Sharing the Hot Pot Tradition
By Mie Olson, Staff member
Hot pot is deeply rooted in many cultures around the globe. In Japan where I grew up, as we
feel the cold wind and step on crunchy fallen leaves in fall, the thought of eating a hot pot is
what makes a lot of us excited and comforted.
It might have something to do with our instinct telling us to eat some nutritious food in one go,
that has numerous amounts of vitamins and minerals, proteins, carbs, and fiber as well as some powerful and potent elements from ginger, alliums, sea vegetables, herbs and spices, and so much more.
Hot pot does not only warm our body literally, but it also is normally shared with family and
friends at a table on a portable stove, where each of us has a little serving bowl with or without a dipping sauce, and we enjoy it with a good conversation and laughter. It’s also very easy to put
together utilizing what you have in your fridge, what’s in season, what’s available in your region,
and what’s in your budget. There are countless varieties that would never make you bored.
Ingredients are normally loads of vegetables, tofu, noodles, shirataki or konjac, fish cakes,
seafood, and meats, and they can be cooked in kombu, shiitake, fish broth or simply water and
eaten with different kinds of dipping sauces, such as ponzu with grated daikon or tahini sauce.
There are many varieties that are cooked with ingredients and seasonings, such as miso, soy
sauce, mirin, sake, kimchi, tomato sauce, or even cheese, that don’t require any dipping sauce.
What makes each hot pot complete is the combination of the ingredients that adds so much
flavor to the entire dish.
What is the most exciting part of eating hot pot, for many people, is when most of the
ingredients are all eaten, either rice or noodles are added to the broth, simmered a little, and
enjoyed with some eggs dropped and gently stirred in.