Dining Experience with Hot Pot

Here’s a simple way to make family dinner night interactive: hot pot. Originating in China, hot pot lets everyone cook their favorite fresh ingredients—meats, vegetables and more—in flavorful, simmering broths for a fun, customizable meal. Here is how our family Hot Pots and we highly recommend making this a tradition in your family.

The first thing you’ll want is the pot itself. I know—another kitchen gadget—but after hosting your inaugural hot pot dinner, you’ll be glad you made room for it. You can find hot pots at Asian markets or online; that’s where I bought mine. The link to the HOT POT I have in my home.

Electric hot pot note: the only drawback is a short power cord, which is easily solved with an extension cord. This model has two compartments. I make two quarts of a different broth for each side of the pot. I’ll cover the broth details shortly. We can easily fit four people around the pot for dinner.

You’ll need a skimmer or pasta server to lift cooked items from the broth. Use separate utensils for eating and for transferring raw meats or seafood into the hot pot.

The next stop: a trip to H Mart. The H Mart in Ellicott City is one of my favorite grocery stores. The produce is always fresh, and you can find all sorts of ingredients you may never have seen before. So why not pick up that unusual-looking eggplant and give it a try for your hot pot dinner?

For 4–5 people, aim for lots of variety. Many of the items below freeze well, so you can save leftovers for another meal. HMART’s carries very thinly sliced frozen beef, pork and other meats alongside the fresh cuts. Plan on plating 3–5 slices per person of each protein. In the photo we used thinly sliced pork butt and sirloin. You don’t need to fully thaw the meat long before cooking — plate the frozen slices just before you start, which makes them easier to handle. Use a dedicated set of tongs or a fork for raw meat, and reserve eating utensils for cooked food.

Seafood is a great addition: shrimp, mussels, clams, etc. If you’re serving pork and beef alongside seafood, budget about 1/4 pound of seafood per person. If you serve only seafood, plan on roughly 10-12 ounces per person.

Vegetables: HMART has a wide range — a variety of mushrooms, different types of bok choy, napa cabbage, taro, lotus root. That night we had our hot pot dinner pictured, we used up some green beans leftovers and tossed those into the pool

Noodles: Kids love noodles; udon is a lovely choice. Udon is thick, soaks up flavor and has a lovely chew. Freezer freindly pot stickers and dumplings are a nice addition too. Think about keeping the noodles and dumpkins to 1/4-1/3 pound per person.

Each time you make this, pick something you may have never tried before. One time we used quail eggs we hard boiled in the broth.

Let’s talk about the broth. You can keep it very simple or go all out—hot pot is great because you rarely have to eat the same meal twice, unless you want to. H Mart carries a wide selection of prepackaged hot pot broths if you prefer convenience.

For the dual pot I mentioned, each side holds about 2 quarts. The night shown, we had a spicy beef broth on one side and a mild chicken broth on the other. For the beef side I used frozen beef stock and boosted it with garlic, Sambal Oelek, Thai red chilis, soy sauce, miso, and scallions. The chicken side was a thawed chicken broth with added scallions.

We also like a coconut-milk-based vegetarian option: a vegetable stock with Thai red curry paste and fish sauce for depth and richness. Mix and match to suit your mood.

Toppings: get creative — mung beans, cilantro, chili crisps, soy sauce, pickled ginger, or any other flavor boosters that excite your taste buds.

Now, cooking: place the broths on either side of the pot and bring them to a rolling boil. Arrange all ingredients on platters and gather around the table. Most items cook quickly in the broth: seafood and thinly sliced meats take about 30 seconds to 5 minutes. Don’t overcrowd the pot — cook pieces one at a time per person (for example, a single shrimp, a slice of beef, or a potsticker) to ensure even cooking.

Take your family on a culinary experience with a hot pot dinner. Share with us how you made hot pot your own.