How to Eat Hot Pot: A Complete Beginner's Guide to Hot Pot
Introduction
Trying new cuisine is an exciting venture into the unknown. This is especially true when the meal is from a different culture than your own, with unspoken etiquette and rules. Hot pot is much more than simply a meal, it's an experience.
While hot pot has been growing in popularity throughout China and other Asian countries for hundreds of years, the trend has made it's way to Melbourne in the past decade and it's only getting bigger.
So, if you're new to hot pot and want to know how to become a pro, here's all you need to know.
What is Hot Pot?
Hot pot is all about communal dining. It includes a single pot of delicious, bubbling broth in the centre of the table and lots of delicious ingredients.
You cook the ingredients yourself at the table to your own liking, then dip in your favourite condiment and repeat! Western cultures may not be used to cooking their own food at a restaurant, but that's the charm of hot pot. You can cook your meat, seafood and vegetables just the way you like them.
In simply terms, Chinese hot pot is a cook-it-yourself dining experience to be shared with friends and family.
Where Does Hot Pot Come From?
Hot pot has blown up in popularity across Melbourne and Australia but it's roots are based in China. Other Asian countries, such as Japan and Korea, also have their own takes of the dish from many different beginnings.
Communal eating is a large part of Chinese culture, leading to the creation and growing popularity of hot pot.
Our style of hot pot at Wong's Late Night Hot Pot originated in the streets of Chongqing, China. Like many dishes, it began as a casual food for the working people and grew to become what it is today.
There are many types of hot pot restaurant, from upmarket spots to chilled out diners, there's a hot pot experience for every occasion.
Broth
Most hot pot restaurants will offer multiple broths for you to chose from, including spicy to salty and beyond. We specialise in Chongqing hot pot with our signature broth including flavours of Sichuan peppercorns, bay leaf, clove and more delicious spices.
If you're one for spice, then a spicy base might be for you. Packed full of hot chilli peppers and flakes, a spicy broth is the best way to warm up in cold winter months or test your spice limits!
Most diners, especially larger groups, will get multiple broths to try during their hot pot experience so don't feel restricted to just one. The broths are put into the same hot pot, kept seperate by metal dividers. Meaning if one of your friends is a lover of mild they don't have to endure the spice. If you can't decide which broth you'd like, why not try them all?
As the hot pot experience goes on the bubbling broth continues to cook, absorbing all the flavours from the meat, seafood and other ingredients you add in. Meaning the flavours develop and get deeper with every passing minute.
Ingredients
Aside from the broth, the next key aspect of hot pot is your ingredients. The things you can cook in delicious hot pot broth and endless but most popular choices include meat, seafood, vegetables and tofu.
Meat
Thinly sliced meat is usually the centre-piece of a hot pot experience. The meat is cut into bite size pieces to be cooked quickly in your steaming hot pot broth. If you're visiting a hot pot restaurant make sure to order lots of beef and lamb to get the authentic experience.
When you sit down you will either order your meat through a waiter or some restaurants offer a buffet style, where you go up and pick yourself. Once you have your selection of meats it's time to get cooking. Grab a single piece of meat with your chopsticks or fork and hold it in the delicious broth.
Usually these meats will cook quickly, in around a minute or to your liking. Another amazing benefit of hot pot, you control the cooking time. Like your beef rare? Hold it under the broth for less time and vice versa if you prefer your meat cooked longer.
At Wong's Late Night Hot Pot we offer a variety of delicious, high quality meats to give your the authentic Chongqing experience including our signature beef tripe which is incredibly popular in China.
Seafood
Seafood is the next popular choice for many hot pot diners. Shrimp cooks quickly making it a great addition to any hot pot experience. They also add delicious flavours to the broth that gets sucked up into any noodles or veg you boil later on.
Other popular seafood options include thinly sliced fish, oysters and squid. All of which are delicious options for those trying to reduce their meat intake.
Seafood matches perfectly with all hot pot broths, from the classic Chongqing to spicy bases.
Vegetables and Tofu
If you're vegetarian or vegan you can still enjoy hot pot. It's not all about meat!
Vegetables, though not the star of the show for some diners, really do make or break a hot pot experience. Without fresh vegetables to balance out the saltiness of the meat and seafood, hot pot can feel a bit one note.
Enoki mushrooms are a fan favourite of carnivores and vegans alike. They have a huge role in a lot of Chinese cooking and it's no different for hot pot. Other popular hot pot vegetables include leafy greens, radish and cabbage.
Most diners will choose to cook their vegetables last. This is because all the delicious flavours from cooking meat and seafood will have enveloped into the broth, making the veg taste even better.
If you want more than just vegetables, tofu is offered at most hot pot restaurants and you'd be a fool not to give it a try! The beauty of tofu is it's ability to suck up all of the flavours it's cooked in. Tofu often gets a bad reputation for its lack of taste, but that's what makes it perfect for hot pot. The broth gets absorbed by the spongy tofu, creating a burst of flavour.
Dipping Sauces
The third and final aspect of hot pot is dipping sauces and condiments. A hot pot isn't complete without a range of delicious dips, ranging from peanut to soy to chilli sauces and more.
Hot pot really is a build your own experience, you are presented with a range of sauces, herbs and aromatics for you to mix your own dip. Garlic obsessed? Add in as much as you like! Want a bit of spice but not too much? Luckily you're the one who controls that.
Aside from the broth, the dipping sauce you choose is a deciding factor in the flavour of your hot pot experience.
To get started grab a dipping bowl and head to the mini-buffet. Then it's all up to you, there are no rules or judgement. Build the dip of your dreams!
How Should I Eat Hot Pot?
The part that often turns people away from hot pot is a fear of the unknown. You've never cooked your own food in a restaurant before, let alone been trust with a bubbling pot of broth, so where do you begin?
Great hot pot restaurants will be happy to show you the ropes but if you're too scared to out yourself as a novice, here are the basics.
1. Choose your base broth
2. Order or grab your ingredients
3. Build your dipping sauce
4. Cook your ingredients gradually: You want your hot pot ingredients to be pipping hot when you eat them so it's best to cook as you go.
5. Wait until your broth is boiling to cook more: When you cook your ingredients the temperature of the hot pot broth will decrease, so it's best to either turn up the heat or wait until your broth is boiling again before adding more ingredients.
6. Don't overload your hot pot: Nobody likes having to search for their piece of beef tripe. Try to control the amount your group puts in the pot at one time.
A top tip to ensure you become a master of hot pot is to use different utensils for cooking and eating. This is a common practice, especially when eating with friends nobody wants used chopsticks boiled into the hot pot broth! It also ensure that cross contamination doesn't happen.
Above all else, hot pot is about relaxing and enjoying a communal dining experience.
How Much Does Hot Pot Cost?
Hot pot restaurants vary in price, from super expensive experiences to more modestly priced stores. There's a hot pot restaurant for every budget. The price will often depend on quality of meat and other ingredients and location.
You're Ready to Experience Hot Pot
Feeling hungry? Good because you're ready to be introduced to the delicious world of hot pot! Find a hot pot restaurant local to you, gather your friends and family and get started. If you want a super authentic experience then finish the meal with an argument about who will be paying the bill.
Visiting Wong's Late Night Hot Pot Melbourne, for an authentic Chongqing hot pot experience right in the CBD.
