Hotpot at home: everything you need

Hotpot is perhaps the coziest way to eat: a pot of bubbling broth in the middle of the table, with dishes of meat, tofu and vegetables around it, and everyone cooking their own bites. You cook and eat at the same time, you serve each other, and the evening naturally lasts longer than planned. At our home, hotpot is part of the holidays, and in the toko, questions during those weeks are mainly about broth bases and dipping sauces. Here you will find everything you need, as a follow-up to our guide on the Chinese kitchen.

What is hotpot?

Hotpot, in Chinese huoguo (火锅), is a meal where you cook raw ingredients in a pot of gently simmering broth at the table, and then dip them in your own dipping sauce. You can find it all over East and Southeast Asia, from the fiery mala hotpot of Sichuan and Chongqing to the mild lamb hotpot of Northern China. In the Netherlands, it is also called Chinese fondue, although here you cook in broth instead of oil or cheese.

What do you need for hotpot at home?

For hotpot at home, you need a wide pot on a heat source that can sit on the table, a few small strainers, and for everyone, a bowl, chopsticks and a small dish for the dipping sauce.

• A hotpot pan. A wide, shallow pan works best, so everyone can reach it. Many hotpot pans have a divider for two broths at the same time, such as the Charms Stainless Steel Hot Pot. A shallow soup pot or casserole dish also works.
• A cooktop on the table. Place the pot on a portable induction or gas cooktop, or choose an electric pot such as the Kailo Electric Hot Pot/Multi Cooker. In case of emergency, a rice cooker with the lid open can also work.
• Hotpot strainers. With a hotpot strainer, you can lower a portion of meat or vegetables and fish it out all at once, so nothing disappears into the pot.
• Separate chopsticks for raw meat. Use a separate pair of chopsticks or tongs for raw meat.

Which broth should you choose for hotpot?

The classic choice is a spicy mala broth alongside a mild broth, so you can alternate between heat and a break. You can make your own, but a ready-made base dissolves in water or broth in just a few minutes. These are the types you will encounter most often. The bases in our toko are the same packets that are commonly found in supermarkets in China, from Haidilao and Little Sheep to Lao Gan Ma.

Sichuan mala 麻辣Fiery and tinglingMild spiced broth 清汤Clear and savoryMushroom 菌汤Earthy and roundedTom yumSour and fresh, great with fishSatay 沙爹Creamy and nuttySpicy plant-basedWithout animal ingredients

Sichuan mala

Mala means numbing and hot: the tingling of Sichuan pepper with the heat of chili. It is the recognizable red half of the pot, with a layer of spiced oil on top. Choose, for example, the Haidilao Spicy Hot Pot Soup Base, the Little Sheep Mala, the Cygnet Ma La or the Lao Gan Ma Chilli Soup Base. If you are vegetarian, read the label, because many spicy bases contain beef fat.

Mild broth

A mild broth gives your mouth a break between the spicy bites and lets meat and vegetables come to their best. The Little Sheep Plain is a spiced, clear base that you can make as spicy as you want with Sichuan peppercorns or dried chili peppers. Make your own? Chicken broth with ginger, scallions, dried red dates and dried shiitake is enough.

Tomato

Tomato broth is gently sour and a little sweet, and is often the first choice for children. You make it yourself by letting ripe tomatoes soften with ginger and scallions in some oil, pouring in broth and seasoning with a pinch of sugar and salt.

Mushroom, tom yum and satay

For an earthy flavor, choose the Shengyao Mushroom Soup Hotpot Base or the Lee Kum Kee Umami Mushroom Soup Base. It becomes fresher and sourer with the Lee Kum Kee Tom Yum or the Shengyao Thai Style, and the satay base gives a creamy broth. You can find all bases in the hotpot collection.

What do you put in the hotpot?

In the hotpot you put everything that cooks quickly: thinly sliced meat, fish, tofu, vegetables, mushrooms and at the end noodles. Make sure to vary: something savory, something fatty, something fresh and crunchy and something starchy.

• Meat: thinly sliced beef such as ribeye or marbled chuck, pork belly or flank, and lamb shoulder. Put it in the freezer for an hour, then you can cut it thinly, or take the frozen Kung Fu Beef Slices.
• Fish and seafood: shrimp, firm white fish, squid and fish or shrimp balls.
• Tofu: firm tofu such as Morinaga Extra Firm or Silken Firm, which absorbs the broth.
• Vegetables and mushrooms: bok choy, Chinese cabbage, spinach, lotus root, corn, shiitake and enoki.
• Noodles for the end: Huang Long Hot Pot Noodles, Longkou glass noodles, Sau Tao Ramen or shirataki knots, or look at the Chinese noodles.

