What is mala hotpot?
Hotpot is Huǒguō in Chinese, which means fire pot. The spicy mala broth comes from Chongqing and Sichuan province. The tingle comes from hydroxy-alpha-sanshool in Sichuan pepper. It stimulates the nerves in your tongue until they feel slightly numb. Together with the chilies, you feel burning and prickling at once. In other regions of China, people eat hotpot with a mild broth. You can find an overview at Huo Guo.
Authentic hotpot: what goes into the broth
Restaurants in Chongqing cook the broth on beef tallow. The fat sets as it cools and carries the flavor of chili and pepper. At home you use vegetable oil as in the recipe card, or replace half of it with beef tallow from the butcher. The base flavor comes from doubanjiang, the fermented chili bean paste. On the label, look for Pixian as the place of origin to find the classic kind. For more depth, add 2 tbsp douchi, fermented black beans. Green Sichuan pepper tastes more of lemon than red and tingles harder. A handful of it alongside the red makes the broth fresher.
Making hot pot: the equipment
- Burner: An induction plate or a gas burner for the table. With a gas burner, ventilate the room.
- Pot: A wide pot holding 3 to 4 liters. At an Asian grocery store you can find yuanyang pots with a divider, for spicy and mild broth side by side. That way even someone who cannot take heat can join in.
- Tools: Small wire strainers for fishing things out, and a pair of chopsticks used only for raw meat. For eating, use a second pair.
Ingredients for dipping
Plan on 150 to 200 g of meat or seafood per person, and about the same amount of vegetables, tofu and noodles. Have the butcher slice beef and lamb 2 mm thin, or buy them frozen at an Asian grocery store. The slices cook in 20 to 30 seconds. Potato slices, lotus root and tofu need 3 to 5 minutes, leafy greens one minute. Noodles go into the broth last, when it has the most flavor. You can read more about thick wheat noodles at udon noodles.
Dips
In Chongqing, guests dip the hot pieces into sesame oil with pressed garlic, cilantro and scallions. The oil cools and softens the heat. Alternatively, stir Chinese sesame paste smooth with soy sauce, a little sugar and water.
Malatang: mala broth in a bowl
Malatang is the street food version for one person. You pick ingredients at a counter, the cook simmers them in mala broth and serves everything with broth in a bowl. For malatang at home, cook the broth from this recipe, simmer the ingredients one after another in the pot and fill bowls with glass noodles and broth. Top with sesame paste, chili oil and cilantro.
Leftovers and related dishes
Strain leftover broth, bring it to a boil and refrigerate it once cool. The red fat that sets on top is good for seasoning noodles. Mapo tofu has the same mala flavor. For a mild fire pot from Japan, cook shabu-shabu.
