I Love Hot Pot!
Winter is a time for bundled layers and hot, steaming beverages. In Eastern Asian tradition, it’s also the perfect time for one of my favorite dining experiences: the hot pot!
Hot pot dining in Asian culture is different from the Western versions of this dish. (I recently learned about a Lancashire hot pot that looks delicious!) The basic equipment and ingredients are a burning tabletop stove, a pot of hot stock (usually chicken and often embellished with herbs for flavoring), and a selection of finely cut thing meats, veggies, and seafood.
Asian hot pot, for me, is a powerfully visceral experience. Taste, smell, heat, texture… all of these things blend together in the pot as you drop each raw item, one by one, into the steaming stock. You pick out each item to eat as it cooks and floats to the top. In Taiwanese versions, it’s also tradition to set aside satays and other sauces on the side for dipping your boiled tidbits when the cooking is done. An egg is often cracked to add to the soup, which is consumed at the end of the meal as a rich, flavorful stew.