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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 mins
Total Time
30 mins
Servings: 6
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Chinese

Ingredients

Hot pot broth (choose one or use both in a divided pot)
  • Spicy hot pot broth homemade or shop-bought
  • Mild hot pot broth homemade or shop-bought
Meat options
  • 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
Fish & seafood options
  • 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.
Soybean-based ingredient options
  • 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
Mushroom options
  • 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
Leafy green options
  • Napa cabbage
  • bok choy
  • Choy Sum
  • Gai Lan
  • Crown daisy (Tong Hao)
  • Water spinach
  • Watercress
Root vegetable options
  • Potato, peeled and sliced
  • Sweet potato, peeled and sliced
  • Daikon (white radish), sliced
  • Lotus roots, sliced
Dried ingredient options
  • Kelp, rehydrated and cut into strips
  • Wood ear, rehydrated beforehand
Noodle options
  • Fresh wheat noodles e.g. ramen, homemade or instant
  • Fresh rice noodles
  • Sliced rice cakes
  • Mung bean vermicelli, pre-soaked
  • Sweet potato glass noodles, pre-soaked
  • hand-pulled noodles have the dough made, rested and cut into strips. Pull one noodle at a time and drop it into the broth straightaway.
Dumpling options
  • Dumplings homemade or shop-brought, preferably small-sized ones
  • Wontons homemade or shop-bought
Dipping sauce ingredients (mix and match based on your preference)
  • 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

    Cup of Yum
  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.

Notes

  • There is no need to include all categories. Mix proteins, vegetables and starchy ingredients to make it a balanced meal. Or make it vegetarian/vegan friendly by excluding meat, fish and seafood.
  • Different ingredients require different cooking time. Always make sure they're cooked through before consuming.