Chinese Hot Pot (The Best Hot Pot Recipe!) - Rasa Malaysia (2024)

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Chinese Hot Pot - delicious ingredients that vary from protein to vegetables are cooked in a hearty and simmering pot of soup stock, similar to fondue.

Chinese Hot Pot (The Best Hot Pot Recipe!) - Rasa Malaysia (1)

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Table of Contents

How to Make Chinese Hot Pot

Chinese Hot Pot is a much celebrated delicacy; it’s served on Chinese New Year’s eve as family members gather around the dining table for a scrumptious, hearty and homey meal.

In this Chinese Hot Pot recipe tutorial, you will learn how to serve this traditional delicacy using an Instant Pot, plus all the ingredients you’ll need.

Hot Pot is especially popular during winter months, especially on cold nights. Nothing beats a pot of hot, simmering soup loaded with assortment of fresh ingredients.

There are numerous versions of soup stock but the most basic Chinese hot pot calls for two simple ingredients: chicken broth and ground white pepper. For my recipe, I chose chicken broth.

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Other Recipes You Might Like

  • Nabe (Yosenabe/Japanese Hot Pot)
  • Creamy Thai Coconut Chicken Soup (Instant Pot)
  • Chinese Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients for Hot Pot Recipe

For the fresh ingredients, you can get really flexible or creative. As a general rule of thumb, the basics are protein (meat and/or seafood), Chinese vegetables such as Napa cabbage and bok choy, fish balls, tofu, and mushrooms. These are the standard ingredients and they are illustrated in the picture above.

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Cooking Tips

  • To assemble the fresh ingredients, just cut and slice them and then place them on a plate.
  • All family members should gather around the dining table with the hot pot in the middle. The fresh ingredients will be placed alongside the hot pot, and every one will be given a bowl and a pair of chopsticks to savor the meal.
  • First, you have to bring the soup to a boil, then slowly you add the ingredients. Start with the napa cabbage as the stems take longer to cook, then follow by the meat, seafood, fish balls, tofu and mushrooms.
  • Do not cook the fresh ingredients all at once, it will take an average of 2-3 rounds before all fresh ingredients are used up. Slowly, you scoop up the cooked food and soup with a ladle, eat, chat, and then as you finish all the ingredients in the pot, you add more into the soup.
  • As the soup continues to simmer in the pot, the flavor develops and it becomes tastier as the meal proceeds. I love adding garlic oil to the hot pot, which adds an earthy nuance to the dish.
  • For the dipping sauce, you can just use soy sauce. If you like a bit of heat, you can add cut chilies or chili oil to the soy sauce.
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Frequently Asked Questions

What Should I Buy for Hot Pot?

Feel free to buy any thinly sliced meat. Usually, one will also add fish balls, mushrooms, assorted vegetables, eggs, noodles, and tofu.

What Is Hot Pot Broth Made Of?

Mine is made with chicken stock.

How Many Calories?

This recipe has 401 calories per serving.

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What Dishes to Serve with This Recipe?

This dish is best served as the main dish. For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.

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Chinese Hot Pot

Chinese Hot Pot - delicious ingredients that vary from protein to vegetables are cooked in a hearty and simmering pot of soup stock, similar to fondue.

4.74 from 26 votes

Print

By Bee Yinn Low

Yield 4 people

Prep 20 minutes mins

Cook 30 minutes mins

Total 50 minutes mins

Ingredients

  • 4 oz (125g) napa cabbage, sliced
  • 12 oz (350g) fish balls
  • 6 oz (175g) chicken meat, sliced
  • 4 oz (125g) tofu
  • 4 oz (125g) shiitake mushrooms, sliced
  • 4 oz (125g) white mushrooms, sliced
  • 6 oz (175g) shrimp, shelled and deveined
  • 4 oz (125g) salmon fillet, cut into pieces
  • 4 oz (125g) scallops
  • 4 oz (125g) baby bok choy, sliced

Garlic Oil:

  • 1 head garlic (peeled and minced)
  • 5 tablespoons cooking oil

Broth:

  • 1 box (32 oz. / 1000 g Kitchen Basics® Original Chicken Stock)
  • 3 cups water
  • 5 dashes ground white pepper

Condiment:

  • soy sauce
  • Cut chilies (optional)

Instructions

  • Arrange the fresh ingredients on plates. Arrange the similar kinds of ingredients on the same plate. See picture above.

  • Add the cooking oil in a skillet. When it's heated, make the Garlic Oil by frying the minced garlic until they turn light brown (do not fry until medium brown). Turn off the heat and transfer the garlic oil to a small bowl. Let cool.

  • Turn on the Instant Pot and set it to Saute mode, for 30 minutes. Add the Kitchen Basics® Original Chicken Stock, water and McCormick Ground White Pepper. Bring the broth to boil.

  • Add the napa cabbage first and cook for 1 minute.

  • Add each ingredient into the Instant Pot in the following order, in batches: fish balls, chicken, tofu, mushrooms, shrimp, salmon, scallops and baby bok choy. Do not use up all the ingredients. The ingredients should be cooked in the hot pot in 2 to 3 bathes.

