The Ultimate Guide to Making Hot Pot at Home

A homemade hot pot is the perfect solution to your stomach’s hungry grumbles, especially when it’s crying out for something exceptionally tasty. The ultimate comfort food, hot pot is ideal for warming you up on colder nights – but that’s not to say they can’t be enjoyed at any time of year for any occasion!

New to Asian hot pots? Our ultimate guide will have you making the best hot pot at home in no time.

What is Hot Pot?

A hot pot is a popular dish with countless different iterations found in countries across Southeast Asia. Eating hot pot is so enjoyable, not only because it's tasty and incredibly customisable but also because it is a communal experience that encourages groups to share a meal and congregate around one central dish.

Hot pot is cooked at the table where you eat. Typically, a pot of broth is left simmering throughout the meal, and diners will cook thin slices of meat, vegetables and other hot pot ingredients in the soup base before scooping them out and dipping in a hot pot sauce.

There is no ‘right’ way to cook hot pot, and any diner can add whatever they like, making it both a social and wonderfully personal dish.

Where Does Hot Pot Come From?

Hot pot is thought to originate in China, and many may have a traditional Chinese hot pot in mind when thinking about the dish. However, there are countless variations found in countries across Asia, with various ingredients and flavours preferred in different cuisines.

Chinese Hot Pot

Different regions in China have signature hot pot styles. One of the most well-known is Chongqing hot pot from China’s so-called hot pot capital. This variation has a super spicy broth and a long list of ingredients with a wide selection of different meats.

Other popular variations of Chinese hot pot include:

• Beijing-style/Mongolian hot pot – mutton features as a main ingredient.
• Cantonese hot pot – often contains seafood.
• Guizhou hot pot – made with a sour soup base and spicy flavours.

Korean Hot Pot

Hot pot is also incredibly popular in South Korea, with bulgogi jeongol, a kind of beef stew, being a tasty option. Budae jjigae is another common hot pot stew that combines Korean and American cuisine by blending classic Korean flavours and processed meats like spam.

Japanese Hot Pot

Shabu Shabu is a well known Japanese-style hot pot that incorporates a range of meats and fresh vegetables cooked in a pot called a donabe. The ingredients are cooked in an umami broth called kombu dashi.

Another popular Japanese dish is sukiyaki – a kind of hot pot that is cooked with soy-sauce based broth to give a strong, salty flavour.

How to Make Hot Pot at Home

Whatever country you choose to take inspiration from when making your homemade hot pot, you’ll likely use a selection of different meats or meat alternatives, hot pot vegetables and a tasty hot pot soup base. The hot pot cooking method is just as important as the ingredients you use.

What Cooking Tools & Equipment Do You Need to Make Hot Pot?

To get that communal hot pot experience, you’ll need a portable stovetop that you can set up in the middle of your table. Induction stoves are often the best option as they are the easiest, most efficient and safest to use.

Pair this with a large yet fairly shallow pot so that ingredients can be fished out and don’t completely drown in broth. You can also find split pots that have different compartments within them so you can incorporate various soup bases and flavours, with many choosing to use this method to offer spicy and non-spicy options in one pot.

Hot pot strainer scoops are another useful item for the hot pot experience. These little baskets are used to scoop cooked ingredients out of the broth and into diners’ bowls and dipping sauces.

You could also use chopsticks, forks and tongs to stir the pot and place or pick out different items.

Hot Pot Ingredients

Once you’ve got your hot pot setup ready to go, it’s time to choose what’s going into it! There are usually three main elements that are incorporated into a hot pot, whether you opt for a recipe from China, Korea, Japan or any other country with a hot pot tradition. These components are:

• Soup/broth
• Main bulk ingredients (i.e. meats and vegetables)
• Sauces

Choosing the Hot Pot Soup Base

Hot pot broth is highly variable; the kind you choose will largely depend on the flavour profile you want to create and the main ingredients you’ll be adding to it.

You can easily make your own simple soup base with stock and herbs, incorporating things like Sichuan peppers for a spicier dish. Tomato-based or soy sauce broth are also popular options.

For added convenience, you may want to opt for ready-made hot pot soup base packets. These are available in a range of flavours and will save you a bit of preparation time in the kitchen.

What Should You Add to a Hot Pot?

Once you’ve set your broth boiling, it’s time to add in your hot pot items. This is the fun part, as you can essentially add whatever you want!

There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to the best hot pot ingredients – if you’re not following a strict recipe, what you add will largely come down to personal preference.

You’ll be able to find everything you need from your local Asian supermarket, so if you’re in need of a bit of inspiration, a quick browse there will show you just how many options are available.

Some popular items to add – no matter the cuisine – include:

• Thinly sliced meats like beef, pork chicken
• Pork belly
• Chicken wings
• Canned or pre-cooked meats
• Shrimp
• Squid
• Clams
• Mussels
• Fish balls
• Seaweed
• Tofu
• Pak choi & other leafy greens
• Carrots
• Bean sprouts
• Mushrooms
• Daikon
• Lotus root
• Potato
• Noodles
• Dumplings & wontons

There’s really no limit to what you decide to add to your hot pot, and these ideas are just a hint of the feast that awaits you!

Hot Pot Dipping Sauces

Last but certainly not least is the dipping sauce. Every item you scoop out of your broth ends its journey with some tasty sauce.

You’ll probably want a range of different sauces so you and your fellow hot pot eaters can mix and match, creating some truly delicious combinations.

You can make your own simple hot pot sauces with things like soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil or sriracha. However, again, there are plenty of ready-made hot pot dipping sauces and seasonings if you want more complex flavours and a convenient option.

Cooking Your Hot Pot Items

Everything you add to the hot pot will likely have different cooking times, so pay attention and make sure the ingredients are properly cooked through before taking them out to eat.

Don’t overload the broth with ingredients; add only what you’ll eat initially – you can always add more as the broth will continue to simmer away for the duration of the meal.

Hopefully, you now have the confidence to start making hot pot at home and enjoying the experience with family and friends. What will you be adding to your hot pot? Let us know your hot pot secrets via our social media; we love hearing about everyone’s favourite recipes!

To get started on your hot pot adventure, why not try our recipe for sukiyaki hot pot?