Chinese Hot Pot at Home
Chinese hot pot is a warm, comforting, and social meal to have with close-knit family or friends. Learn how to make hot pot at home!
Prep: 40min
Total: 40min
Ingredients:
- Hot pot soup base (with water) or stock
- baby bok choy ((thoroughly washed))
- napa cabbage ((washed, cut into 1-2 inch pieces))
- choy sum ((thoroughly washed))
- spinach ((thoroughly washed))
- pea tips ((thoroughly washed))
- watercress ((thoroughly washed))
- AA Choy/Cai ((washed, trimmed))
- Chrysanthemum Leaves ((washed, trimmed))
- lotus root ((cut into 1/4 inch thick half moons))
- potato ((cut into 1/4 inch thick half moons))
- sweet potato ((cut into 1/4 inch thick half moons))
- pumpkin/kabocha squash ((cut into 1/4 inch thick half moons))
- daikon radish ((cut into 1-inch chunks))
- tomatoes ((sliced into wedges))
- corn ((whole ears, cut into 1-inch pieces))
- winter melon ((cut into 1-inch chunks))
- Enoki mushrooms ((slice 1/2-1 inch of the base off, and separate the bundle of enoki’s into smaller more manageable bundles)
- Wood ears ((soak to reconstitute, rinse any dirt or sand off, and remove any woody ends))
- King mushrooms ((trim the ends, thinly slice))
- Shiitake mushrooms ((trim woody stems, slice, and add to the pot early))
- Oyster mushrooms ((thoroughly cleaned))
- Shimeji mushrooms ((separated into individual pieces))
- Beef ((brisket, short rib, ribeye, sirloin, flank steak, thinly sliced against the grain))
- Pork shoulder or loin ((thinly sliced))
- Pork belly ((thinly sliced))
- Lamb shoulder or leg ((thinly sliced))
- Boneless chicken breast or thighs ((thinly sliced))
- Fish fillets ((such as tilapia, bass, fluke/flounder, thinly sliced))
- Shrimp
- Scallops
- Squid or cuttlefish
- Beef balls
- Pork balls
- Fish balls
- Squid balls
- Mixed seafood balls
- Fish cakes
- Fish tofu
- Mung bean vermicelli ((soak in warm water for 10 minutes))
- Rice vermicelli ((boil to par-cook, rinse in cold water, drain))
- Thin fresh white noodles
- Fresh spinach noodles
- Shirataki noodles ((add directly to boiling broth, cooks in seconds))
- Rice cakes ((the thin ovals are best; the thick Korean-style rice cake logs take too long to cook) )
- Frozen dumplings ((smaller is better; cook time 7-10 minutes))
- Bean threads ((AKA dried bean curd sticks; soak in warm water for 3-4 hours, cut into 2-inch pieces))
- Soy puffs ((left whole or cut in half))
- Frozen tofu ((cut into 1-inch pieces))
- Firm tofu ((cut into 1-inch pieces))
- Dried bean curd rolls
- Fresh tofu sheets/skin
- Pressed tofu
- Chinese sesame paste or sauce
- Peanut butter or peanut sauce
- Soy sauce
- Sha Cha sauce
- Sesame oil
- Sichuan peppercorn oil
- Chili oil/sauce
- Chili garlic sauce/sambal oelek
- Chinese black vinegar/rice vinegar
- White pepper
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Minced garlic
- Chopped scallions
- Chopped cilantro
- Fried shallots or garlic
Instruction:
- Place boiling soup base or stock in a wide, shallow pot the center of the table on a portable electric burner.
- Place individual plates of raw ingredients on the table, along with dipping sauce ingredients.
- Have each diner mix their own dipping sauce while the pot of soup comes to a boil. Once boiling, begin adding ingredients to the pot. Be sure to cook ingredients through before consuming, and allow the pot to boil for at least 30 seconds to 1 minute after adding any raw meat or seafood.
Making Authentic Hot Pot at Home (2 Ways)
FAQ
What do you put in a hot pot?
Commonly found in East and Southeast Asian cooking, hot pot is centered around a vessel of roiling broth, into which diners plunk meats, seafood, vegetables, and starches.
Is hot pot actually healthy?
Hot pot is not a healthy dish given the heavy usage of oil in its broths, the high-fat content of many of the components of popular hot pot ingredients and dipping sauces, and the tendency to overeat given that it is often served as a shared meal, making it hard to track portion sizes.
What is usually in hot pot?
Typical hot pot ingredients include thinly sliced meat, leaf vegetables, mushrooms, vermicelli, sliced potatoes, bean products, egg dumplings, tofu, and seafood.
What is hot pot broth made of?
An extremely simple version can be made with water, scallions and ginger (e.g. Beijing lamb hot pot). The more flavourful one would use stock as the liquid. It can be made from pork, beef, chicken, mushroom or tomatoes.
