Bonds Through Broth and Pot

By Tiffany Huang 

Hotpot, more than just a meal, transcends cultural boundaries, offering a tantalizing fusion of flavors and a journey through the heart of gastronomy. From a cultural aspect, hotpot is an essential experience for families in China and other Asian countries, including my own. It represents unity along with a type of social connectivity that can last lifetimes.

With everyone in my family pursuing different ideals, a meal like hotpot once in a while gives us a chance to reconnect and enjoy the warmth of familial company. We typically reserve the dish for special holidays like Thanksgiving or New Years’ Eve, but sometimes crave it enough to spend a random Saturday night with close friends, all surrounding a large boiling pot of ingredients. Tracing back an entire millennium, the dish has deep roots in East Asia and only continues to expand its influence in modern society. 

One of my earliest memories was being forced to sit alone in my room while the rest of my family and their friends were conversing and enjoying hotpot together on a cold, wintery day. I was being punished for hitting my sister and my parents thought using hotpot would be the best way for me to realize my mistakes. They were right. Even though I was given all the same food, the contrast of my empty room to the boisterous atmosphere they enjoyed made the food feel meaningless. Not wanting to go through the same thing, I was quick to apologize and made sure to never repeat that same mistake. 

Since then I’ve learned that the true essence of hotpot stems from its 热闹 (rè-nào), or lively atmosphere, whilst interacting and connecting with other people (Sailland). In smaller social settings, the dish provides a nice break from the hectic bustle of everyday life and is the best meal to bring you closer to the people you appreciate. Even after moving away for college, I often find myself craving hotpot as both an experience and as a dish. Since the start of the semester, I’ve already coordinated two hotpot nights, inviting over friends and neighbors to enjoy both the food and company.

Hotpot, or 火锅（huŏ guō), translates literally to “fire pot”, which indicates its method of clearly (Noll & Scott). Pots used for the earliest versions of hotpot date back to the Three Kingdoms Era (220 CE -280 CE) in China where they were a necessity for the cold winters burdening northern civilizations (Callos). At this point in time, “hotpot” was simply a cooking mechanism, unassociated with specific ingredients, hardly thought of as a dish in itself. The hotpot we know today is most commonly attributed to Mongolian horsemen of China’s Yuan Dynasty during the late 13th-14th centuries (Sun). From a dish of practicality, it evolved with growing popularity to one of enjoyment and gratification. 

In America, Sichuan-influenced hotpot is best known (McDougall). China’s “Go Global” initiative in the 2000s played a huge role in its promotion with the establishment of overseas offices, creation of hotpot innovation fairs, and increased funding for related industries. Continued publicity quickly popularized hotpot chains such as Haidilao, exemplifying true globalization of hotpot as a dish and distinctive dining experience (McDougall).

The early integration of hotpot as a dish allowed for different regions in China to refashion it to suit local ingredients and tastes. The most popular variations are those associated with Chongqing and Sichuan, which are both flavored with spicy chilies and mouth-numbing Sichuan peppercorns with slight variations in their spices used. Others include the Beijing variety which seeks for a cleaner taste utilizing ginger and leek slices added to hot water. While most restaurants offer the more exciting sensations attributed to spicy varieties, my family, coming from Beijing, opts for the milder soup base with greater emphasis on the ingredients used and dipping sauce. 

Experiencing the true essence of hotpot has allowed me to foster a closer connection with my family and friends, teaching me the importance of appreciating the present along the way. Hotpot, being such a communal experience, is a dish that everyone should experience at least once whether it be in a restaurant or in the comfort of one’s own home surrounding a shared portable stove.