At-home hot pot is an interactive Chinese communal meal where diners cook thinly sliced meats, fresh vegetables, and dumplings in two broths—one spicy, one mild—served in a divided pot right at the table. It's budget-friendly, customizable, and requires no special cooking skills.
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Prepare all your ingredients. Wash and chop the vegetables, slice the tofu, and arrange the meats, vegetables, dumplings, fish balls, and sausages on separate plates for easy access.
Pour the spicy hot pot soup base into one side of the divided pot and the non-spicy soup base into the other. Add water to the spicy side to your desired concentration.
Place the pot on a portable burner at the center of the table and bring both broths to a boil.
Once boiling, begin adding ingredients to cook. Start with items that take longer to cook, such as tofu, mushrooms, and fish balls.
Add vegetables like napa cabbage and bok choy, and cook meats by dipping them into the broth for just a few seconds until they change color. Cook dumplings according to package directions.
While things are cooking, prepare individual dipping sauces by combining soy sauce, chopped scallions, and chili oil in small bowls.
Use a strainer ladle or chopsticks to remove cooked items from the pot. Dip them in your sauce and enjoy with a bowl of steamed rice.
Store leftover broth in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days; reheat on the stovetop. Do not store cooked ingredients; they become mushy. Unused soup base packets keep unopened for 6–12 months in a cool, dry place.
divided hot pot (yin-yang) or two separate small hot pots · portable burner or tabletop heating element · long cooking chopsticks or small fondue forks · individual dipping bowls
A divided (or yin-yang) hot pot has two compartments so you can simmer two different broths simultaneously—ideal for accommodating spice preferences.
Slice beef and pork belly thin enough to cook through in 5–10 seconds when swished in the broth, typically 1/8 inch or thinner. Ask your butcher to slice on a meat slicer or partially freeze the meat before slicing.
Yes. Slice and arrange all vegetables, meats, and dumplings on plates 2–3 hours before serving, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate. Prepare the broths just before cooking.
Thinly sliced meat: 5–15 seconds. Leafy greens: 10–20 seconds. Mushrooms and dumplings: 3–5 minutes. Fish balls: 2–3 minutes. Add heartier vegetables first, delicate items last.
A divided pot makes serving two broths easier, but you can use two separate small pots or a regular hot pot and let guests choose which broth to cook in.
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