Chinese hot pot, also known as Chinese fondue or Chinese steamboat, is made from various types of raw meat, noodles, tofu, seafood, and dumplings. The ingredients are then boiled in a pot of broth, and eaten with the help of a sieve or chopsticks. You can enjoy this hot pot with various additional gravy, rice, or Chinese barbecue sauce (satai or sacha).
When making Chinese hot pot, you can use any ingredients, according to your taste. Generally, even geographic issues can affect hot pot ingredients. For example, in coastal areas, hot pot is served with seafood, while on land, meat hot pot is more common. The tradition of hot pot in China has been going on for more than 1000 years. This dish is usually served to celebrate the Chinese New Year, or as a body warmer in winter. Follow these steps to make delicious Chinese hot pot.
Step
Step 1. Prepare the gravy in a large saucepan according to taste
The pot will be used to boil all the hot pot ingredients. Since there's no standard recipe for hot pot gravy, feel free to get creative! For example, you can make chicken broth, coconut milk, kuah mala (Chinese style spicy sauce, with varying levels of spiciness), tomato sauce, curry, or even miso. If you like, you can also buy instant gravy from a Chinese restaurant or an Asian specialty store.
- To make a simple hot pot sauce, boil fish or beef bones in boiling water, then add spices (such as ginger, jujube, bay leaf, star anise, cloves, chili, cinnamon, etc.), seasonings (such as pepper). or Sichuan chili powder), as well as vegetables (such as oyster mushrooms, cabbage, scallions, or garlic). Wait until the water shrinks and all the spices are absorbed, then strain the gravy.
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Choose one of the following combinations of ingredients to make a traditional hot pot gravy:
- Savory gravy: Chicken/pork bones, ginger, goji berries, jujube, white pepper, scallions, and mustard/mushroom (if you like).
- Spicy "mala" gravy: Beef bones, ginger, garlic, chili oil, dried chili, bay leaf, star anise, cinnamon, cloves, and fried tofu.
- If you are vegetarian, replace animal bones with vegetables.
Step 2. Cut the various types of meat and fish that you will boil in the hot pot
Try to cut the meat thinly so that the meat is cooked perfectly.
Choose a protein source (such as meat, fish, or tofu) that you like. Ingredients commonly boiled in a hot pot include beef, pork, goat (which has been marinated in red wine if you like), chicken, thin strips of fish fillet, squid, scallops, oysters, fish cake, fish balls (containing meat or fish eggs), shrimp balls, cuttlefish meatballs, shrimp paste, beef meatballs, plain tofu, fried tofu, cold tofu, beancurd, dry fried tofu, and quail eggs. Choose materials that are available in your area
Step 3. Select and prepare vegetables for the hot pot
Wash and prepare the greens. Generally, you can use watercress, bok choy, tong ho flowers, spinach, cabbage, mustard greens, pea leaves, radishes, taro, seroja root, chayote, beligo, tomatoes and combed corn. If you have oyster mushrooms, button mushrooms, shiitake, or enokitake in your area, you can also use them as hot pot ingredients
Step 4. Prepare the noodles to serve with the hot pot
If you like, you can also use the leftover hot pot sauce to boil the noodles at the end of the meal. By using hot pot sauce as a noodle soup, you will feel the deliciousness of various hot pot ingredients that have soaked in the sauce.
- You can serve any kind of noodles, such as homemade noodles, vermicelli, egg noodles, ramen, udon, and vermicelli. If desired, you can even serve different types of noodles at once. However, keep in mind that your guests may feel full before you serve the noodles at the end of the meal, or may not want noodles for dessert.
- Rice can also be a good hot pot companion. However, not everyone likes rice with hot pot.
Step 5. Add other ingredients if you like, such as dumplings, moci, or tangyuan (sweet dumplings with taro filling, salted/pindang egg, kidney beans, or empty)
Step 6. Put various spices and sauces on the table, and ask guests to mix the sauces according to taste
Generally, you can serve satay sauce, chive sauce, sesame paste, hot mustard, soy sauce, black vinegar, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, chili oil, and sweet hot sauce. In addition, also prepare chopped garlic, scallions, and raw eggs. Provide a small plate on the table so that guests can make their own sauce.
Commonly used sacha sauce ingredients include Chinese barbecue sauce, soy sauce, black vinegar, sliced garlic and scallions, and raw eggs. Some people like to separate egg yolks and whites; Once separated, they mix the egg yolks with the sauce and cook the egg whites along with the meat and other hot pot ingredients
Step 7. Pour the filtered hot pot gravy in a short saucepan
Make sure the pan you use makes it easy for guests to boil hot pot ingredients. To keep the gravy warm, place the pot on the heater, and place the heater on the table.
You can also heat the gravy on a small gas stove
Step 8. Make sure guests sit in a circle and can pick up all the ingredients easily
Chinese hot pot is a shared dish. After guests sit in a circle, they will boil the available hot pot ingredients. While waiting for their chosen ingredients to ripen, they will chat and enjoy each other's company. Because they are eaten in small quantities, hot pot dishes usually run out within a few hours.
- You can use a single pan or multiple pans at once, depending on the number of pans. You can use one homemade pot to serve 4-8 guests, depending on the size of the pot.
- Sometimes, you can also use shared eating utensils, such as sieves, tongs, or chopsticks. Out of respect for other guests, ask permission before using them.
Step 9. Enjoy your hot pot
Tips
- Use dried shiitake mushrooms that have been soaked in water as an additional ingredient. Your guests will love the chewy texture.
- Try different ingredients, vegetables, and sauces when hosting a hot pot event.
