CHINESE HOT POT AT HOME

When fall and winter roll around, one big treat tends to pop into our minds—Chinese hot pot. It’s a warm, comforting, and social meal to have with a close-knit group of family or friends. Plus, because all the food gets cooked at the table, it’s an easy meal to boot.

With all of us staying indoors and sharing each meal with those in our own households, it’s also a great at-home dining “event.” It’s a welcome break from routine, and a delicious one! In this post, we’ll talk about how to make hot pot at home.

WHAT IS CHINESE HOT POT?

There are many types of hot pot across China, but at its most basic, Chinese Hot Pot is an interactive meal in which diners sit around a simmering pot of soup at the center of the table with various raw ingredients—meat, seafood, vegetables, tofu, and starches—in thin slices or small pieces for quick cooking.

Diners can add whatever they like to the boiling liquid. They can then retrieve cooked food items from the pot with wire ladles, and flavor them with individual dipping sauces.

HOW THEY DO HOT POT IN CHINA

In China, hot pot is a cold weather staple. Hot pot restaurants range from casual to upscale. Some offer individual small pots with rotating conveyor belts of ingredients, similar to conveyor belt sushi restaurants. Others focus on the more traditional communal dining experience.

EQUIPMENT NEEDED TO HAVE HOT POT AT HOME

You do need some special equipment to have a hot pot meal at home. Let’s start with the essential gear.

NECESSARY EQUIPMENT FOR HOT POT:

Heat Source: We have a specialized electric hot pot burner that comes with a pot. However, any portable heat source will work. You could use an electric burner (coil or induction) or a tabletop gas burner. If you plan on making hot pot a regular event, we do recommend getting a hot pot set with a built-in electrical heating element—the pot is removable for easy cleaning.

Pot: Chinese stainless steel hot pots are ideal because of their round shape and depth—wide and deep enough to hold a good amount of food, while not being so deep that the food gets lost at the bottom. The metal is rather thin, which allows the simmering soup to heat up quickly as additional ingredients are added. Some designs even have a “yin-yang” feature, where you can have two soup flavors simmering at the same time. However, any wide, relatively shallow pot will work.

Chopsticks: Chopsticks offer superior dexterity when it comes to retrieving food items. Hot Pot is best eaten with bamboo chopsticks or wooden chopsticks, which are heat resistant and cool off quickly. Plastic and metal chopsticks aren’t ideal. Plastic can melt at high temperatures, and metal conducts heat. Wouldn’t want to burn yourself on them!