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Hot pot 火锅
Hot pot (simplified Chinese: 火锅; traditional Chinese: 火鍋; pinyin: huǒ guō), less commonly Chinese fondue or steamboat, refers to several East Asian varieties of stew, consisting of a simmering metal pot of stock at the center of the dining table. While the hot pot is kept simmering, ingredients are placed into the pot and are cooked at the table. Typical hot pot dishes include thinly sliced meat, leafy vegetables, mushrooms, wontons, egg dumplings, and seafood. Vegetables, fish and meat should be fresh. The cooked food is usually eaten with a dipping sauce. In many areas, hot pot meals are often eaten in the winter.
History
The Chinese hot pot boasts a history of more than 1,000 years.[1] Hot pot cooking seems to have spread to northern China during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-906). In time, regional variations developed with different ingredients such as seafood. By the Qing Dynasty, the hot pot became popular throughout most of China. Today in many modern homes, particularly in the big cities, the traditional coal-heated steamboat or hot pot has been replaced by electric, gas or induction cooker versions.
Because hot pot styles change so much from region to region, many different ingredients are used.
Cooking method
Frozen meat is sliced deli-thin to prepare it for hot pot cooking. Slicing frozen meat this way causes it to roll up during cooking, and it is often presented as such. Meats used include lamb, beef, chicken, duck, mutton, and others. The cooking pot is often sunk into the table and fueled by propane, or alternatively is above the table and fueled by a portable butane gas stove or hot coals. Meat or vegetables are loaded individually into the hot cooking broth by chopsticks, and cooking time can take from 1 minute to 15, depending on the type of food. Meat should be cooked at the very least 20 seconds. Other hot pot dishes include leafy vegetables, mushrooms, seafood, and noodles. It can be eaten bland to very spicy, depending on how much spice has been put in the stew.
There are often disagreements between different styles of hot pot enthusiasts. Some like to place items into the hot pot at a relaxed, leisurely pace, enjoying the cooking process, while others prefer to put everything in at once and wait for the hotpot to return to a boil. Occasionally due to evaporation the boiled water needs to be refilled. Usually the stew is strong and zesty enough to not require adding more condiments.
China
Different kinds of hot pot can be found in Beijing - typically, more modern eateries offer the sectioned bowl with differently flavored broths in each section. More traditional or older establishments serve a fragrant, mild broth in the hot pot, which is a large brass vessel heated by burning coals in a central chimney. Broth is boiled in a deep, donut-shaped bowl surrounding the chimney.
One of the most famous variations is the Chongqing or Chungking "má là" (Chinese: 麻辣 — "numb and spicy") hot pot, to which a special spice known as huā jiāo (Chinese: 花椒 — "flower pepper" or Pepper, or Prickly Ash) is added. It creates a sensation on the tongue that is both spicy and burns and numbs slightly, almost like carbonated beverages. It was usual to use a variety of different meats as well as sliced mutton fillet. A Chongqing hotpot is markedly different from the types eaten in other parts of China. Quite often the differences lie in the meats used, the type of soup base, and the sauces and condiments used to flavor the meat. "má là huǒ guō" could be used to distinguish from simply "huǒ guō" in cases when people refer to the "Northern Style Hot Pot" in China. "Shuàn yáng ròu", Chinese: 涮羊肉 (instant-boiled lamb) could be viewed as representative of this kind of food, which does not focus on the soup base.
The Manchurian hot pot (Chinese: 東北酸菜火鍋) uses plenty of Suan cai (Chinese sauerkraut) (Chinese: 酸菜; pinyin: suān cài) to make the pot's stew sour.
A Cantonese variation includes mixing a raw egg with the condiments to reduce the amount of 'heat' absorbed by the food, thereby reducing the likelihood of a sore throat after the steamboat meal, according to Chinese herbalist theories. It is often seen as a social event for people in Hong Kong.[2] Another variant includes the use of rice congee in place of stock.
In Hubei, hot pot is normally prepared with hot spice and Sichuan pepper. Items supplied to be cooked in this broth include: mushrooms, thinly-shaved beef or lamb, lettuce, and various other green vegetables.
In Hainan, hot pots are generally served in small woks with a prepared broth containing pieces of meat. At the times of serving, the meat is not fully cooked. Approximately fifteen minutes is required before it is ready. Items supplied to be cooked in this type of hot pot include: mushrooms, thinly-shaved beef, lettuce, and other green vegetables. This dish various somewhat in different parts of the province.
Other regions
In Japan, hot pot dishes are called Nabemono. There are several varieties of hot pots, and each hot pot has a distinguished flavor and style.
Sukiyaki is one of the most popular hot pot among Japanese, and undoubtedly the most well-known hotpot in overseas, particually in English-speaking parts of the world. Sukiyaki hot pot is served with sliced beef, vegitables and tofu in soy sauce based sweet sauce, which only used small amount, enough the ingredences to merge in a shallow iron pot. Before being eaten, the ingredients are usually dipped in a small bowl of raw, beaten eggs.
shabu shabu is the another popular hot pot in Japan. Shabu shabu hot pot is prepared by submerging a very thin slice of meat or a piece of vegetable in a pot of broth made with kelp (kombu) and swishing it back and forth several times. The familiar swishing sound is where the dish gets its name. Shabu-shabu directly translates to "swish-swish". Cooked meat and vegetables are usually dipped in ponzu or "goma" (sesame seed) sauce before eating. Once the meat and vegetables have been eaten, leftover broth from the pot is customarily combined with the remaining rice, and the resulting soup is usually eaten last.
Because shabu shabu hot pot cooks beef blue rare to rare, its preferred to use the high-grade Japanese beef. Typically, shabu shabu considered a fine dining due to the quality of the meat used, and the price it charged at restaurants in Japan.
Both Sukiyaki and shabu shabu, rice or noddle is cooked with remained broth along with additional ingreadiens at the very end of the meal. This menu is called "shime", ending the meal. Traditionally, hot pots are considered fall and winter dishes.
In the Taiwanese hot pot, also called shabu-shabu due to Japanese influence, people eat the food with a dipping sauce consisting of shacha sauce and raw egg yolk.
In Thailand, hotpot is called Thai suki, although it is quite different from a Japanese shabu-shabu variation called sukiyaki. Originally a Chinese-style hot pot, the number of ingredients to choose from was greatly increased and a Thai-style dipping sauce with chili sauce, chilli, lime and coriander leaves was added.
In Vietnam, a hot pot is called lẩu, and the sour soup called canh chua is often cooked in hot pot style (called lẩu canh chua). The generic term for a salted fish hot pot is lẩu mắm.
In Singapore and Malaysia, hot pot is known as steamboat.
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