Home Style Chinese Hotpot Recipe

 

A Fun Communal Get-together Meal!

A Chinese hotpot is a cooking style in which a flavorful broth is simmered in a pot at the center of a table, to which every family member gathers around to take turns in cooking a variety of raw meat, vegetables and Chinese food of choice. This cooking method is a Chinese way of strengthening ties as diners interactively join in the cooking while they enjoy each other's company, reveling in the satisfying taste of the broth and food. The good thing about hotpot is that it’s so easy to set up. It is not something complicated as you may deem it to be at first glance. You can find in the supermarkets and Chinese grocery stores so many selections of ready-made Chinese food and soup base for hotpot use. Other than the Chinese food and soup base per se, you just need a big stock pot to simmer your broth and boil the ingredients, a portable stove and you are set to go. 

By the way, below are the brands of frozen Chinese foods that I used in today's special.  😁

Now, let’s start cooking! 🥢

Recipe	Chinese Hotpot
Serving	4
Prep Time	20 minutes
Cooking Time	30 – 40 minutes

◻️ 4 packs of 250g frozen Chinese food

◻️ 1 sachet of 75g hotpot soup base (any flavor of choice)

◻️ 2 cups of leafy green vegetables (of choice)

◻️ 2 pieces of beef broth cubes or bouillon

◻️ 10 cups of water

◻️ 500g of fresh egg noodles 

◻️ stock pot

◻️ portable stove

◻️ soup ladle

◻️ noodle ladle

◻️ tong

1 Place the portable stove in the center. 

Arrange all the hotpot ingredients and equipment on the table.

2 Fill the pot with water. Turn on the stove to medium high.  

Open the sachet of hotpot soup base and pour half of the content in the water. 

Drop in 2 broth cubes. Stir the water mixture to loosen the broth cubes or bouillon cubes. Wait for the broth to boil. Sometimes the pack of frozen Chinese food comes with a free soup base in sachet. You may also pour it in the broth for added flavor.

3 Once the broth is boiling, lower the flame. You may start dropping in the frozen Chinese food, vegetables and egg noodles in the broth. At this point, you may adjust the flame as you wait for the ingredients to cook. 

4 Scoop out some of the contents and place in a bowl. Enjoy eating while hot!

Home Style Chinese Hotpot

👍You will know if the frozen Chinese foods are already cooked if they start floating on the broth. If you happen to drop in some crab sticks in the broth, they only need to be blanched as they are quick to cook. Don't over-cook them as they will turn saggy. Same goes with vegetables. 

👍You may adjust the flavor of the broth during the duration of the meal by adding more soup base, hot water and / or broth cubes. 

Add more soup base to broth if needed

Bringing the closeness of the family to another level of communal gathering and culinary experience offers a treasure-worth of memories that will surely be reminisced for years to come. Have you ever tried making this kind of meal? I would love to know your thoughts.  

If you like today's special, you may share this recipe and follow me here on Blogger and Facebook for more free recipes to try and enjoy. 

Till next time!

Happy Cooking !