Hot Pot at Home: Equipment, Amounts, Broth and Cooking Times

Hot pot: origin and variations

The Chinese name Huǒguō (火锅) means fire pot. In East and Southeast Asia almost every region cooks its own version, recognizable by the broth.

• Sichuan and Chongqing: a red, oily broth with dried chilies and Sichuan pepper. The pepper tingles on the tongue; the Chinese call this mix of heat and tingle málà. Our Szechuan hot pot shows the base.
• Yuanyang: a pot with a divider, spicy broth on the left, mild on the right. With it a group with mixed preferences eats from one pot.
• Shabu shabu: the Japanese version with a clear kombu broth. You swish hair-thin beef through the broth for a few seconds, see Shabu shabu. Related stews are Yosenabe and the hearty Chanko nabe.
• Lẩu: the Vietnamese hot pot, often sour with tamarind or tomato and plenty of herbs, for example as Lẩu hải sản with seafood.

To start, the classic Huo guo with a mild broth is a good fit.

Equipment for the table

• Electric hot pot: pot and heater in one appliance, with a temperature control. You don't have to put anything together, so it suits a first try.
• Induction plate: a portable plate plus a wide, shallow pot with an induction-compatible base. A pot of 3 to 4 liters is enough for four people.
• Divided pot: for yuanyang with two broths. Many electric pots also come with a divider.
• Ladles and strainer ladles: one ladle for refilling and skimming, small strainer ladles for each guest. In a strainer ladle you don't lose fish balls and shrimp in the pot.

Also set out for each person a bowl for the sauce, a small plate and two pairs of chopsticks. Keep a kettle with hot broth or water within reach, because the pot loses liquid over the evening.

Ingredients and amounts per person

Plan four to six different ingredients for a main meal. The table gives guidelines for one person with a mixed offering. If you offer only meat and vegetables, take the upper amount of meat.

Hair-thin meat is easiest to slice half frozen. Put the piece in the freezer for 1 to 2 hours and cut it across the grain with a sharp knife. At an Asian grocery store you can get beef and lamb already sliced in frozen rolls.

Broth and dip bar

Mild and spicy broth

For a mild broth, simmer chicken or pork bones with ginger and scallions and salt it sparingly at the end. At the table, meat and mushrooms give it more flavor. For shabu shabu, water with a piece of kombu, which you take out before it simmers, is enough. Kombu contains a lot of iodine; one piece of 10 cm (4 in) per pot is enough.

You build the spicy broth on a hot pot seasoning base. You find these solid blocks of beef tallow or vegetable oil, chili, Sichuan pepper and fermented bean paste at an Asian grocery store. One block is enough for 1.5 to 2 liters of broth. Dissolve it in hot broth and add chilies and Sichuan pepper to taste. Amounts and steps for both versions are in the recipe for Hot pot broth.

Sauces to mix yourself

Each guest mixes their own sauce. Set out base sauces and toppings in small bowls for this.

• Basics: light soy sauce, sesame paste, chili oil, rice vinegar, sa cha sauce and ponzu for the Japanese version.
• Toppings: chopped garlic, scallions, cilantro, roasted peanuts, sesame.

The Chongqing dip goes with spicy Sichuan hot pot: 2 to 3 tablespoons of toasted sesame oil with a chopped garlic clove and some salt. The oil softens the heat and cools the bite. You find more mixes under Hot pot sauces. The dip bar often contains sesame, soy, peanuts, fish and gluten. Label the bowls if guests with allergies are at the table.

How it runs at the table, and cooking times

1. Bring the broth to a boil in the kitchen, pour it into the table pot and set it to medium so it simmers gently.
2. First put the ingredients with a long cooking time in the pot: potato, lotus root, corn, fish balls. They give the broth flavor.
3. Each guest cooks meat and fish themselves, piece by piece in the strainer ladle or with chopsticks.
4. Skim off foam with the ladle and top up the broth as soon as the level drops.
5. Leafy vegetables, tofu and noodles go into the pot toward the end.

Shopping at the Asian grocery store, and safety

At an Asian grocery store you find almost everything for an evening: seasoning base for the spicy broth, frozen sliced meat, fish and shrimp balls, tofu skin, lotus root, enoki and sesame paste. For frozen balls, check the ingredient list; many contain wheat and soy. You can get fresh leafy vegetables such as bok choy and napa cabbage in well-stocked supermarkets too.

Raw meat and raw fish stay in the refrigerator until shortly before eating. Put the plates on the table in portions and refill. Use a separate pair of chopsticks or the strainer ladle for raw ingredients and eat with the second pair. That keeps germs from raw chicken out of your mouth. Cook pork, poultry, meatballs and seafood all the way through. Don't leave children alone with the electric pot and its cord; the broth boils for hours.

Using leftovers

After the meal the broth tastes strongest. In Japan many cook rice with beaten egg or udon in it to finish. Strain leftover broth, cool it quickly and put it in the refrigerator within two hours. Bring it to a rolling boil before the next use and use it within one to two days. With the spicy broth, lift off the solidified fat before you reheat it. Raw ingredients that sat on the table you cook all the way through the next day, for example in a noodle soup or in the wok.