You can make this Easy Chinese Hot Pot At Home with my easy broth and sauce instructions! Hot Pot is a popular communal dining experience where a simmering pot of broth is placed at the center of the table with thinly sliced meats and vegetables. Check out my post to see what ingredients to shop for and how to setup a delicious Hot Pot party with your friends or family!
🍲 Flavor Enhancer: Boost your dipping sauce with Jia You Chili Oil. It’s my uncle’s recipe that I homemade with avocado oil — I use it for all my hot pot gatherings!
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What is Hot Pot?
Hot pot is a communal meal that comes with a simmering pot of broth set in the middle of the table. Everyone cooks whatever they want to eat whether it’s meat, vegetables, and noodles in the simmering broth. The origins of hot pot is not clear as there’s so many different versions from Japan (like shabu shabu), Thailand, Korean and more!
For this blog post, I am focusing on how to make Chinese Hot Pot. For Chinese hot pot broth, there’s spicy, málà, sour, and sweet broths. My broth recipe is very light and easy (healthy to eat home!) to make which may be different than the ones you had in the past. If you’re looking for a more flavorful broth, I recommend to look at other recipes online or buy a pre-packaged hot pot base.
The reason why we like a light broth is because my family is Cantonese. Our cuisine is not too spicy and our taste buds are more mild. In the Guangdong region of China, the seafood and vegetables are very fresh and we like the original flavors of the food rather than adding a lot of seasonings to the dish. We like to keep our broth simple and if we need extra flavor, we can dip the food in the delicious sauce. Serve with these Cold Sesame Noodles or this Mung Bean Jelly Noodles for a refreshing combo!
Ingredients For Hot Pot Broth:
Here are the ingredients to make your own homemade hot pot broth at home:
- Chicken broth – We like to use chicken broth for it’s light taste. You can also add beef or pork bone broth for extra creaminess.
- Shiitake mushrooms – I buy dried shiitake mushrooms and store them in my pantry and use them for broths and soups. If you have time, rehydrate them with water before adding to broth.
- Daikon radish – adds sweetness to your broth.
- Green onions – adds flavor and takes out the gaminess of the meat.
- Ginger – adds a fragrant flavor and also helps take out the gaminess of the chicken and meat that you will place inside the broth.
For this recipe, we used pre-bought chicken broth and added radish, shiitake, green onions, and ginger. Before your dinner, make your broth in a large pot on the stove an hour prior to serving.
When you’re ready to eat, pour your broth in your serving hot pot in the middle of the table. This way, you can refill the pot later when the water boils down. The longer you hot pot, the more frequent you will need to add extra water. Feel free to add water when the hot pot looks thick or it looks like a sauce.
PRO TIP: Water should be filled 75% of the pot most of the time. Be careful because if you fill too much, the hot pot will overflow.
Ingredient Shopping List
Bring this checklist of my most recommended hot pot ingredients you need to get at the store! I recommend visiting 99 Ranch (Chinese grocery store) to get most of your vegetables and hot pot bases. For sliced meat, I recommend H-Mart (korean grocery store) or a japanese grocery store because their meats are more marbled and taste higher quality. All these ingredients are commonly used in hot pot:
PRO TIP: Pick a 2-3 things from each category (vegetable, meat, noodles and tofu) for a group or 4 people. If you have more people, I suggest picking 5-6 things from each category.
Vegetables:
- bok choy
- watercress
- napa cabbage
- variety of mushrooms (enoki, shiitake, wood ear, oyster)
- green onions (for soup base and sauce)
- radish (for soup base and eating)
- lotus roots
Meat:
- sliced beef (thinly sliced is best as it cooks faster)
- salmon sashimi (if you love fish!)
- shrimp
- fish balls (beef balls, fish roe, or variety pack)
- sliced lamb – optional if you already have beef or get this instead of beef
- spam – optional!
- dumplings – optional!
Noodles:
- frozen udon
- instant ramen (get the one without the flavor packet)
- vermicelli noodles – optional!
Tofu:
- firm tofu (you can get super soft tofu but it might break during hot pot)
- soybean curd
- fried crispy tofu
- tofu bean curd
The Importance of Hot Pot Sauce
Hot pot sauce is used for dipping your food after boiling in the hot pot. The dipping sauce is crucial for enhancing the flavor of hot pot ingredients by providing a customizable mix of soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, and other condiments. Everyone makes their sauce differently and the amount of saltiness and spiciness on the sauces depends on the individual’s preferences. The must-have ingredients for a good hot pot sauce (in my opinion) include satay sauce, soy sauce, cilantro, garlic, and sesame paste. Check out the recipe card for my hot pot sauce recipe!
See recipe card for the full measurements and ingredient list for the hot pot sauce.
Recipe FAQs
I bought a Zojirushi electric hot pot at the Japanese grocery store. You can also find this Zojirushi pot on Amazon. I love this hot pot burner because it doesn’t require gas and you can adjust the temperature of the pot. This brand is so reliable and my parents have used theirs for 20+ years. You can also use a portable gas burner (or electric) and pot of choice. The main goal is that you need to be able to heat the pot (can boil and simmer) at all times in the middle of the table. Make sure you have some soup ladles with a net from Amazon so guests can grab the food easily ◡̈
The best meat to use is thinly sliced beef or lamb! You can find these at the korean grocery pre-sliced in the refrigerated or frozen meat section. The thin meats cook quickly and melt in your mouth! I prefer fatty slices of beef for a super tasty and juicy bite.
