#5 The Magical Hot Pot

Winter is always the best season when you get hot pot eating, either in the restaurants or at home.

Let’s talk about hot pot!

The nine grids divide the hotpot into three layers, with different grids representing different temperatures and different butter concentrations. Different ingredients cut into different thickness, shape, or pieces, or pieces, or strips, cooked in different ways, and then get different taste, this is the secret of Chongqing nine-grid hotpot, is also the unique cooking way of Chongqing hotpot.

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Two-flavor hot pot: spicy mala hot pot & mild hot pot.
This is a huge steaming pot of soup divided into two sections: One has cream-colored chicken broth; the other is red oil full of chili peppers and numbing Sichuan peppercorns.

Also we have hot pot like this shape. The small round pot is mild flavor, and the rest is spicy mala flavor.

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Let’s talk about sauce!

Oil based dipping sauce:  oil+minced garlic+green onion+corinader+oyster sauce                                originally come from Sichuan province in Chengdu and Chongqing hot pot.  Sesame oil is used as the main base, highlighted by other chili paste, smashed garlic, fermented tofu and freshly chilis. A more pure version is using only sesame oil, garlic, salt and chopped green onion and coriander.

Dry mix dipping sauce:  mixed spicy powder+smashed peanuts+salt this is a special dipping sauce for Sichuan mala hot pot. Best for meats and seafoods.  Dry spices are mixed with a good ratio. 

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Reference:

China Sichuan Food, How to make hot pot at home. (2018) Retrieved from: https://www.chinasichuanfood.com/hot-pot-at-home/