Huǒguō (literally fire pot) is a wonderfully delicious dish to eat especially during the cold winters in Dōngběi (North Eastern China). After coming back from our home leave where it was a balmy 50 degrees, the cold weather in Dalian made a hot pot dinner all the more appealing.
While the ingrediants can vary greatly, the base of the one we had on this night consisted of half a duck and the most delicious broth you can imagine in a large clay pot. The hot pot sits on a little fire stove embedded within the table.
The next thing is that you have to decide what wonderful food items you want to add to your hot pot. I think almost anything is game but typical items are thinly sliced meat, leafy vegetables, mushroooms, etc. We chose beef, mixed greens, a special dòufu (toufu) and fresh noodles. You then can choose from a variety of savoury condiments to dip your cooked items in.
This is what it looked like:
As you eat your meal, the staff will periodically add more tang (soup broth) to your hot pot as needed. You can simply say "jia tang" to get them to add more broth. On this night our fúwùyuán was very attentive and frequently added more soup before we could ask.
Ahh, and then there are the miàn tiáo (noodles). These were made fresh at our table. In this case, the noodles come out in small patties seen on the white plate below:
Then, the fúwùyuán (waitress) stretches out the dough for the noodles and then tears them in to strips.
These are then added to the hot pot to cook before eating.
Hǎo Chī