The best vegetables to add is napa cabbage or bok choy. These vegetables soak up the delicious broth after cooking for 10-15 minutes. In addition, they are very mild tasting so it doesn’t overwhelm the broth or sauce. You can also serve the hot pot with Wood Ear Mushroom Salad or Spicy Lotus Roots.
I do not recommend using the leftover broth because it has a lot of oil. Chinese people like to eat foods as fresh as possible. The oily broth is considered unhealthy and not fresh to boil your vegetables or meat.
Expert Tips
- There’s not a lot of cooking prior to the hot pot experience except for making the broth. Prepare to make your broth first as it takes the longest. While the broth is cooking, you can wash the vegetables and prepare the hot pot sauce.
- To enjoy hot pot, wait until the water is boiling before you add your fish cakes, meat or vegetables. This would ensure the quickest way to cook your veggies and meat!
- Use a ladle to fish out your food especially if there’s a lot of people! You can use your chopsticks but it is more sanitary to use common utensils.
More Easy Chinese Dishes You Can Make At Home:
- Chinese Steamed Egg – soft and succulent eggs served with fluffy rice is great for an easy meal!
- Chinese Eggplant with Garlic – fragrant eggplant with garlic sauce and chili for a kick of spice!
Did you try this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ rating below and share it on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest!
Easy Chinese Hot Pot At Home
Ingredients
Hot Pot Soup Base
- 3½ cups chicken broth
- 6-8 shiitake mushrooms soaked or fresh
- 2 pound daikon radish
- 2 green onions
- 3-5 slices ginger
- 3 cups water
Vegetables
- bok choy cleaned and washed
- watercress cleaned and washed
- napa cabbage cleaned and washed
- mushrooms such as enoki, shiitake, wood ear, oyster cleaned and washed
- sliced lotus roots cleaned and washed
Meat
- sliced beef
- salmon sashimi for fish lovers
- shrimp
- fish balls such as beef, fish roe, or variety pack
- sliced lamb
Noodles
- frozen udon
- instant ramen without flavor packet
- vermicelli noodles
Tofu
- firm tofu
- soybean curd
- fried crispy tofu
- tofu bean curd
Sauce Recipe
- 5 green onions chopped
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon chicken bouillon optional
- ¼ cup hot oil use neutral oil like avocado or canola
- 1 tablespoon sesame sauce or peanut butter
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon satay sauce
- 1 tablespoon chili oil or XO sauce optional
- chopped cilantro
- sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
Soup Broth
- Throw chicken broth, water, radish, green onions, ginger, and shiitake mushrooms in a pot and boil for 30 minutes. Set broth aside until ready to hot pot.
Hot Pot Sauce
- Slice green onions and mince garlic. Add them in a bowl.
- In a pot, heat up avocado oil or canola oil on medium heat for 4-5 minutes. To check if the oil is hot enough, add one small piece of green onion. If it starts bubbling, the hot oil is ready.
- Add hot oil to the bowl (step 1) and mix everything together. Add 1 tablespoon sesame sauce, 2 tablespoon soy sauce, 2 tablespoon satay sauce, 1 tablespoon chili oil or XO sauce, chopped cilantro, sesame seeds and 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Mix everything together and your sauce is ready!
How to Eat Hot Pot
- Put hot pot broth in a large pot on a gas or electric burner. Place hot pot broth in center of table. Wash vegetables and place meats, tofu, and fish balls on separate bowls and plates. Arrange all ingredients on the table.
- Once broth is boiling, add your favorite meat or vegetables. Once you put in your favorite foods, keep an eye out. Grab your ladle (don’t overcook your beef. It gets tough!) and fish out your food when it’s done cooking. Pro tip: put your noodles in after a little while (not first!) so the noodles can soak up a more flavorful broth. Dip your favorite foods in the delicious sauce and enjoy!
Notes
- There’s not a lot of cooking prior to the hot pot experience except for making the broth. Prepare to make your broth first as it takes the longest. While the broth is cooking, you can wash the vegetables and prepare the hot pot sauce.
- To enjoy hot pot, wait until the water is boiling before you add your fish cakes, meat or vegetables. This would ensure the quickest way to cook your veggies and meat!
- Use a ladle to fish out your food especially if there’s a lot of people! You can use your chopsticks but it is more sanitary to use common utensils.
Lily says
What a brilliantly easy and delish recipe. I modified because I’m an improvisor, but the base was so easy and delish that modifying it is foolproof. My modifications were I made my own beef bone broth base. It was unctuous and flavorful because I added mushroom powder and didn’t strain it. I used a host of mushrooms: trumpet, shiitake, enoki, oyster, seafood, beech, lions mane. I also used some veg that was going to go like snow peas and bok choy. The veg weren’t in great shape so I added them at the end to help them maintain whatever crispness they had and it worked. I used the frozen hot pot meat from Costco and aside from the broth I made earlier in my Instant Pot, it was on the table in under 30 mins!
Honey Mendoza says
We love to hot pot at home and I haven’t nailed my perfect hot pot sauce until I saw this recipe! The sauce enhances all the flavors of the meat/tofu. It’s just “Chinese” tasting enough that your non-asian friends can enjoy too! Highly recommend!