Chinese hot pot (火锅 huǒ guō) literally “fire-pot”, with it’s history of over 1000 years, is one of the most traditional and popular meals in China and is a great way to chat, laugh and drink in a big group over delicious food. The concept is very simple: a simmering metal pot with broth boils at the center of a table and people can add and cook all the raw ingredients they like in the broth. ![]() What to order? Checking the hotpot menu can be very complicated for a foreigner. The best things to get are all the ingredients that can give your broth a delicious flavour. Lamb and beef are the best types of hot pot meat you can put in the pot cause they will give the soup a delicious taste. Also mushrooms, fish balls, crabs, and shrimps. Also, tofu and potatoes are highly recommended cause they will absorb the flavours of all the ingredients and they will taste great. Make sure you order some hot pot vegetables too (Chinese cabbage, lettuce, bean sprouts, daikon, pumpkin etc. Don’t forget to get some noodles too! Which sauce? When eating hotpot, choosing the right sauces are the key… The thing is, there’s not only one “right” recipe, it all depends on your taste! One of the most ancient recipes include 3 parts of sesame sauce and one part of chives. Of course, you can choose whether to make your own sauce or to use the traditional one as a base and add chilli or soy sauce, minced garlic, crushed chilli peppers, cilantro, scallion etc … it’s totally up to you. Which ingredients to put in first? As you can imagine with hot pot, the first things to put in are all those ingredients that take longer to cook such as potatoes, corn, pumpkin, radish, and daikon. Of course, always put cabbage, lettuce, and spinach last. Eating hot pot cuisine is about socializing, so a hotpot night usually lasts more than two hours. When you’ve already eaten all the food you wanted, make sure you drink some of the delicious soup you made… it will taste great!
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