How to Make Asian Hot Pot at Home 1

It may not be perfectly authentic, but I’ve found it to be yummy nonetheless. Plus its kept more cash in my pockets!

Part I will give a run down of the basic supplies needed to create a homemade hot pot meal. See Part II for step by step instructions of how to put everything together.

1. Purchase a plug-in hot pot that has a temperature control panel. I found one at an Asian supermarket in the US for $34.99. It may seem expensive up front, but after a couple of times of cooking at home instead of going to a restaurant, my initial cost has already been recouped. 

image by author

2. Regarding place settings, I recommend the following per person: one big soup bowl, one smaller dipping sauce bowl, a pair of chopsticks, and a soup laddle that can be safely used with the hot pot (I have wooden spoons).

image by author

3. Grocery shopping:  An Asian market will probably be the best place to find many of the ingredients, especially the meats, the mushrooms, and the noodles. My favourite ingredients for hot pot are eggs, thin slices of meat (e.g., beef, lamb), shrimp, garlic, green onions, yellow onion, enoki mushrooms, dried shiitake mushrooms, napa cabbage, spinach, tofu, chicken broth, and udon noodles. Also, a simple dipping sauce can be made with soy sauce and sesame oil.  Select your ingredients based on your individualized dietary preferences and/or restrictions, taking into consideration allergies and health conditions.

Dried Shiitake Mushrooms – image by author

Thinly Sliced Lamb – image by author

Enoki Mushrooms – image by author

Tofu – image by author

Udon Noodles – image by author

Soy Sauce and Sesame Oil – image by author

Once you have all your groceries and cooking supplies, you are ready to prepare the ingredients. Please go to Part 2 of How to Make Asian Hot Pot at Home for information on this.

How to Make Asian Hot Pot at Home 3 shows you how to start enjoying all your preparations.