Description
Chinese hot pot at home is a warm, comforting social meal to enjoy with family or a small group of friends. Delicious, easy to prepare, and customizable.
Ingredients
Hot Pot Soup Base (Tomato Base):
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 + 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 3 cups water
- 1 medium tomato, sliced
- 2 green onions, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon ginger, thinly sliced
- 2-3 bay leaves
Hot Pot Soup Base (Spicy Chili Base):
- 1 tablespoon spicy red chili oil
- 1 + 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 3 cups water
- 4-5 dried red chili peppers
- 2 green onions, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon ginger, thinly sliced
- 2-3 bay leaves
Vegetables (choose 2 cups per serving):
- spinach, stems removed
- baby bok choy, cut into 2-inch pieces
- napa cabbage, cut into 1 to 2 inch pieces
- potato, cut into 1/4-inch slices
- sweet potato, cut into 1/4-inch slices
- shiitake mushrooms
- oyster mushrooms
- enoki mushrooms, base chopped and removed
- broccoli florets
- cauliflower florets
Meat and Seafood (choose 1 cup per serving):
- beef, any cut as long as it's thinly sliced
- lamb shoulder or leg, thinly sliced
- pork, thinly sliced
- chicken, thinly sliced
- shrimp, deveined
- mussels
- oysters
- fish balls
- fish cakes
- beef balls
Noodles and Tofu (choose 1/2 cup per serving):
- rice vermicelli noodles, rinsed and softened
- udon noodles, rinsed and softened
- rice cakes
- firm tofu, cut into 1-inch pieces
- tofu puffs
Peanut Dipping Sauce (for 4 servings):
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons satay paste
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/3 cup water
Optional Toppings for Peanut Dipping Sauce:
- vinegar
- garlic, minced
- red chili oil
- sambal oelek/chili garlic sauce
- cilantro, finely chopped
- white sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a dual hot pot, add all the ingredients for the tomato base into one compartment and mix well to combine. Add all the ingredients for the spicy chili base into the other compartment and mix well to combine. Place the dual hot pot on a portable induction burner or portable gas burner and bring to a simmer over medium heat. You can also just make one soup base and use a round stainless steel hot pot instead.
- Meanwhile, in a shallow saucepan, add soy sauce, peanut butter, satay paste, sesame oil, sugar and water. Heat over medium heat and stir well to combine until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Set aside.
- Place prepare and chopped vegetables, meat, seafood, and noodles of your choice together with the dipping sauce and any optional toppings for the dipping sauce on the table. Customize your own dipping sauce with optional toppings, if desired.
- Add a few ingredients at a time into the boiling soup base. Make sure to cook all meat and seafood thoroughly before serving. For all meat, let it boil for at least 1 minute. For seafood, let it boil for at least 3 minutes. For vegetables, allow it to boil for 30 seconds.
- Serve immediately with dipping sauce.
Notes
How to set up the hot pot table. Set up your table with the burner and hot pot in the center, and the ingredients on plates around the pot. You can group ingredients together in a single plate or platter to save space. For instance, group meat together, group seafood together, and group vegetables or vegetarian items together.
Order of cooking hot pot ingredients. There is no order of cooking the hot pot ingredients, and you do not need to add in all the ingredients at once. Some families like to cook seafood first as it takes longer to cook, but it's a personal preference.
Reload with hot water. While making and eating hot pot, keep a kettle with a few cups of hot water ready to reload the soup base to replenish it when the liquid starts to evaporate too much.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Chinese