How to make your own hotpot dipping sauce

You make a hotpot dipping sauce from a base, a few sauces, something spicy and a generous scoop of fresh aromatics, and everyone mixes their own bowl at the table. With about ten jars you make a sauce bar at home like in a hotpot restaurant. With the jars from Wangzhihe and Lao Gan Ma you have the same brands that Chinese families put on the table at home.

Sesame paste 芝麻酱Thick and nuttySha cha 沙茶酱Savory and saltyLeek flower paste 韭花酱Classic with lambFermented tofu 腐乳Creamy and cheesyChilli oil 辣椒油Heat and crunchReady-made dipFor those who don't want to mix

The base: sesame paste or sha cha

Chinese sesame paste, such as Wangzhihe Pure Sesame Paste, is made from roasted sesame seeds and is darker and fuller than tahini. Whisk it loose with some hot water until it is runny, then it will cling to your meat. Sha cha, which we call Bullhead Barbecue Sauce, is a savory, salty paste with dried fish, shrimp, garlic, and shallots, among other things.

Sauces and vinegar

Light soy sauce, such as Lee Kum Kee Premium Light Soy Sauce, thins your sauce, adds salt, and brings the other flavors together (more in Soy Sauce 101). Oyster sauce adds round umami and replaces sha cha if you find it too fishy, and a few drops of sesame oil add sesame flavor without the thickness of paste. For sourness, take Chinkiang vinegar or a light white rice vinegar; see also Chinese vinegar explained.

Spicy

Chilli oil adds heat and flavor without overpowering the rest. Choose a jar with crispy bits such as Lao Gan Ma Crispy Chilli Oil or the variant with black beans, and be sparing with soy sauce, because these jars are already savory (see Every Lao Gan Ma explained). Chilli-garlic sauce adds sour spiciness, fresh chilli adds extra fire, and a pinch of Sichuan pepper powder brings the tingle to your bowl if you are eating from the mild half.

Fresh, crispy and special

Garlic, spring onion, and coriander form the heart of almost every dipping sauce, so chop plenty, or get fried garlic. Chopped peanuts or sesame seeds add crunch. Leek flower paste, made from fermented flowers of garlic leek, belongs with lamb in Northern China, mixed with lots of sesame paste and some sugar, and a block of fermented tofu makes your sauce creamy. A pinch of sugar, white pepper or Ajinomoto rounds everything off.

Two house recipes

Taste as you mix, but as a starting point, these two bowls are most often on the table at our home.

• Kerensa's dipping sauce: 5 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, chopped garlic, chopped chilli pepper, coriander, and spring onion.
• Fairley's dipping sauce: 1 tablespoon sesame paste, 1 tablespoon crispy chilli oil, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 4 tablespoons soy sauce, and chopped coriander, spring onion, and garlic.

How a hotpot evening goes

A hotpot evening starts with preparation and then proceeds at everyone's own pace.

1. Prepare everything. Place meat, fish, and vegetables on plates around the pan, put the sauce bar on the table, and let everyone mix their dipping sauce in advance.
2. Bring the broth to a boil and let it simmer gently. Keep hot water or extra broth at hand to top up.
3. Start with what takes a long time or adds flavor. Corn, lotus root, and mushrooms go into the pan first, and a few slices of meat make the broth fuller. Be careful with tofu and Chinese cabbage in the spicy half, because they soak up so much heat that they are almost inedible.
4. Then it is free play. Thin meat is cooked in a few seconds and leafy greens in a minute; make sure the meat is completely cooked before you fish it out. We let go of strict orders, because the variety makes it fun.
5. Take care of each other. If the meat is just right or the tofu is almost falling apart, scoop it into your tablemate's bowl. That bragging is part of hotpot.
6. Finish with noodles, which now absorb all the flavor from the broth.

Dishes with the flavors of hotpot

Fancy the flavors of hotpot on an ordinary weekday evening? These dishes rely on the same mala, sesame, and dipping sauces.

Shui zhu niu rouBeef poached in spicy red broth.JiaoziDumplings, also delicious in the hotpot.Dan dan mianStreet food from Chengdu with sesame and chilli oil.Kou shui jiCold chicken under a sauce like a mala dip.

Your first hotpot: where do you start?

Store opened bases and sauces as stated on the label. You can find the entire range in the hotpot collection and at Chinese sauces and flavourings.

Frequently asked questions

You don't have to make hotpot perfectly, because the evening will be good on its own as soon as the broth is bubbling and everyone is mixing their own dipping sauce. Start with a base, a few sauces, and the people you like to have around you, and discover along the way which combinations you like best. If you are unsure which base or sauce to choose, feel free to visit our shop in Amsterdam, or read on in Chinese cuisine 101 about the flavors that hotpot builds on.