  • When the soup comes to a boil, add some garlic oil on top. Stir to mix well. Ladle the ingredients and some soup into serving bowls and serve immediately with the Condiment. After you finish the first round, continue to cook the remaining ingredients in the soup until all ingredients are used up.

Notes

You can get different kinds of fish balls in Asian supermarkets. They come in different shapes or form. They are all very tasty. Usually I would get plain white fish balls, fried fish balls (round or rectangle in shapes), and other fish sticks.

Course: Chinese Recipes

Cuisine: Seafood

Keywords: Chinese Hot Pot

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Chinese Hot Pot

Amount Per Serving (4 people)

Calories 401Calories from Fat 252

% Daily Value*

Fat 28g43%

Saturated Fat 4g25%

Cholesterol 161mg54%

Sodium 520mg23%

Carbohydrates 7g2%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 2g2%

Protein 30g60%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.

Chinese Hot Pot (The Best Hot Pot Recipe!) - Rasa Malaysia (2024)

FAQs

What is the Chinese version of hot pot? ›

There are many types of hot pot across China, but at its most basic, Chinese Hot Pot is an interactive meal in which diners sit around a simmering pot of soup at the center of the table with various raw ingredients—meat, seafood, vegetables, tofu, and starches—in thin slices or small pieces for quick cooking.

What vegetables are best in a hotpot? ›

Hot Pot Ingredient List. Hearty and leafy, look for greens that retain texture after cooking like bok choy, watercress, snow pea leaves, Napa cabbage, Chinese spinach, gai lan and green onions. Look for daikon, carrots, small potatoes and either cut into cubes or thinly sliced.

What are the best noodles for hotpot? ›

Though all noodles are good noodles, I've recently started using mostly rice or bean-based varieties because they don't cloud the broth with starch or stick to the bottom of the pot (a pain during post-meal cleaning). My favorites include mung bean glass noodles, vermicelli, pho noodles, and egg noodles.

Are Chinese hot pots healthy? ›

Hotpot can be a healthy meal, but it depends on the soup, the ingredients chosen, how much is eaten, and what it's accompanied with,” said Anna Lim, the lead clinical dietitian at Pulse TCM. It can easily become a meal heavy on calories, fat and sodium if you aren't careful.

Why do Chinese people like hotpot? ›

Hot pot dishes are very delicious irrespective of the ingredients; Hot pot dishes are very healthy; Hot pot is a great way to socialize; Hot pot is a warming activity for cold, winter climates.

What is the difference between Chinese hot pot and shabu shabu? ›

Traditional Chinese hot pot generally comes already loaded with meat, seafood, and vegetables, but with shabu shabu you'll be given plates of meat, vegetables and other items (dumplings and udon, for example) to cook in the broth.

What kind of broth is used in hot pots? ›

In this post, I'm introducing two most common types of hot pot broth: Sichuan spicy broth and chicken stock based mild broth. Choose the one you prefer or use a divided Yin Yang Pot to serve both.

What is the difference between Chinese and Taiwanese hot pot? ›

What makes this hotpot different from the Chinese hotpot mainly is its use of more Japanese ingredients and different sauces. Second, Shabu Shabu is also 'Taiwanese hotpot', since hot pot is also commonly referred to as Shabu Shabu in Taiwan because of the Japanese influence.

What to cook first in hotpot? ›

Put meat or fish balls into the hotpot first.

These will take around 5 minutes total to cook, so give them a head start before adding other ingredients. The balls should puff up and float once they're finished cooking. Always use caution when adding food to the hotpot because the broth could splash and cause burns.

Do you drink the broth in Hotpot? ›

You can drink the broth throughout your meal or save it until the end when it's soaked up all the lovely flavours from your ingredients. Remember, it's a communal meal, so don't be greedy! Share out the food and enjoy the experience together.

What stuff to add to hotpot? ›

Generally, you'll want a variety of leafy green vegetables, mushrooms, meat & seafood (Cantonese hot pot is known for its seafood), some root vegetables, and some rice or noodles to go with it. Serious Eats has a great guide on hot pot that covers a lot individual options in each food category.

What side dishes go with hotpot? ›

Root vegetables like taro, purple sweet potato, or even little Yukon gold potatoes make a great addition to hot pot, as they can sit in the broth until tender and add starchiness to the broth. Leafy greens are also a must-have.

Is Hotpot popular in China? ›

Hotpot is ubiquitous across China, with many regional differences in the soup base and ingredients – if you think China has too many types of noodle and dumpling, there are just as many versions of hotpot. Naturally, everyone thinks the one they grew up eating is the best.

What is the largest Chinese food brand? ›

Showing 10 out of 11 companies. Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co Ltd, China Agri-Industries Holdings Ltd, China Mengniu Dairy Co Ltd, Wilmar International Ltd, and Sung Fung Foods Industrial Ltda are the top 5 food companies in China in 2021 by retail product sales.

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