Hotpot-Enjoy Chinese Hotpot At Home

Hotpot is one of the most iconic dishes in China. Archeological evidence shows that the earliest hotpots appeared around the Zhou Dynasty. The tripods of the Zhou dynasty may be the earliest prototypes of the Hotpot. After thousands of years of development, these boiling pot stew became the world-famous hotpot that you see all over the world. Hotpot gained a massive wave of popularity in the past 20 because of globalization. The Beijing Style, the Sichuan Style, and the Chaoshan style are the most popular hotpot styles among all. However, If you want to enjoy the best Hotpot in China, you have to go for the Sichuan style hotpot in Chongqing and Chengdu. The taste and material selection are Top-notch among all the Hotpots. They’re spicy. However, they are so delicious that you will find yourself cannot stop eating them.

Do you know you can make a delicious Chinese hotpot at home? Hotpot is very easy and fast to prepare. Once you finished shopping for the raw materials, you can start to enjoy your first bite of Hotpot in just 15 minutes. Without further due, let’s begin the feast!

The Equipment

                                                                      Electric Hotpot                                                                                          Beijing Hotpot

Hotpot is 火锅 (Huo Guo)  in Chinese, which means “the Flaming Pot.” Traditionally, flame and pot are required. In nowadays, we have so many options when it comes to Choosing cooking Pot for Hotpot. Hotpot is so popular right now; You can find different types of hotpots in Asian Market pretty easily, even in the States. Here is what you should do: if you are going for authenticity and tradition, a portable stove will do the work. However, if you want to save money on buying those butane cans, use a hand-held electric stove or electric hotpot stove. They will save you money and is convenient to use. Most households use electric pot Cookers for cooking their Hotpot.

Hotpot Soup Base

The hotpot soup base is the key. An excellent hotpot relies mostly on its soup base, where all the food materials are cooked in. Generally, Hotpot soup base has two flavors, Plain and Spicy. The Plain soup base usually is made from Pork or Beef Bone soups, sometimes seafood and herbs are added to enhance the overall flavor profile. The Spicy soup base (The Sichuan Style Hotpot Base) is made with canola oil, butter, and fried chili oil.

                                                      Hotpot Base Block                                                                                                     Making Hotpot Base

Additionally, Herbs and spices are added to enhance flavor. The Spicy soup base (The Sichuan Style Hot Pot Base) is tough to make because it takes a long time to prepare; there are too many herbs and spices that are usually hard to find in the grocery market. Some Hot Pot bases are patented to protect the business secret. However, we can spend less than 5 dollars to get whichever flavor that we want in pretty much any Asian grocery store.

The Dipping Sauce

Traditionally, the dipping sauce for Sichuan Style Hot Pot is straightforward. People from Sichuan and Chongqing region usually mix sesame oil, minced garlic, and oyster sauce to enjoy authentic Sichuan style hot pot. However, this combination is not widely adopted; you can make your own hot pot dipping sauce; however, you want. The most common type dipping sauce to combine sesame sauce with other ingredients including minced garlic, soy cheese, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, chili, shacha sauce, vinegar, soy sauce, etc. You can add your favorite sauce as well.

Hotpot Dipping Sauce

Raw Material

Traditionally, standard hot pot raw materials include meat, leafy greens, plant roots, and seafood.

We usually like frozen thinly sliced meat since it is easy and fast to cook in the hot pot. Usually, it takes less than a minute to cook thoroughly. It is tough and expensive to slice the meat at home. However, that won’t be the problem, and you can buy a box of 1.5lbs presliced meat in any Asian market for less than 10 dollars. Usually, 3-5 lbs of presliced meat should be good for a family of 3. Beef and Lamb are the most common type of meat we would dip into the hotpot. Chicken and Pork are less popular, but you could try if you like. Again, there are no limitations.

                                                                 Hotpot Meat                                                                                                                  Hotpot Sliced Beef

Aside from sliced meats, people also enjoy other meat, by-products including hot pot sausages, organs, meatballs, solid blood, and extra. These products are not natural to source in regular grocery stores, even in some Asian markets, Make the meat by-products are fresh and clean, otherwise avoid using them. Seafood

Seafood in hot pots is enjoyed differently in different regions in China. For example, People in Sichuan regions eat more river food in the hot pot than for those people who live near the coast. Both Riverford and Seafood are popular items since they are healthy and easier to cook. You can choose pretty much any seafood, make sure to cut or slice them into pieces to make sure you can boil them in Hot Pots quickly. Vegetable

Here are some of our recommendations:

Bamboo Shoots, Sweet Bok Choy, Bean Sprouts, Cilantro, Cucumber, Spinach, Woodear Mushroom, Enoki Mushroom, Corns, Winter Melon, Shitaki Mushroom, A Choy, Asparagus, Bamboo Mushrooms, Seaweed, Lettuce, Tong Ho, Daikon, Bean Curd, Taro Root, Potato, Lotus Root, Chinese Yam, Watercress, Purple Yam.

This is the stuff that we recommend for traditional hot pot; you can add any vegetable you want for your Hot Pot. Make sure to wash and portion them correctly for easier cooking.

Prepare Hotpot Base

An excellent hot pot base is the key to a successful hot pot. You can choose some branded hot pot base in Asian Grocery Stores. You should consider some big brands, including Haidilao, Dezhuang, Qiaotou, Shujiuxiang. These are companies from Sichuan Area that only make authentic Sichuan Style Hot Pot Base. You will never go wrong with products from these companies!

Once you select your hot pot base, mix water, and hot pot base according to the direction printed on the package, the different brands may have different mixing ratios. Some people stir fry the hot pot base with Green Onion, Garlic, and ginger before the mixing with water. It was believed to release aroma from the hotpot seasoning. After mixing the seasoning, set hot pot cooker to high until boil. Once the hot pot soup starts to boil, then you are ready to cook your food in a boiling pot. Forgot to mention, hot pot meals can enhance friendship and unite family members or colleagues as several people sit around a pot, talking and eating. The warm atmosphere also helps make people comfortable.

Cooking Instructions

Beef, Pork & Lamb:

• Rare: 1 Second
• Medium Rare: 2-3 Seconds
• Well done: 8-10 Seconds
• Cook at least 20 seconds to avoid food born illness.

Poultry:

• At least 1 minute

Shrimp and Lobster:

• At least 1 minute. Make sure meat is a bright white and orange/red color
• Clams are ready to eat when they open

Vegetable:

• The Longe you cook your vegetable, the softer their consistency will become.
• Periodically check the vegetable to get the texture you like.

*We recommend cooking at least 20 seconds to kill all the microorganisms on the surface of the meat.