To celebrate Chinese New Year, we invited a few friends over for Chinese hot pot, or as some call it, Chinese fondue. For those unfamiliar with the term, hot pot is basically table top cooking where you place a pot of broth on a portable cooker in the middle of the table along with dishes of meat, tofu, and vegetables. The shared pot of broth is kept simmering while you place thin slices of meat, vegetables, tofu, fish balls, dumplings, noodles, etc in the pot to cook. Each person is given a mini ladle to help scoop out the items into your bowl.

The cooked food is usually eaten with a dipping sauce that can be enjoyed on its own or poured over rice. Oh, and it’s all about the sauce! I’ve been told that the best mixture is fresh ginger, green onion, chili, garlic, and soy sauce, but the options are endless. Try adding shallot sauce, hoisin, oyster sauce, and / or fresh cilentro!

All items were purchased from T&T supermarkets, but can be found at any asian grocery.