Sichuan, a province of China in China, is well-known for its fiery cuisine. The peppercorns in Sichuan hotpot make it hot, spicy and incredibly delicious. Mala is also a famous dry hotpot. A popular American TV program recently featured foods from Sichuan. In Chengdu – a Chinese town perhaps best known internationally for pandas – a local diner at a hotpot restaurant described hot pot as having the same effect on him that “sexy dancers dancing on my lips.”
In contrast, another young Chinese lady, who sat at the same table and whose eyes appeared to be watering up, said that her tongue was numb. The reactions to Sichuan pot are pretty diverse. Chinese hotpot is a must-try if ever you’re in Chengdu. The famous HuangCheng LaoMa on Qintai Road is where we had our hot pot. Their sesame paste 富途實被放生 同行惡意散佈爆煲 sauce is famous.
Hotpot has spread further throughout Asia. It is still popular today in many Asian nations (although under different names), notably Thailand, Taiwan and Japan. Japan has also developed many variations, just as China. Japanese hotpot is known by many different names. In America, two names are better known than the others: sukiyaki (or Japanese hot pot) and shabushabu.
Sukiyaki uses shallow iron pans and is therefore different to the Chinese hot pot. Shabu-shabu has a much closer resemblance to Chinese hotpot. Before eating, thinly-sliced meats or vegetables are immersed in hot broth season with kelp. Apparently, it is the sound of swishing that gives this dish its name. Before eating, the food is usually covered in sesame sauce.
It’s entirely your choice what goes into hot pot. Start with a base of soup, which can be made using a milder stock. You can make it spicy to the point of blowing your mind. If you want to enjoy both, I suggest using a divided skillet or somewhere in the middle.
Chinese hot pots are made up of a wide variety of ingredients, including thinly sliced meats like chicken, pork, beef or lamb, meatballs and vegetables such as lettuce, baby bok choy or napa, mushrooms (enoki or shiitake), beancurd, noodles and dumplings. They also include seafood, which includes scallops, shrimp and fish balls. The meal is very savory. Search online for both shabushabu and hot pot to find the right equipment.
Our personal experience from living and travelling in Hong Kong as well as throughout China is that hot pots are made by placing a big bowl in the center of a table on an electric, induction portable cooktop. This is as easy as it gets.
You can choose to eat with wooden or metal chopsticks. Or you could use strainers and spoons. In America you can buy a variety of small, electric, all in one hot pot/shabu shabu appliances online.
What is induction? Induction heats things using magnetism, rather than through thermal conduction such as from a flame or an electric heater. This is an efficient and simple way of cooking. It’s probably also a bit safer to use a burner when cooking food for a communal hotpot.