is Chongqing hot pot, 重庆火锅 (Chóngqìng huǒguō), numbing and spicy, 麻辣 (málà), in beef tallow, 牛油 (niúyóu). Beijing’s is instant-boiled lamb, 涮羊肉 (shuàn yángròu), in a charcoal copper pot with clear broth, 清汤 (qīngtāng); Chaoshan in Guangdong is known for fresh beef hot pot, and Cantonese call hot pot 打边炉 (dǎ biān lú).

What broth should I order?

Most restaurants let you choose the soup base, 锅底 (guōdǐ). If not everyone eats spicy food, order the split pot, 鸳鸯锅 (yuānyang guō), the “mandarin duck pot”, half numbing and spicy and half mild, such as clear, tomato or mushroom broth. Choose the heat when you order: 微辣 (wēi là), mild, 中辣 (zhōng là), medium, or 特辣 (tè là), extra hot.

What do you put in Chinese hot pot?

Thin slices of fatty beef, 肥牛 (féiniú), and lamb, 羊肉 (yángròu); shrimp paste, 虾滑 (xiāhuá), fish balls, 鱼丸 (yúwán), and luncheon meat, 午餐肉 (wǔcānròu); in Sichuan, beef tripe, duck intestine and duck blood. Then tofu, 豆腐 (dòufu), tofu skin, 腐竹 (fǔzhú), glass noodles, 粉丝 (fěnsī), mushrooms like enoki, 金针菇 (jīnzhēngū), napa cabbage, 白菜 (báicài), spinach, lettuce, potato and kelp, 海带 (hǎidài). Order a few meats and a few vegetables per person, and add more as you go.

How do you make hot pot dipping sauce?

In Beijing it starts with sesame paste, 麻酱 (májiàng), mixed with fermented tofu, 腐乳 (fǔrǔ), chive flower sauce, 韭菜花 (jiǔcàihuā), and a little chilli oil. In Chongqing it is a bowl of sesame oil, 香油 (xiāngyóu), with crushed garlic, 蒜泥 (suànní), cooling the spicy food. Most restaurants have a sauce bar where you mix your own: add coriander, 香菜 (xiāngcài), chopped scallion, 葱花 (cōnghuā), vinegar, 醋 (cù), soy sauce, 酱油 (jiàngyóu), and chillies to taste.

What are the rules for eating hot pot?

Put in only what you will eat soon, and use the serving ladle or shared chopsticks, 公筷 (gōngkuài), to take food out, not your own. Don’t fish around for someone else’s piece. Cook tripe and thin slices quickly and lift them out, leave tofu, blood and noodles longer, and ask the waiter, 服务员 (fúwùyuán), to add soup, 加汤 (jiā tāng), when it runs low. Cool down with sour plum drink, 酸梅汤 (suānméitāng), or iced jelly, 冰粉 (bīngfěn), and say 买单 (mǎidān) for the bill.

How is Chinese hot pot different from shabu-shabu?

Japanese shabu-shabu is said to come from the Beijing lamb hot pot, 涮羊肉: the same quick dip of thin meat in clear broth. Chinese hot pot is broader, with spicy, tomato and mushroom broths, a sauce you mix yourself and a long menu of meat, offal, tofu, noodles and vegetables. Malatang, 麻辣烫 (málàtàng), and maocai, 冒菜 (màocài), are quicker cousins: you pick the ingredients and the kitchen cooks them in the spicy broth for you.

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