Friday evening. Nothing better than hot pot at home with friends and family, especially when it’s 0°C out there!
So what goes into the pot? Anything, really. Here are just some of the things we happened to have on stock:
Shacha sauce 沙茶醬 is key when it comes to hot pot. I simply cannot do without this.
Condiments: shacha sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, and scallions. It is typical to add a raw egg to the sauce, but since we didn’t have any that were trustworthy enough to be eaten raw, we skipped that for the evening.
A bottle of Beaujolais to go with the hot pot…?
Everything into the pot!
When cooking the hot pot, be mindful of what can be boiled for a long time and what needs to be taken out as soon as it’s done. Meat, for example, should be removed from the pot right when the red color disappears, whereas tofu can be cooked for a long long time.
Taro, my favorite! It’s really difficult to buy fresh taro of good quality in Shanghai, so it’s a good idea to get frozen ones from Taiwanese supermarkets. When cooked through, the texture should be soft and powdery, somewhat similar to that of chestnuts or potatoes.
Pig blood cake, infamous for being one of the weirdest food in the world, is a must.
Overeating is absolutely inevitable when it comes to hot pot. Just go with it.
Very nice pictures!
much better than hai di lao :)