How it works#
A pot of simmering broth sits in a recess in the table, over an induction or gas ring. You order raw ingredients, which arrive on plates. You cook them yourself in the broth, fish them out, dip them in a sauce you have mixed, and eat. Repeat for two hours.
The order of operations:
- Choose the broth (锅底). Spicy, clear, mushroom, tomato, pickled cabbage, herbal. Order 鸳鸯 (yuānyāng), the split pot, if you want both spicy and mild.
- Order ingredients, usually from a tick-box menu or tablet.
- Build your dipping sauce at the sauce bar.
- Cook it. Thin meat takes 10–20 seconds; leafy vegetables under a minute; root vegetables, tofu and dumplings several minutes. Meatballs float when done.
- Order more. You are meant to order in waves rather than all at once.
Regional styles#
Chongqing (重庆火锅). The original and the most intense: rendered beef tallow, a large volume of dried chilli and Sichuan peppercorn, and a thick layer of red oil. Genuinely very hot. Dip in sesame oil with raw garlic, which cools the burn and coats the mouth. Classic orders: tripe (maodu), duck intestine (yachang), luncheon meat, lotus root, potato slices, beef.
Sichuan (Chengdu). Similar but usually a little milder and more aromatic, often with a clear broth option alongside.
Beijing / instant-boiled mutton (涮羊肉). A copper pot with a chimney, clear broth with a few dates and goji berries, and paper-thin lamb swished through for seconds. The dip is sesame paste with fermented tofu, chive flower and coriander. Restrained, and superb in winter.
Cantonese / seafood. A clear, delicate stock — sometimes a congee base — with seafood and fresh vegetables. Focused on ingredient quality rather than spice.
Chaoshan beef hotpot. A clear beef broth, and beef cut into a dozen named parts by texture and fat content, each with its own recommended cooking time measured in seconds. A cult favourite among Chinese food enthusiasts.
Yunnan mushroom hotpot. Wild mushrooms in a chicken broth, boiled for a mandated minimum time — a server may set a timer, because undercooked wild mushrooms cause hallucinations and worse, which happens every season in Yunnan.
Guizhou sour fish. Fermented tomato and rice-water sourness rather than heat. Excellent and under-known.
What to order#
| Category | Good picks |
|---|---|
| Meat | Sliced beef (肥牛), lamb (羊肉卷), pork belly |
| Offal | Tripe, duck intestine, blood cubes, kidney — the classics, and better than they sound |
| Seafood | Prawns, squid, fish slices, clams |
| Balls | Fish balls, beef balls, shrimp paste |
| Tofu | Fresh tofu, dried tofu skin (腐竹), frozen tofu (soaks up broth) |
| Vegetables | Lotus root, potato, wood ear fungus, enoki mushrooms, Chinese lettuce (莴笋), spinach, chrysanthemum greens |
| Starch | Sweet potato noodles, instant noodles, rice cakes |
| Cool it down | Cucumber, tofu skin, and a bowl of bingfen jelly dessert |
The sauce bar#
At most restaurants you build your own. Two default recipes:
Sichuan/Chongqing style: sesame oil (a lot) + minced garlic (a lot) + chopped coriander + spring onion + a little oyster sauce + vinegar. The oil is functional, not decorative — it coats the mouth and blunts the capsaicin.
Northern style: sesame paste as the base, thinned with a little broth or water + fermented bean curd (furu) + chive flower paste + coriander. Very different, equally correct.
Chains and where to go#
- Haidilao — the famous one, known for extreme service: free snacks and manicures while you queue, noodle-pulling performances, and a soft toy seated opposite solo diners. The food is good rather than transcendent; the experience is the product. English menus available
- Xiaolongkan, Shu Daxia, Banu — solid, spicy, widely available
- **Chongqing's street hotpot (jiudujiao)** — communal tables, pay by the skewer, and the most authentic version
- Local speciality places — Chaoshan beef in Shantou, mushroom hotpot in Kunming, sour fish in Guizhou
Surviving the spice#
- Order the split pot. No shame in it; plenty of Chinese diners do.
- Sesame oil and garlic in your dip genuinely works.
- Drink something cold and sweet — soy milk, sour plum juice (suanmeitang), yoghurt drinks. Beer helps less than you think; water helps not at all.
- Bingfen or a chilled dessert at the end.
- The peppercorn tingle is not chilli. Sichuan peppercorn produces a physical numbing vibration, unrelated to heat. It fades in a few minutes. It is not an allergic reaction.
- The following morning may be memorable. This is normal and widely joked about in China.
Practicalities#
- Cost: ¥80–200 per person at a mid-range chain, more with premium meat and seafood.
- Time: allow two hours. Hotpot is not a quick meal.
- Clothes: you will smell of it afterwards. Many restaurants provide plastic aprons and hair ties, and some offer sealed bags for your coat. Take them.
- Glasses fog up. Nothing to be done.
- Solo diners: several chains offer single pots, and Haidilao's solo arrangement is famous. Malatang — where you fill a basket and pay by weight — is the cheaper solo alternative.
Frequently asked questions#
What is Chinese hotpot?#
A communal meal in which a pot of simmering broth sits in the middle of the table and diners cook raw ingredients in it themselves, then dip them in a sauce they mix at a sauce bar. It is China's most social meal and typically lasts around two hours.
What is the difference between Sichuan and Chongqing hotpot?#
Chongqing hotpot uses rendered beef tallow with a heavier load of dried chilli and Sichuan peppercorn and is the hotter, oilier original. Sichuan hotpot from Chengdu is usually slightly milder and more aromatic, and more often offers a clear-broth option alongside.
How do I order hotpot if I can't handle spice?#
Ask for the 鸳鸯 (yuānyāng) split pot, which has a spicy broth on one side and a clear, mushroom or tomato broth on the other. Plenty of Chinese diners order it too. Then use sesame oil and garlic in your dipping sauce, which blunts the heat further.
What do you dip hotpot in?#
In Sichuan and Chongqing, sesame oil with lots of raw garlic, coriander and spring onion. In northern China, a sesame paste base with fermented bean curd and chive flower paste. Both are mixed by the diner at a self-service sauce bar.
How much does hotpot cost in China?#
Around ¥80–200 per person at a mid-range chain such as Haidilao or Xiaolongkan, depending on how much meat and seafood you order. Street-style hotpot priced by the skewer is considerably cheaper.