Shared tables and spreads
Hot pot
A pot of simmering broth in the middle of the table, in which everyone cooks thin slices of meat, vegetables, tofu and noodles.
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Hot pot is a meal cooked at the table by the people eating it. A pot of broth is kept at a simmer on a burner. Plates of raw food surround it. Each person dips, waits, lifts out and eats, over an hour or two. It is winter food in the north of China and year-round food almost everywhere else.
What it is
The Chinese name is huoguo, fire pot. There are many regional styles. Chongqing and Sichuan hot pot uses a red broth thick with beef fat, dried chillies and numbing Sichuan pepper. Beijing hot pot cooks paper-thin lamb in a plain broth in a copper pot with a chimney. Cantonese hot pot favours seafood and a light stock. Japan has shabu-shabu and sukiyaki. Thailand has its own suki. Vietnam has lau. Many restaurants offer a divided pot with a mild broth on one side and a hot one on the other.
How it works
You choose a broth, then order raw items by the plate: sliced beef and lamb, fish balls, prawns, tofu in several forms, mushrooms, leafy greens, lotus root, potato, noodles. Each person mixes a dipping sauce at a sauce bar, commonly from sesame paste or sesame oil, garlic, coriander, soy and chilli. Thin meat cooks in seconds. Root vegetables and meatballs take minutes. Leafy greens and noodles go in near the end, when the broth has taken on flavour.
Why people love it
Hot pot asks for very little skill and a lot of time, which makes it a natural choice for family gatherings, reunions and the Lunar New Year. Everyone eats what they like and at their own pace, and the shared pot keeps the table together. It is also forgiving of large groups and late arrivals. In Sichuan the food is hot enough that people order soy milk, plum juice or cold beer to go with it.
How to do it
- Choose a split pot if anyone at the table avoids chilli.
- Mix your own dipping sauce before the food arrives.
- Swish thin meat for a few seconds until it changes colour.
- Drop slow items in early and fish them out with the ladle.
- Add noodles and greens at the end.
Good manners
- Use the shared chopsticks or ladle for raw food, not the pair you eat with.
- Do not tip a whole plate in at once. It cools the broth.
- Take out what you put in. Do not leave food to overcook for others to find.
What is eaten
Shabu-shabuJapanese hot pot where diners cook thin meat and vegetables at the table
SukiyakiJapanese hot pot with beef, vegetables, and a sweet-salty broth
NabemonoJapanese hot pot dishes cooked and shared at the table
ChankonabeJapanese one-pot stew packed with protein, favored by sumo wrestlersAlso part of it, and being written: Chongqing hot pot, Instant-boiled mutton, Thai suki.
Sources and further reading
Original text by the Thali desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Customs vary from place to place. If we have something wrong, tell us.