How do you cook Hot Pot? In Asian countries, Hot Pot is a popular type of cooking where cooking is done in a group setting. You and your friends sit around the dinner table and together you cook a large pot of soup. The soup pot is placed in the center of the dining table. So, how do you cook Hot Pot? It’s very easy to cook hot pot. You can cook hot pot in 3 easy steps.
Step 1. Boil the Hot Pot Broth
You start by boiling the broth. You can use any broth you like for your hot pot. Chicken broth, beef broth, and seafood broth are popular choices.
Some hot pot cookers are divided into two sections. This is so you can cook two types of broths at once. Typically, one side of the hot pot cooker is for the spicy broth, and the other side is for the non-spicy broth. I usually have the non-spicy side for kids and the spicy broth for adults.
Step 2. Start Cooking Hot Pot
Once the broth comes to a boil, you and your friends can start cooking hot pot. Simply add ingredients to the pot.
Pro Tip: It’s easy to lose track of the food you are cooking. I suggest using these special hot pot slotted spoons when you cook. These spoons will help you keep track of the food you are cooking.
Step 3. Enjoy with Dipping Sauce
Hot pot is a great way to socialize and have fun with a group of friends. You eat and cook as you go. There are dipping sauces for hot pot. Soy sauce-based dipping sauces offer a lot of flavor to hot pot because boiled food tends to be bland. A popular dipping sauce is made by combining Chinese Barbeque sauce, soy sauce, and minced garlic. The Chinese BBQ sauce has a unique flavor that is the essence of umami. It’s quite addictive.
Chinese BBQ Hot Pot Dipping Sauce Recipe
Ingredients:
- Chinese BBQ Sauce
- Soy Sauce
- Finely Minced Garlic
Directions
Combine the Chinese BBQ sauce, soy sauce, and minced garlic. Make a dipping sauce slurry. Adjust quantity to taste.
7 Common Ingredients for Hot Pot Cooking
Dumplings
Dumplings are popular ingredients for hot pot. There is a wide variety of dumplings available for hot pot cooking from pork dumplings to shrimp dumplings.
Fishballs
Fishballs are another popular ingredient for hot pot. There is a wide variety of fishballs for hot pot cooking. You can have squid balls, seafood balls, fish balls, and even meatballs. Although they are not made of fish, they all fall under the fishball category of ingredients.
Beef
Beef is another popular ingredient for hot pot cooking. These beef are not ordinary beef. They are thinly sliced beef so it cooks easily in the hot pot. You can buy these thinly sliced beef from your local Asian food market.
Vegetables
Vegetables are popular hot pot ingredients. Chinese vegetables like napa cabbage and bok choy are good choices for hot pot cooking. Onions and garlic can also be added to the hot pot broth.
Noodles
Noodles can also be added to hot pot cooking. Fresh noodles are used so they cook quickly in the hot pot broth.
Shrimp
Shrimp is also a popular hot pot ingredient. Shrimp is popular since it can cook easily in the boiling hot pot broth.
Mushrooms
Mushrooms are popular hot pot ingredients. Enoki mushrooms and shitake mushrooms are commonly hot pot ingredients. The mushroom adds a lot of flavor to the hot pot broth.
Essential Supplies Needed for Hot Pot Cooking at Home
Hot Pot Cooker for Home
To make it easier for you, I suggest getting an electric tabletop hot pot cooker that is plug-and-play. Just plug it in and start cooking. You also want a hot pot cooker that is dual-sided with divided sections so you can cook one type of broth on one side and another type of broth on the other side. Another consideration is you may want to get a non-stick hot pot.
Hot Pot Accessories
There are two main accessories that you need for your hot pot. The first is the hot pot slotted spoons so you can keep track of the food you are cooking. The second is the dipping sauce bowls for your dipping sauces.
Hot Pot Dipping Sauce
You will need soy sauce, Chinese BBQ sauce, hot sauce, and fresh garlic for your hot pot dipping sauce.
Good Eats 101 participates in affiliate programs including Amazon Associates Program and may earn from qualifying purchases.