Winter treat - Chinese Hot Pot

Chinese hot pot (direct translation) is something that comes to my head every winter. You got to have hot pot in winter, it is like a rule for me.

What is hot pot? If you are asking:

Hot pot is Chinese styled fondue with a pot of boiling soup in the middle of the table and the dishes are around the pot. The dishes are mostly raw and ready to be cook in the pot. You can throw in whatever you have prepared. When you eat it, you should mix your own dipping sauce.

Depending on your style, the dipping sauce can be a mixture any peanut sauce, chilli oil, soy sauce, chopped spring onion, chopped garlic, sesame oil.. it is a personal preference.

I was invited to this hot pot dinner and it was like the luxury version of hot pot! I have never had oysters in hot pot and generally I am scared of the rawness of oysters. But if you cook the oyster in the water for roughly 10~15 seconds, it is really yummy! Remember not to cook it in the spicy soup as you won't be able to taste the pure flavor.

Here is my list of my best hot pot dishes:
- Thinly sliced lamb or pork
- Oysters
- Glass noodle (unfortunately we did not have udon noodle)
- Mushrooms (long ones, white enokitake mushrooms)
- Calamari
- Chinese cabbage
- Fish cake (a type of tempura)
- Oily tofu
- Pork meatballs

I have family over later this month, we shall have at least one hot pot dinner! If you are interested to have hot pot in Cape Town, you can go to the following:

Xiang Yuan
254 Main Road, Sea Point
021 434 4987

Royo Kloof
1st Floor, 115 Kloof Street
Gardens
021 422 1888

Dynasty
Shop 10 Nedbank Centre, Kloof Road
Sea Point
021 434 0065