Got Hot Pot? Exploring the features of an Asian cuisine
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Histor y Hot pot originally came from China. According to the Vegas Hotpot restaurant, back in the Jin Dynasty, Mongolian horsemen gathered together and used their helmets to boil soup over a fire and then added meat into the soup to cook and eat.
— Michelle Nguyen
10 | spring 2020
meal with the family.”
“Besides China, it’s popular in Japan, Korea and more. They’re all just a little bit different,” said Hoirong Ou, the manager of Nine Spices Fondue in Gainesville.
Hot pot is also very popular in other Asian countries such as Thailand and South Korea, but there isn’t a specific name for the dish in these languages. For example, Koreans use the Japanese term, shabu shabu.
One of the most famous types of hot pot is the Chongqing hot pot from China. It is known for the hot Sichuan peppers in the broth, which stains the soup bright red and gives it a strong, spicy flavor.
On the other hand, Thai people call it either suki or just hot pot, said first-year UF psychology major Asia Sai Dixon. Dixon is Thai American. She used to have hot pot very often while living in Thailand.
It seems like many people, especially Ou’s customers, can take the heat because Ou says that the spicy soup base is one of their most popular options.
“One of my great hot pot memories is going to a popular hot pot place called MK at the end of every semester with my friends. And whenever I went with the adults, they always filled the whole pot with cabbage before I could put in my meat,” Dixon said. She learned to appreciate ingredients other than meat over time.
Japan has a wide variety of hot pot dishes called nabemono, according to Japanese home cook Namiko Hirasawa Chen. There are two main types: shabu shabu and sukiyaki. One of the big differences between the two lies in the type of pot that is used to cook the broth and the ingredients. Shabu-shabu uses a ceramic pot called donabe, while sukiyaki uses an iron pot. Since sukiyaki is cooked skillet-style with the iron pot, shabu shabu is considered a more authentic version of hot pot. Additionally, shabu shabu uses a type of broth called kombu (dried kelp) dashi, while sukiyaki uses a sweet-salty soy sauce, rather than a broth. In Vietnam, hot pot is called lau, and typically contains more seafood than other hot pot variations. Michelle N g u ye n , a t h i rd - ye a r V i e t n a m e s e American student at the University of Florida, recalled fond experiences of hot pot, saying, “When I was in California I ate hot pot at my aunt’s place. The food was really good, and it was awesome having a
Ingredients The ingredients that can go inside a hot pot are unlimited, but one of the most popular ingredients is thinly sliced meat. Vegetables, seafood, noodles, tofu, fishcakes and more can be included, but common ingredients used also vary between the different types of hot pot. In her article for LA Weekly, Lynn Q. Yu said, “Tripe and goose intestines are standards of Chongqing hot pot.” Tripe absorbs the spicy broth, and goose intestines offer a nice, chewy texture. For the sauce, sesame oil provides a nice balance to the spiciness of the broth. Since lau is more seafood based, the ingredients used reflect that. “We use chicken stock, fish sauce and lots of seafood ingredients, such as fish, squid, shellfish, meats and veggies,” said Nguyen.
design / Rachalle Way
Hot pot brings friends and families together to eat, whether it’s for the holidays or whenever I come and visit from school. It’s a very rich and filling dish to eat.
From China to Japan to Thailand, hot pot traveled all around East Asia and left a lasting impression on national cuisines. While there are basic similarities throughout all these cultures, many Asian countries have developed their own method for preparing hot pot.
photography / Hanzhi Chen
Even though China tried to resist the Mongols, they couldn’t resist their style of eating. In fact, in their G Adventures article, travel bloggers Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott explain that China ended up mimicking the Mongolian style of soup and modifying it to make their own version — the hot pot people are familiar with today. Eventually, hot pot evolved into a dish that, like China, many other Asian countries accepted and made their own.
Variations
by Michelle Lee
Imagine sitting in front of a gigantic pot, watching soup broth come to a frantic boil and unleash swirls of aromatic steam. It’s hot, sputtering loudly, and smells like heaven on earth — but that’s not all. Surrounding the pot are countless small dishes holding food ranging from bright red meat to chopped up greens. This is the beauty of a very popular style of Asian cuisine known as hot pot, and there is so much about it to discover.
