Chinese•gourmet
Chinese Hot Pot At Home
A complete guide to hot pot covering all aspects of preparing this iconic Chinese meal at home. It helps you to throw a stress-free hot pot party.
- Prep time
- 30 min
- Cook time
- 21 min
- Yield
- 6 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- Spicy hot pot broth (homemade or shop-bought)
- Mild hot pot broth (homemade or shop-bought)
- Beef, lamb or pork, cut into thin slices against the grain. (choose well-marbled cuts if possible)
- Precooked meatballs (defrosted if frozen)
- Canned meat (Spam), sliced
- Boneless fish fillet, thinly sliced (e.g. halibut, catfish, cod, sea bass, pangasius, etc.)
- Shrimp, with or without the skin/head
- Squid, sliced
- Fish balls
- Fish or shrimp paste (shaped into balls while having the hot pot)
- Other seafood (such as crabs, clams, mussels, etc.)
- Tofu (silken, soft or firm), sliced
- Frozen tofu, defrosted and sliced
- Tofu puffs (deep-fried tofu)
- Pressed tofu sheets, cut into wide strips
- Dried tofu skin, rehydrated beforehand
- Oyster mushrooms, separated into small sections
- King oyster mushrooms, sliced lengthways
- Enoki mushrooms, ends removed and torn into small bundles
- Shiitake mushrooms (rehydrated if in dried form)
- Shimeji mushrooms, ends removed
- Napa cabbage
- Bok Choy
- Choy Sum
- Gai Lan
- Crown daisy (Tong Hao)
- Water spinach
- Watercress
- Potato, peeled and sliced
- Sweet potato, peeled and sliced
- Daikon (white radish), sliced
- Lotus roots, sliced
- Kelp, rehydrated and cut into strips
- Wood ear, rehydrated beforehand
- Fresh wheat noodles
- Fresh rice noodles
- Sliced rice cakes
- Mung bean vermicelli, pre-soaked
- Sweet potato glass noodles, pre-soaked
- Hand-pulled noodles
- Dumplings (homemade or shop-brought, preferably small-sized ones)
- Wontons (homemade or shop-bought)
- Sauces: light soy sauce, black rice vinegar, oyster sauce, shacha sauce (Chinese barbecue sauce)
- Pastes: sesame paste, peanut butter, fermented bean curd
- Oil: sesame oil, chilli oil
- Spices: chili powder, ground Sichuan pepper
- Aromatics: minced garlic, coriander, scallions, fresh chilli
- Nuts: sesame seeds, toasted peanuts
Instructions
- 1
Place the heat source and the pot/wok in the middle of the table. Pour in the broth. Place various food items around the pot (See note 1).
- 2
Have the dipping sauces mixed and distributed in individual bowls. Keep some extra in case you need an adjustment or top-up during the meal.
- 3
Turn on the heat. Once the broth comes to a boil, you may start putting food items into the broth to cook (See note 2). Fish out the cooked items and enjoy with the dipping sauce.
- 4
The water in the broth evaporates as you eat. Top up with hot water when needed.