Hot Pot Soup Base

Hot pot originated in China, where it is mainly divided into Sichuan hot pot and Chongqing hot pot. These two types of hot pot are very popular in China. Of course, with the development of time, hot pot has now spread to various parts of Asia in different forms. For example, there are Korean kimchi hot pot, Japanese shabu-shabu, Vietnamese hot pot, and so on! The most important thing about hot pot is the soup base. Today, I will share a delicious recipe for a versatile hot pot soup base.

Nowadays, ready-made hot pot soup bases are readily available for purchase, but as a Chinese person, I typically prefer to make my own hot pot soup base. Making my own allows me to customize it according to my preferences, adding ingredients that I enjoy. Additionally, it enables me to better cater to the taste preferences of those around me. Now, let's explore the techniques for making hot pot soup base together.

1.What is Hot Pot Soup Base?

In hot pot restaurants, there are various types of soup bases available, such as bone broth, fish broth, and young chicken broth.

Among them, bone broth hot pot soup base is rich in flavor and high in nutritional content. Fish broth soup base, made from fish, is known for its vision-improving properties and nourishing benefits. Young chicken broth soup base is light, fragrant, and less likely to cause internal heat.

Additionally, there are also some hot pot soup bases specifically designed for women, such as pigeon soup base, which has a nourishing effect.

2.What Types of Hot Pot Soup Bases Are There?

Due to the variety of hot pot soup bases, I'll share a few common ones found in China: including clear broth, spicy broth, pickled vegetable broth, tomato broth, and yin-yang broth.

Clear broth hot pot: Widely appreciated for its light and refreshing taste, usually made by simmering bones, fish heads, or pork bones without adding chili or other seasonings to maintain the original flavor, suitable for enjoying the natural taste of ingredients.

Spicy broth hot pot: One of the most representative hot pot bases in Sichuan cuisine, beloved for its numbing and spicy taste with a rich aroma. Prepared by stir-frying a variety of ingredients such as Sichuan peppercorns, chili peppers, and ginger, presenting a bright red color, suitable for spicy food lovers.

Pickled vegetable broth hot pot: A rising star in the hot pot world due to its unique sour and refreshing taste, typically made by stir-frying ingredients such as pickled vegetables, doubanjiang (broad bean paste), ginger, and garlic, offering a sour and spicy appetizer, suitable for pairing with various ingredients.

Tomato broth hot pot: A relatively light soup base, loved for its delicious tomato flavor and slightly sour taste. Made from fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic, and other ingredients, suitable for pairing with seafood, vegetables, and other ingredients.

Yin-yang broth hot pot: A special hot pot base that combines spicy and clear broths, highly praised for its unique flavor combination. It is divided into two halves, one half being spicy broth and the other half clear broth, suitable for people with different taste preferences to enjoy together.

3.What Ingredients Are Needed to Make Hot Pot Soup Base?

The ingredients needed to make hot pot soup base include but are not limited to:

Butter, vegetable oil, Pixian doubanjiang (broad bean paste), white wine, fermented glutinous rice, Zibb sea pepper (chili), ginger, garlic, Sichuan peppercorns, fermented black beans, Yibin suimi yacai (pickled mustard greens), rock sugar, high-quality chili powder, scallions.

Spices such as white cardamom, Fructus amomi, Amomum tsao-ko, cloves, sand ginger, amomum fruit, cumin, cinnamon, licorice, twigs, Cyperus rotundus, grass knot, dried tangerine peel, cassia bark, fragrant lemon grass, star anise, bay leaves, thyme, fennel seeds, herbs.

Other ingredients such as sesame paste, satay sauce, Sichuan peppercorn sauce, seafood soy sauce, fermented bean curd, cilantro, garlic chives, minced garlic, chili oil, chili powder, small green peppers, ground Sichuan peppercorns, sweet and sour sauce, horseradish, sesame seeds, crushed peanuts, dried shrimp, pickled mustard stems, etc., are used to make different flavored hot pot soup bases.

Now that we've got a brief understanding of how traditional hot pot soup bases are made, let's try making the Sichuan spicy hot pot soup base that I usually prepare together!