Sichuan Hotpot meals are a long-standing tradition in Chengdu. However, Sichuan Hotpot is just one branch of Chinese hotpot. Hot pot cooking in China seems to have gained popularity during the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644 AD). During the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911) the hot pot was adopted by the imperial court and appeared on the emperor's menu (“The Culture of Hotpot” 2). In the 1930's, hotpot was adapted from its earlier versions to a more modern restaurant setting. On the streets, an inexpensive version of hot pot is immensely popular. Here locals dip food on bamboo skewers into the numbingly spicy liquids made famous in the Sichuan region (“The Culture of Hotpot” 4).
At this modern time, Sichuan Hotpot is a marvelous one-dish meal, a favorite among Chengdu people on a light and relaxing night. It is a leisurely way to dine with family members, old friends or a great icebreaker for new acquaintances (Yee 85). I would rather call it a Sichuan fondue party than a tasteful single meal. This is a surefire dinner that will win the praise from even your most critical guests (Yee 84).
Sichuan Hotpot, more or less, is a kind of Chinese-style fondue. The hotpot itself is a saucepan that sits on a portable burner, surrounded by several plates piled high up with fresh raw ingredients (Conrad, “The Chinese Hotpot”). First, you need to select the cooking broth. Usually, there are two kinds to choose from: a mild chicken broth with green onions and tomatoes, and spicy “mala” (numbingly spicy) style, which is made with a laundry list of spices. The second step is to order an assortment of meat and vegetables, which need to be dropped into the boiling broth to cook. Last, you need to dip your cooked ingredients into a small bowl of dipping sauce, which is a delicious mixture of seasoned sesame oil and chopped garlic. For protein, tender beef strip is strongly recommended. Since it is cut sliced thinly, it cooks quickly in the bubbling broth, rarely taking about 30 seconds for a few swishes as its color changes. Don’t overcook if you want its delicate texture. Besides, juicy lamb and plump shrimp is still the good choice that you can’t go wrong with. For vegetables, there are hundreds of options: broccoli, bamboo shoots, bok choy, eggplant, cucumber, spinach, sliced potato, leaves of beans and rounds of lotus root—everything that you can come up with can be cooked in the bubbling broth. Because vegetables take longer to cook, they usually absorb more mala spice and soak up more broth. Be careful when eating newly cooked vegetables, otherwise the heavy heat and strong spiciness will punish your month indeed. Whether it’s because of the heat from the pot or the spice from the broth, Chinese beer is a must that matches amazingly well with hotpot—its cold, refreshing texture cuts the heavy heat and make spiciness bearable.
While the boiling mala broth with red chili and numerous Sichuan pepper seems to scare the first-timers to death at first sight, the unique mala (numbingly spicy) taste from broth is essential to hot pot experience. You will find it is extremely delicious with a tingly and numbing spice that is both punishing and addictive. Once you start,it becomes irresistible—nothing stops you from eating all of it.
Since Sichuan Hotpot is fully infused into local culture and life, almost every Chengdu family can tell you their stories with Sichuan Hotpot, including mine. On a cold and wintry night, in a corner of small restaurant with steamed over windows, mom, dad and I were sitting around a bubbling hotpot, chatting happily, sweating but couldn’t help eating more. That was the moment of life with no rush, no worry, and no pain. In the later days, having a Sichuan Hotpot on the Friday night had become a routine for my family. No matter how stressful my parents’ work were, they would spare the whole Friday night to create one of the happiest family time—enjoying a lively and vibrant Sichuan Hotpot together. This is the story all about warmth, family, sharing and reunion. The image of having a hot and joyful Sichuan Hotpot with mum and dad on that winter night has become the most lively picture in my memory, which will never, never fade away. My mom said, when in her teens, Sichuan people began making Sichuan Hotpot. Even if the ingredients were in short and protein was a luxury, having a homemade hotpot with family and friends made a dull night bustling with excitement, or even filled a poor life deficient in everything but sharing with new hope and expectation (Shi).
In Chinese food culture, having food is a daily enjoyment and it should be the good cheer of eating together (Liu 32). The idea of having families and friends enjoy great food at the table is full of warmth and creates a harmonious atmosphere. Sichuan Hotpot captures the essence of the real dining culture in China. In addition, Sichuan Hotpot is a participatory dining. Once the broth starts boiling, it is really a free-for-all. When having a Sichuan hotpot there is no difference between the rich and the poor, the young and the old—every one is equal and every one is a participant. Sichuan hot belongs to the populace since every one can afford it and deserve the enjoyment of it. Sichuan hotpot provides a happy reunion for you, for me, for every body who appreciates the spirit of sharing—perhaps, this is the real marrow of Sichuan Hotpot.
Hot and spicy flavors of Sichuan hot pot will provide you with the most delicious physical sensation that will begin in the belly and radiate outwards, soothing away tension and relaxing mind and soul. Most importantly, don’t forget to share it with your loved ones—family and friends.
Sichuan hotpot? Life’s hot spot!
Work Cited
Conrad, Oust. “The Chinese Hotpot.” Travel in Taiwan Monthly. Vision International Publishing Co. 1995. Web. 18 November 2011.
Fu, Peimei. Fu Peimei’s Chinese Cooking. Tokyo: Shufunotomo Co., Ltd, 1989. Print.
Marshall Cavendish Corporation. World and Its Peoples: Eastern and Southern Asia. New York: Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 2007. Print.
Liu, Junru. Chinese Food. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011. Print.
“The Culture of Hotpot”. ifeng.com. ifeng, 21 Jun. 2010. Web. 21 November 2011.
Shi, Yan. Personal Interview. 20 Nov. 2011.
Yee, Rhoda. Szechwan & Northern Cooking: From Hot to Cold. San Francisco: Taylor & Ng Press, 1982. Print.