Make Chinese hot – pot:
Ingredients
- Broth: You can choose various broths, such as beef broth, chicken broth, or a spicy Sichuan – style broth. For a simple beef broth, you need beef bones, scallions, ginger, star anise, cinnamon, and cooking wine. For a spicy Sichuan – style broth, you need dried chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, bean paste, ginger, garlic, scallions, and various spices.
- Meat: Common choices include thinly sliced beef, mutton, pork, and even some processed meats like sausage or meatballs.
- Seafood: Shrimp, crabs, fish slices, squid, mussels, etc.
- Vegetables: Such as cabbage, spinach, lettuce, mushrooms (enoki mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, etc.), bamboo – shoots, lotus roots, and potatoes.
- Tofu and its products: Soft tofu, firm tofu, bean curd skin, etc.
- Noodles: Vermicelli, instant noodles, udon noodles, or hand – pulled noodles.
- Seasonings: Soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, chili oil, minced garlic, scallions, coriander, fermented bean curd, and sesame paste.
Steps
- Prepare the broth:
- If making a beef broth, first blanch the beef bones in boiling water to remove blood foam. Then put the bones into a large pot, add scallions, ginger, star anise, cinnamon, and an appropriate amount of cooking wine and water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn to low heat and simmer for 2 – 3 hours until the broth is rich and flavorful.
- For a spicy Sichuan – style broth, heat oil in a pot, add bean paste and stir – fry until fragrant. Then add dried chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, ginger, garlic, and scallions, and continue to stir – fry. Finally, add an appropriate amount of water and bring to a boil.
- Prepare the ingredients: Wash all the vegetables, cut them into appropriate sizes, and put them on plates. Slice the meat as thinly as possible and arrange it neatly. Clean the seafood and put it in a container. Prepare the tofu and noodles according to your preference.
- Set up the hot – pot: Put the prepared broth into a hot – pot device, such as an electric hot – pot or a traditional charcoal hot – pot. Heat the broth until it boils.
- Prepare the seasonings: In a small bowl, you can mix your favorite seasonings. For example, you can mix sesame oil, minced garlic, scallions, and a little soy sauce to make a simple dipping sauce. You can also add chili oil, fermented bean curd, or sesame paste according to your taste.
- Start cooking: Put the ingredients you want to eat into the boiling broth one by one. The cooking time varies depending on the ingredients. For example, thinly sliced meat only needs to be cooked for 1 – 2 minutes, while vegetables may need 2 – 3 minutes, and seafood should be cooked until it changes color and is cooked through. After cooking, take out the ingredients and dip them in the prepared seasonings before eating.
This is a basic method of making Chinese hot – pot. You can adjust the ingredients and seasonings according to your own taste and preferences.
