fight the cold with hot pot

Chinese hot pot, the original

With beginnings traced as far back as the Jin dynasty, hot pot remains a culinary favorite throughout Eastern Asia, Japan, and the South Pacific. While it varies drastically from region to region, each variation has the basics: raw ingredients including meats, starch, and vegetables, a hot, flavored broth, and plenty of sauces for dipping. The idea is to cook your raw foodstuffs in the hot broth, and then use the dipping sauces for extra flavor. 

Common ingredients & traditions for hot pot based on region: 

• Chinese Mainland: variations of mild and hot (Chongquin style with Sichuan peppers) broth bases, and sometimes rice congee, wild mushrooms, beef, lamb, tofu, many Chinese green vegetables, seafood (cockles, fish balls, squid, crab, octopus, sea cucumber), eggs, pork, udon, rice cakes, potato, and oyster, sesame, chili oil, onion, pepper, and hot & sour sauces on the side. 
• Japanese: Sukiyaki style includes sliced beef, vegetables, and tofu in a sweet soy sauce. Shabu-shabu describes thinly sliced meats and vegetables with kelp, dipped in ponzu and goma. Leftover broth from the pot is combined with rice and is usually eaten at the end of the meal.
• Cambodia: similar to Chinese hot pot, except coconut milk is typically used for the base, and sometimes butter is added. 
• Taiwanese: similar to Japanese hot pot, but with added shacha sauce and raw egg yolk.
• Thailand: Thai suki, more similar to Chinese hot pot than Japanese, except with Thai-style dipping sauces, chili, lime, coriander leaves to create complex flavors.
• Vietnam: lẩu or cù lao, typically sweet with pork, shrimp, duck eggs, cabbage, radish, scallion, fish sauce, tofu. Customarily, it is eaten at weddings, bought and prepared by the bride's family. 

ordering hot pot

menu example: ordering hot pot at 'hotto potto'

Now that I've got your palates wet for hot pot, we can discuss where should you go to find it, and how it works.

The best place in St. Paul for Chinese hot pot is Little Szechuan in the Little Mekong neighborhood, but I'm sure you could do a search to find what's closest to your own area. Bring your friends and make it a fun social gathering - this meal is always best shared with a group. Although it could be a fun first date, be warned: it does get messy.

First, you select your broth. Sometimes you'll have the option for two at once (a ying yang pot, pictured) which is best for variety; one side spicy, one side mild, for example.  ​

​Next, you'll want to choose your meats, starches, and vegetables. While you wait for the pot to arrive at your table with the foodstuffs, get your sauces ready and let the socializing begin. Discuss your plan of attack - there's no wrong way to do it, but you'll find that some things cook differently, longer, or shorter, than others.
​
When the broth comes to temperature (it will typically come to a rolling boil), add your ingredients one-by-one and wait. Cook times vary for each ingredient, but do be careful: "hot" pot is no misnomer - it does get scalding hot. Let the cooked items cool slightly before dipping and consuming. 

---

DIY hot pot

First things first, you'll need equipment. Before you gather your ingredients, make sure you have the necessary tools: 

• large pot (for the broth)
• portable burner 
• tongs
• small strainers/spoons
• chopsticks
• shallow bowls for eating 
• small bowls for dipping sauces

Ingredients: variety is key, since you want a bit of everything. For a four-person hot pot, choose 2 greens, 3 to 4 non-meat items, and 2 to 4 meats/seafood plus a starch. If you're vegetarian, just bump up the non-meat items and include tofu. 
Broth: Keep it simple and use a chicken, beef, fish or vegetable broth, or purchase a package of ready-to-use hot pot broth. Add other aromatics like jujube, ginger, bamboo, chili, or mushrooms. 
Dipping Sauces: just like your broth, this can be as easy or complex as you want. Purchase pre-made sauces -if you like- or decorate your table with chili oil, chili flakes, herbs, onion puree, sesame oil/paste, scallions, soy sauce, sweet & sour sauce, and oyster sauce. 
Assembly: gather your tools around the table and heat the broth in the pot using the portable burner. Each person can make their own concoctions of sauces in the small bowls while the broth comes to temperature. Arrange your ingredients on platters combining raw meats on one and raw veggies and starches on another, keeping like ingredients together. When the hot pot is ready, submerge your foodstuffs using your chopsticks and wait until cooked. Use the spoon/strainer to fish out the food that falls from your chopsticks. Dip in your sauce, as needed, and eat. 
And there you have it: DIY hot pot.