Sichuan vegetable hot pot
Sìchuān huǒguō (四川火锅): a numbing red broth for cooking tofu, mushrooms and greens at the table
Across Chengdu and Chongqing, friends spend whole evenings round a bubbling pot of red broth, dipping in mushrooms, tofu and greens a few at a time and fishing them out with chopsticks. The best-known bases are cooked in beef tallow; the clear-oil style (qīngyóu huǒguō) uses rapeseed oil instead, which keeps it vegetarian without losing the heat and tingle. You need a portable burner or electric hot pot on the table. Chef's tip: give each person a bowl of sesame oil with crushed garlic for dipping; it cools each mouthful just enough to keep going.
- Total time
- 70 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the broth base
To cook at the table
For the dipping bowls
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Prepare all the dipping ingredients first and arrange them on plates round the burner, with the slow-cooking ones (potato, lotus, tofu) together.
Step 2: Heat ¾ cup rapeseed or vegetable oil in a large wok over a low heat. Add 4 tbsp Pixian chilli bean paste (doubanjiang) and fry gently, stirring, for 6–8 minutes, until the oil turns deep red and the paste smells rich rather than raw. Common mistake: frying it hot and fast, which scorches the paste and makes the whole pot bitter.
8 minStep 3: Add 1 oz fresh ginger, 1 head garlic, 1 tbsp fermented black beans (douchi), 2 star anise, 1 cinnamon stick and 3 bay leaves and stir for 2 minutes. Add 1 oz dried red chillies and 2 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns and stir for another minute, until the chillies smell toasty and the peppercorns crackle.
3 minStep 4: Pour in 2 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine, then 8 ¼ cups vegetable stock and 1 tbsp rock sugar or sugar. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 minutes so the spices give up their flavour. Taste and add salt if your stock is unsalted.
15 minStep 5: Pour the broth into the hot pot set on the table burner and keep it at a steady simmer. Mix 8 tbsp toasted sesame oil, 4 cloves garlic and 1 handful fresh coriander and divide between small bowls.
Step 6: Everyone cooks their own food: 1 potato, 7 oz lotus root and 14 oz firm tofu take 4–5 minutes; 14 oz mixed mushrooms (enoki, oyster, shiitake), 3 ½ oz dried tofu skin (yuba) and ½ Chinese leaf (napa cabbage) 2–3 minutes; 7 oz spinach or pea shoots and 5 ½ oz sweet potato glass noodles under a minute. Dip each piece in the sesame oil before eating.
Step 7: Top up with hot water or stock when the level drops. Noodles go in last, when the broth is at its most flavourful.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 480 kcal
- Protein
- 22 g
- Carbs
- 40 g
- Fat
- 30 g
- Fibre
- 8 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sichuan vegetable hot pot take?
- About 70 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- What can I use instead of fresh ginger?
- ¼ tsp ground ginger per tbsp fresh (add it with the spices).
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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