Chinese food classes 101: Class Number 5

HOT POT 

Hot pot, known as "antique soup" in ancient times, is named after the "gudong" sound made when food is poured into boiling water. It is one of the original Chinese cuisines and is also a kind of food suitable for all ages. It has a long history. According to textual research, there was hot pot during the Warring States Period, and historical people used clay pots as pots. By the Song Dynasty, the way of eating hot pot was very common among the people. In the Southern Song Dynasty Lin Hong’s "Shan Jia Qing Gong" recipe, there were friends eating hot pot. According to the introduction, in the Yuan Dynasty, hot pot spread to Mongolia. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, hot pot was not only popular among the people, but also became a famous "court dish" with wild game such as pheasant.

Hot pot generally refers to a cooking method in which a pot is used as an appliance, a heat source is used to boil the pot, and water or soup is used to boil various foods. It can also refer to the pots used in this cooking method. Its characteristic is eating while cooking, or the pot itself has a heat preservation effect, the food is still hot when eating, and the soup is one. There are similar dishes all over the world, but they are especially popular in East Asia. Hot pot is hot, spicy and salty, oily but not greasy. It is suitable for the climate of mountains and rivers to relieve depression and dehumidification. Nowadays, it has developed into a mandarin duck pot. The hot pot is different from spicy and light. Ingredients and food are suitable for all ages and are the best products for winter.

Typical hot pot ingredients include all kinds of meat, seafood, vegetables, bean products, mushrooms, egg products, staple foods, etc., put them in boiling water or a special soup pot bottom and boil them for consumption. Some ways to eat it will be dipped in seasonings.