Hot Pot

Hot pot is a Chinese cooking method, prepared with a simmering pot of soup stock at the dining table, containing a variety of East Asian foodstuffs and ingredients. While the hot pot is kept simmering, ingredients are placed into the pot and are cooked at the table, in a manner similar to fondue.

Choosing wines without knowing what is likely to be consumed is challenging, so to simplify the decisions, understand the likely use of chilli spices in the broth and based your wine pairing on this.

Sweet wines for the very heavy use of chilli spices, moving towards drier wines as the use of chilli reduces.  South China hot pots tend to work well with dry white (due to the use of seafood and little or no chilli).  Western China hot pots tend to work best with sweet red wines.  Eastern China hotpots with sweet white wines.  North East China hotpots with dry reds.

Typical hot pot dishes include thinly sliced meat, leaf vegetables, mushrooms, wontons, egg dumplings, tofu, and seafood. The cooked food is usually eaten with a dipping sauce.

Hot pot is a very popular form of eating in China, both at home and at a restaurant.  There are a number of theories as to why it is so popular.  A widely accepted reason is that the hot pot has the power to enhance friendship and unite family members or colleagues. Several people sit around a hot pot, talking and eating. They pick up food in one pot, which create a natural closeness atmosphere to them. The warm air is also considered to make people comfortable.

Hot pot does vary massively from province to province.  Sichuan and Hunan preferring much more chilli spice with the soup broth, while Guangdong style would use no chilli spices at all.   Ingredients cooked in the hotpot can also vary considerably.  North eastern hot pot will be heavier and richer meats, such as beef and lamb.  In the south, there will be many more vegetables and fish.

Be advised – being in Guangdong, doesn’t mean that the hotpot you are served is “Guangdong Style”.  Hunan style (a lot of chilli spice) hotpot is all over Guangdong, due to the amount of Hunan people that moved to Guangdong for work.  The same is true for all regions.  Every style of Chinese food is available everywhere.