Hotpot: the Chinese fondue

When I first came to China back in 2006, I was a wary eater, fearful of trying anything new. Those who know me from the States know that I grew up as a very picky eater. If it didn't look appetizing, odds are I probably wouldn't eat it. That summer in China I lost a considerable amount of weight because I was so skeptical of Chinese food. How foolish. China has a host of delicious dishes that I crave nowadays. One of these is hotpot (in Chinese 火锅, huǒ guō, literally "fire" "pot").

Haidilao Hot Pot - delicious!

There is a chain in China called Haidilao Hot Pot that has mastered the cuisine, and it's probably the only hot pot restaurant I'll go to by choice (unless I'm dragged to a C-grade leather-meat Sichuan hot pot restaurant against my will ;). They've perfected the art of hotpot, and thought of everything. Most Haidilaos have full amenities for waiting guests, including nail salons, day cares, computer stations, shoe shiners, and wet bars. The service is the best I've come across in a Chinese restaurant chain, with courteous and well-trained wait staff. Waiters seat you around a table with a hole in the center, supplying you with an apron to don in order to protect your clothes. If you have glasses, they'll give you wipe cloths; if your hair is down, they'll give you a hair tie; if you have long sleeves, they'll give you cloth arm protectors. Seriously.

Once you've gotten the menu, the decisions are up to you on what you want to dip into boiling broth. Most of the time I get a half-and-half broth (as seen above): half spicy, half tomato-based, both delicious. The menu is divided up into meats (beef, pork, mutton, etc), fish (ehhh), veggies, tofu, etc. Sooner than you'd expect, they bring you bowls and plates of the items you ordered, along with the cauldron that fits in the table with the bubbling soup inside. Once the liquid is rolling, the waiters will spoon off a bowl of tasty tomato soup for you to sip on while you get settled. In my opinion, the best thing about hot pot is the next step: the sauces.

The Shenyang Haidilao is massive. It takes up most of the sixth floor of a shopping mall just down the road from where I live. Inside, I estimate there are over 150 tables and private rooms. Each mini-section of seating has its own condiment/sauce bar. Before you start throwing your selected dishes into the hotpot, you have the chance to mix your own sauce to dip the goodies in once they're cooked. I normally make two sauces. The first is your basic soy/vinegar/garlic sauce, but with a bit of chives, coriander, sesame seeds, and chilis added in for flavor. The next is the sesame sauce, complete with (normally too much) garlic, chives, and peanuts. A turned me on to the peanut idea. When I saw him dump a bowl of peanuts into his sesame sauce, I was skeptical (as per normal). But, like in most things, turns out he was on to something. Now I can't refrain from getting my own bowl of peanuts to dump into my sesame sauce. Turns out I can eat it all on its own without dipping anything into it but nuts. :P

So by now your broth is boiling and all of your dishes are on the table, ready to be loaded in. I normally order two plates of meat, like beef and pork with some dumplings as well. You can't go wrong with some tofu, either in long strips or in thick frozen blocks. As for veggies, the broccoli is standard, but lotus root, spinach, and potatoes are good too. Some people like the shrimp goo, but that's one thing I can't get into. Mashed-up shrimp guts squeezed out of a puff pastry bag and puffed up into shrimp cheetos doesn't look, sound, or taste like my kind of yum. But all the rest of the dishes are amazing. And as is normal for Chinese eating, it's hard to gauge how much you've eaten. Whether it's because of the rotating lazy susan or because you're concentrating on fishing your meal out of a boiling pot of oil and broth, you forget how much food actually ends up on your plate. Needless to say, I'm always stuffed after hotpot, having gorged myself on tasty meat and veggies. Haidilao, you've done it right. Here's a toast to you, for filling me with yummy boiled goodness. Two thumbs and two chopsticks up!