Sichuan hot pot

Name: Sichuan hot pot
Prep time: 50 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 140 min
Yield: 4 people
Cuisine: Sichuan
Ingredients: 200 g Suet or Neutral oil, rendered beef tallow, or beef suet melted down and strained; 100 ml Neutral oil, to loosen the tallow; 100 g Doubanjiang, Pixian if you can get it, chopped fine; 40 g Dried chilli, seeds shaken out, soaked 20 minutes, blitzed to a rough paste; 20 g Sichuan pepper, whole red peppercorns; 1 tbsp Fermented black beans, rinsed and chopped; 40 g Ginger, sliced; 8 clove Garlic, peeled and lightly crushed; 3 piece Spring onion, cut into lengths; 3 piece Star anise; 1 piece Cinnamon stick; 4 piece Bay leaf; 2 piece Cardamom, black cardamom if you can get it, cracked; 1 tsp Fennel seeds; 20 g Sugar, rock sugar if you have it; 50 ml Shaoxing wine; 1.5 l Beef stock, or water, plus more hot stock for topping up; 1.5 l Chicken stock; 20 g Ginger, sliced; 2 piece Spring onion, cut into lengths; 6 piece Jujube, dried red dates; 500 g Beef, sirloin or brisket, half-frozen and sliced paper thin; 300 g Lamb, shoulder, sliced paper thin; 300 g Prawn, raw, peeled or shell on; 400 g Tofu, firm, in thick slices; 300 g Mushrooms, enoki, shiitake or oyster mushrooms, trimmed; 500 g Napa cabbage, leaves torn; 300 g Potato, peeled, sliced 5 mm thick; 150 g Dangmyeon, sweet potato glass noodles, soaked 30 minutes; 200 ml Toasted sesame oil, about 50 ml per person

四川火锅

A tabletop pot of beef-tallow mala broth, red with chilli and numbing with Sichuan pepper, simmering in the middle of the table while everyone cooks their own meat, tofu and greens.

Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: 四川火锅.

Start cooking

Prep: 50 min
Cook: 1 hr 30 min
Rest: None
Total: 2 hr 20 min
Difficulty: Medium
Spice: Hot
Cost: Treat yourself$28+ USD · indicative, not a store price

Know it before you cook it

Image coming soon

About

Hot pot is less a recipe than an evening. The work is the broth base: beef tallow melted down, then doubanjiang, soaked dried chillies, Sichuan pepper, ginger, garlic and whole spices fried in it slowly until the fat is deep red and smells of all of them. Stock goes in, the pot moves to a burner in the middle of the table, and from then on people cook their own food in it, a few pieces at a time. A plain chicken broth in a divided pot is there for anyone who needs a break. Each person has a bowl of sesame oil and garlic for dipping, which cools and coats whatever comes out of the red side.

What you'll need

35 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.

0 of 35 ready

4 servings

Mala broth
Plain broth
To cook
Dipping sauce

Ingredients

Servings

Mala broth

Choose one
Suet, rendered beef tallow, or beef suet melted down and strained200 g
Neutral oil, to loosen the tallow100 ml
Doubanjiang, Pixian if you can get it, chopped fine100 g
Dried chilli, seeds shaken out, soaked 20 minutes, blitzed to a rough paste40 g
Sichuan pepper, whole red peppercorns20 g
Fermented black beans, rinsed and chopped15 ml
Ginger, sliced40 g
Garlic, peeled and lightly crushed8 clove
Spring onion, cut into lengths3
Star anise3
Cinnamon stick1
Bay leaf4
Cardamom, black cardamom if you can get it, cracked2
Fennel seeds4.9 ml
Sugar, rock sugar if you have it20 g
Shaoxing wine50 ml
Beef stock, or water, plus more hot stock for topping up1½ l

Plain broth

Chicken stock (optional)1½ l
Ginger, sliced (optional)20 g
Spring onion, cut into lengths (optional)2
Jujube, dried red dates (optional)6

To cook

Beef, sirloin or brisket, half-frozen and sliced paper thin500 g
Lamb, shoulder, sliced paper thin (optional)300 g
Prawn, raw, peeled or shell on300 g
Tofu, firm, in thick slices400 g
Mushrooms, enoki, shiitake or oyster mushrooms, trimmed300 g
Napa cabbage, leaves torn500 g
Potato, peeled, sliced 5 mm thick300 g
Dangmyeon, sweet potato glass noodles, soaked 30 minutes150 g

Dipping sauce

Toasted sesame oil, about 50 ml per person200 ml
Garlic, crushed to a paste6 clove
Coriander, chopped1 bunch
Spring onion, finely sliced2
Oyster sauce, 1 tsp per bowl (optional)20 ml
Salt1 pinch

Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.

