Hot Pot!!

Several weeks back, Andi and I went back to Wuhu to visit here uncles. While we where there, we went out to a restaurant that specialized in hot pot. Hot pot is a type of stew/soup that is placed on a burner and brought to a boil right at the table. Hot pot has been around for over 1'000 years. It is possible that it started in Mongolia where warriors would use there helmets to cook with. Usually there are two types of stock that are in the pot, one spicy and the other mild. Once the stock boils, many different ingredients can be added and eaten within seconds of cooking.

Here we had two different stocks going with aromatics added for flavor.

You can order from a long list of items that you can add to the stock. Above, starting in the back, are balls of ground pork wrapped in cilantro. The yellow paper-like item on the left is tofu and to the right are mushrooms. The last plate is ground pork.

There are always many different types of meat to choose from. Above we ordered lamb, beef and crab sticks. The meat is always frozen and then sliced super thin. Where the chopsticks are pointing are small egg dumplings which are sitting next to some type of meatball. I unfortunately forgot the type of meat! :P

We also ordered two side dishes. The first was squid with peppers and onions.

The second was the best damn twice cooked pork I've had to date! It came out fajita style, still sizzling on the metal plate, with slivers of garlic and garnished with jalapeno slices. We ordered two of these and a third for home!

I bring up hot pot now because we just had it in Beijing, served in a traditional copper pot.

Sliced lamb.

Tofu. We ordered a lot more items at this meal but my camera was acting up and I was only able to get a couple of photos.

Hot pot is also served with a dipping sauce. We were given a mixture of sesame paste, ground herbs, sesame seeds, chili oil, scallions, and cilantro. If you've never had hot pot, I recommend you check it out at least once. It's a fun experience, especially with friends and a cold beer!