Chinese Hot Pot Recipe at Home
Hosting an authentic Chinese Hot Pot at home is the ultimate interactive dinner party! This recipe guides you through making a rich, comforting homemade bone broth, setting up a fiery Sichuan spicy soup base, and creating a customizable dipping sauce bar. Gather your friends around the table to cook thinly sliced marbled beef, bouncy fish balls, crisp fresh greens, and chewy noodles right in the bubbling, deeply flavorful broth.
Ingredients
The Soup Base (Mild Bone Broth & Spicy Mala)
- 2 lbs chicken or pork soup bones approx: 900g
- 2 inch piece of fresh ginger thickly sliced (approx: 5cm)
- 6 whole cloves garlic peeled and smashed
- 4 whole scallions cut into 2-inch pieces
- Optional for Spicy Broth: ½ cup dried red chilies, 2 tablespoons Sichuan peppercorns, and 3 tablespoons spicy chili paste or Doubanjiang
The Dipping Sauce Station
- ½ cup Chinese sesame paste or creamy peanut butter approx: 120g
- ¼ cup regular soy sauce approx: 60ml
- 2 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar approx: 30ml
- Toppings: Freshly minced garlic, chopped scallions, chopped cilantro, and toasted sesame oil
Suggested Dippables (Mix & Match to Your Liking)
- 1.5 lbs thinly sliced beef ribeye or lamb shoulder approx: 680g
- 1 lb assorted seafood like shrimp scallops, or fish balls (approx: 450g)
- 1 large head Napa cabbage or bok choy chopped
- 1 7 oz package enoki or shiitake mushrooms trimmed (approx: 200g)
- 1 14 oz block firm tofu or fried tofu puffs cubed (approx: 400g)
- 1 8 oz package glass noodles, sweet potato noodles, or udon (approx: 225g)
Instructions
- Bring your mild chicken broth or store-bought soup base to a simmer on the kitchen stove. If making a spicy side, briefly toast dried red chilies and Sichuan peppercorns in a little oil, stir in chili paste, and mix it with half of the hot broth.
- Thoroughly rinse all leafy greens, mushrooms, and root vegetables under cold water. Chop everything into manageable, bite-sized pieces and arrange them neatly on large communal serving platters for the table.
- Keep your thinly sliced beef, lamb, and raw seafood in the refrigerator until right before serving. Arrange the cold proteins on chilled plates and place them safely near the center of the dining table.
- Create a dipping station on the counter or table with sesame paste, soy sauce, black vinegar, and chili oil. Provide small bowls of freshly minced garlic, scallions, and cilantro so guests can customize their own sauce.
- Place your stainless steel split pot onto the portable tabletop burner. Carefully pour the hot, prepared broths into their respective sides and turn the heat to high until the liquid reaches a vigorous, rolling boil.
- Using long wooden chopsticks, drop raw meat and vegetables into the boiling broth. Swish thin meats for 10 to 15 seconds until cooked, dip them into your customized sauce, and eat immediately. Keep extra water handy to replenish the broth as it evaporates.
Notes
- Equipment Needed: A portable tabletop butane burner (with extra fuel canisters) and a wide, shallow 4-5 quart pot. A stainless steel split-pot is highly recommended so you can offer two different broth flavors.
- Broth Evaporation: As your party cooks and eats, the broth will evaporate and become very salty. Keep a kettle of plain boiling water or extra unsalted bone broth nearby to top off the pot as the liquid level drops.
- Food Safety Rule: Never use the same chopsticks to handle raw chicken/pork and to eat your cooked food. Keep a designated pair of "cooking" chopsticks on the table.
- Storage: Do not save any raw meats or vegetables that were dipped into the communal eating pot. Store untouched vegetables and unopened tofu in the fridge, and freeze untouched raw meat slices in airtight bags for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information (Per Serving)
- Calories: 685 kcal
- Carbohydrates: 42 g
- Protein: 54 g
- Fat: 35 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Sodium: 1420 mg
- Potassium: 850 mg
- Fiber: 6 g
- Sugar: 5 g