Steps

Step 1
Soak the dried chillies in hot water for 20 minutes, drain and blitz or chop to a rough paste. Chop the doubanjiang finer if it is chunky, and rinse and chop the black beans.
25 min
Step 2
Melt the tallow with the oil in a wok over low heat. Add the ginger, garlic and spring onion and fry gently until golden at the edges, about 5 minutes. Add the doubanjiang and fry, stirring, for 8 to 10 minutes until the oil is deep red and the paste no longer smells raw.
15 min
Watch: Keep the heat low. Doubanjiang and chilli scorch quickly and turn bitter, and there is no saving it then.
Step 3
Add the chilli paste, black beans, Sichuan pepper, star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, cardamom and fennel seeds and fry for 5 minutes more on low. Stir in the sugar and wine, cook for 1 minute, then pour in the beef stock and simmer for 15 minutes.
22 min
Tip: The fried base, before the stock goes in, keeps for weeks in the fridge. Make double; the fat sets on top and seals it.
Step 4
If making the plain broth, simmer the chicken stock with its ginger, spring onion and red dates for 15 minutes. Meanwhile lay out the beef, lamb, prawns, tofu, mushrooms, cabbage, potato and drained noodles on plates around the table.
20 min
Step 5
Set a portable gas or induction burner in the middle of the table with a wide, deep pot on it, or a divided yuanyang pot with mala on one side and plain on the other. Pour in the broths and bring to a lively simmer.
10 min
Watch: Use a burner made for tabletop use, keep the cable or gas line out of the way, and keep the pot no more than two-thirds full.
Step 6
Give everyone a bowl and mix the dip in it: about 50 ml sesame oil, a spoon of crushed garlic, coriander, spring onion, a pinch of salt and a little oyster sauce if you like.
5 min
Step 7
Cook as you eat. Thin beef and lamb need 10 to 20 seconds, swished in the broth; prawns about 2 minutes; tofu, mushrooms and cabbage 2 to 4 minutes; potato and noodles longer, near the end. Fish everything out with chopsticks or a small strainer, dip it and eat, and top up the pot with hot stock as it reduces.
60 min
Tip: Save the vegetables and noodles for later. They are best once the meat has flavoured the broth.
Watch: Keep the broth at a steady boil while raw food goes in. Give the raw meat and prawns their own serving chopsticks or strainer, and never eat with chopsticks that have touched raw meat. Cook beef and lamb until no longer pink and prawns until opaque all through, and put the raw plates back in the fridge if the meal runs past two hours.

Nutrition

Per serving · estimate

Calories: 1541 kcal
Protein: 98.8 g
Carbs: 95.6 g
Fat: 85.9 g
Saturated fat: 21.2 g
Fibre: 11.5 g
Sugar: 21.7 g
Sodium: 4441 mg

Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.

Allergens

Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.

Soy
Wheat
Shellfish
Sesame

Dairy-free
Nut-free

Adapt this recipe

The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.

Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 12 November.

Substitutions

Beef tallow → Vegetable oil
The broth is lighter and will not set into a block in the fridge. You lose the beefy depth but the washing-up is easier.
Sweet potato glass noodles → Mung bean glass noodles
Thinner and softer. Add them for the last minute only.

Tips

Most Sichuan families buy a block of hot pot base. If you do, fry it in a little oil before adding stock and throw in a handful of fresh Sichuan pepper to wake it up.
Slice beef and lamb from half-frozen meat with your sharpest knife, or buy it ready-sliced from the freezer of an Asian supermarket.
Lotus root, tripe, quail eggs, fish balls and frozen tofu are all standard if you can find them.

History & culture

In Chongqing and Chengdu hot pot is eaten all year, August heat included, at long, loud dinners with beer. Friends order by the plate: thin beef, tripe, duck intestine, potato, lotus root, tofu skin. At home it is a winter gathering and a New Year's Eve meal. The sesame oil dip is not optional; it takes the edge off the heat.

The beef-tallow version is usually traced to the docks of Chongqing in the late Qing or early Republican years, where boatmen and porters cooked cheap offal in a shared spicy pot. The story goes that the tallow and chilli were there to cover the offal and keep out the river damp. Restaurant hot pot spread through Sichuan in the 20th century and across China from the 1990s.

Traditional — Chongqing restaurants use far more tallow than this, sometimes half the pot, and some keep and reuse the base. This home base is lighter. You need a portable gas or induction burner for the table, which is not in our equipment list. A divided yuanyang pot is the usual way to offer a mild side.

Provenance: Editorial adaptation.

Questions about this recipe

Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.

How long does Sichuan hot pot take?

2 hr 20 min all in — 50 min prep, 1 hr 30 min cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.

How many does it serve?

The recipe is written for 4 people. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.

How hard is it?

Medium.

How spicy is it?

Hot.

What allergens should I watch?

This recipe is labelled for Soy, Wheat, Shellfish, Sesame. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.

Does it fit a diet?

The published recipe is labelled Dairy-free, Nut-free.

10 more questions

What does it cost to cook?

Treat yourself — about $28+ USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.

What equipment do I need?

Wok, Stockpot, Saucepan, Blender, Chef's knife, Cutting board, Spider or strainer.

How much salt do I put in?

The recipe lists Salt at 1 pinch.

How much sugar?

20 g (rock sugar if you have it) of Sugar.

How much toasted sesame oil?

200 ml (about 50 ml per person) of Toasted sesame oil.

How much oyster sauce?

4 tsp (1 tsp per bowl, optional) of Oyster sauce.

What can I use instead?

Beef tallow → Vegetable oil. The broth is lighter and will not set into a block in the fridge. You lose the beefy depth but the washing-up is easier. Sweet potato glass noodles → Mung bean glass noodles. Thinner and softer. Add them for the last minute only.

What should I watch for?

Keep the heat low. Doubanjiang and chilli scorch quickly and turn bitter, and there is no saving it then. Use a burner made for tabletop use, keep the cable or gas line out of the way, and keep the pot no more than two-thirds full. Keep the broth at a steady boil while raw food goes in. Give the raw meat and prawns their own serving chopsticks or strainer, and never eat with chopsticks that have touched raw meat. Cook beef and lamb until no longer pink and prawns until opaque all through, and put the raw plates back in the fridge if the meal runs past two hours.

Any tips from this recipe?

Most Sichuan families buy a block of hot pot base. If you do, fry it in a little oil before adding stock and throw in a handful of fresh Sichuan pepper to wake it up. Slice beef and lamb from half-frozen meat with your sharpest knife, or buy it ready-sliced from the freezer of an Asian supermarket. Lotus root, tripe, quail eggs, fish balls and frozen tofu are all standard if you can find them.

Can I use an air fryer?

This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.