How To Make Hot Pot At Home:
What is Hot Pot?
The concept is simple: Gather around the table with your family and friends, then cook all the ingredients you like in a flavourful hot pot broth. It's a traditional meal loved by many around the world!
Check out our How To Hot Pot video at the top of this page, or follow the easy steps below to enjoy a night of amazing food and brilliant conversations with your loved ones.
Step 1: Unbox the kit and layout the hot pot ingredients
Layout the ingredients and equipment, then prepare the following per person:
- A pair of chopsticks for cooking the raw ingredients
- Another pair for eating cooked foods
- A bowl for eating
- A bowl for dipping sauces
Step 2: Prepare the hot pot broths
Pour the broths into the pot. Our Hot Pot Kits include 2 slow-cooked organic broths. Made exclusively for our customers by Sarah Gan from Ugly Food & Co with locally sourced ingredients. No preservatives and additives. We rotate flavours regularly.
Pour them separately into one side of the pot each. Unlike other hot pot soup base packets, you won't need to add water to the broths. That's why we love it!
Bring the broths to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
Step 3: Mix your own hot pot dipping sauces
...And there are no rules! You can mix whatever you like. If you're new to hot pot sauces, we recommend trying 1 of our basic but favourite combinations:
- Dark soy sauce + crushed chilli + minced garlic + sesame oil
- Sesame paste + cilantro + scallions + minced garlic + chilli oil
- Dark soy sauce + sesame paste + chives + minced garlic + sesame oil
If you're feeling adventurous, it's also common in some East Asian countries to add a whole raw egg to the dipping sauces!
Step 4: Start cooking the hot pot ingredients
We recommend putting the ingredients that take longer to cook into the broth first, such as meat balls, fishballs and hard vegetables (carrots, lotus etc.).
Cook your preferred ingredients one step at a time, at your own pace. Avoid dumping everything into the broths all at once. It lowers the temperature of the broths and ends up taking longer to cook your food!
When you're cooking the thin-sliced meats, put just a few slices at a time into the broth. Think of it as an Asian fondue. Enjoy them over the course of your meal.
Step 5: Start enjoying the food
The thin-sliced meats will cook up quickly, becoming juicy and tender in less than half a minute. As for the meatballs, fishballs and hard vegetables, allow them to be cooked for at least a few minutes.
Enjoy them with your preferred dipping sauces. Pair it with a wine, beer, or beverages.
After having the meats and vegetables, you can now add in the noodles as the finale - which will absorb the broths. What a feast!
Optional: Top up the broths in the hot pot
Throughout the hot pot cooking process, the broths will be reduced. When it’s reduced to about half, you can add more water into the pot, wait till it starts boiling again, and resume enjoying your meal.
📸: @blueygem