Hot Pot
I love spicy food.
I visited Chengdu in the Sichuan Province of China. I have heard two things about Chengdu, the pandas and the food.
The Chinese name for hot pot, Huo Guo/火锅, literally means “fire pot”. It's a communal meal that involves a pot filled with broth constantly simmered by a heat source underneath, a variety of food items around the pot that are cooked in the broth by every diner and then dipped in sauces for extra flavour.
Community
Hot pot is a community dish. You have to eat with friends and family. I was invited to hot pot by a coworker (I’ll refer to her as Sally) that I had only met virtually the year prior and this year, and this visit, was our first time meeting in person. The invite to hot pot was special.
I was traveling with my coworker from Shenzhen (I’ll refer to her as Selena) and it was also her first time to Chengdu.
Sally picks us both up from our hotel and drives us a very short distance to the hot pot restaurant. I was amazed at this very kind attention to detail. She didn’t just send a location pin of the restaurant, she wanted to really make us feel important and worthy. It was a sweet gesture.
You get to pick your base. Are you surprised I picked spicy?
When we arrived at the restaurant the ambience was calming. Wooden statues made of bits of wood and sticks were all around. Wooden pagodas that were private dining areas were tucked around small hallways. The restaurant was huge but felt small with all the private areas.
When you get to your table, you are given a menu to write on and you get to pick your base and your ingredients. We chose spicy and mushroom. The spicy came out with a large square of hot oil ready to be melted by the fire and the mushroom came out with extra broth to pour in. We ordered a selection of meats and veggies and they arrive to the table raw.
Throw it in.
That’s what you do. Toss what you want into the vat of steamy goodness and wait for it to cook. You then pick it out with chopsticks or they have ladles to use to scoop it out. You have a bowl and small dish to then place your cooked items and then eat.
That’s not all. You make a sauce for it all. They have fresh garlic, chives, cilantro, and sauces to make your own sauce once the cooked item comes out of the hot pot. You can let it ‘chill out’ in your sauce before you scarf it down.
Overall, hot pot is a fun experience. It’s not a fast meal and one that is cherished in the Chinese community. My coworker, Sally, goes at least once a week to hot pot with her friends or family.
Never had hot pot? Give it a try!
Have you had hot pot? Let me know if you like it or not!
