Chinese Four-Season Hot Pot: A Delicious Journey Following the Seasons

Monday, November 25, 2024

Do you know? In China, hot pot is not only an exclusive delicacy in winter but also a delicious choice suitable for all four seasons. As the seasons change and the climate varies, people's pursuit of delicacies also changes accordingly. Smart Chinese people can always skillfully combine different ingredients and elaborately cook hot pots with different flavors based on the unique charm of each season and the gifts of nature, allowing the hot pot of every season to blossom with a unique charm. This article will take you to explore the rich and colorful world of hot pot in China!

Fresh and Moist in Spring: Health-Preserving Mushroom Soup Hot Pot

In spring, everything revives, and nature bestows abundant fresh and delicious ingredients. The health-preserving mushroom soup hot pot is undoubtedly one of the best choices in this season. Select a variety of rare wild mushrooms, such as matsutake, bolete, and dictyophora, and combine them with high soup boiled from old hens or pork ribs. Simmer them over a low fire for several hours until the mushroom soup becomes rich and mellow, as clear and attractive as amber.

When the mushroom soup in the pot starts boiling and rolls, the rising aroma seems to incorporate the freshness of the entire spring. First, serve a bowl of mushroom soup and take a sip. The delicious taste instantly blossoms in the mouth, bringing endless moisture and satisfaction. Then put various mushrooms into the pot for cooking. They absorb the essence of the soup and have a tender and smooth taste. Paired with some seasonal vegetables of spring, such as bamboo shoots in spring, spinach, and pea sprouts, they are fresh and refreshing. They can not only relieve greasiness but also replenish the body with rich vitamins and dietary fibers.

Cool and Refreshing in Summer: Special Sour Soup Hot Pot

In the hot summer, with the intense heat, people's appetite is often affected. At this time, a special sour and spicy hot pot that stimulates the appetite can wake up the dormant taste buds. The sour soup hot pot is most famous in Guizhou. Its unique fermentation process endows the sour soup with a rich flavor and rich nutrition. The red sour soup is mainly made from tomatoes and is naturally fermented. It has a bright red color, a mellow sour taste, and a slight spiciness. The white sour soup is made from fermented rice washing water and has a refreshing taste and a pleasant sour aroma.

Pour the sour soup汤(tāng) into the pot and bring it to a boil. The unique sour smell will immediately make your mouth water. The ingredients for the sour soup hot pot are rich and diverse. Fresh and tender fish, beef, mutton, as well as various bean products and vegetables can all be perfectly paired with it.

(tāng), noun, soup

Examples:

  1. I like to drink chicken soup.
    我喜欢喝鸡汤。
    wǒ xǐ huān hē jī tāng 。
  2. The soup is too salty.
    这汤太咸了。
    zhè tāng tài xián le 。 

After the fish is cooked in the sour soup, it is tender and smooth, and melts in the mouth. The sour and spicy taste of the sour soup appropriately masks the fishy smell and adds a unique flavor instead. Paired with a special cold dipping sauce made from chili peppers, minced garlic, houttuynia cordata, cilantro, etc., it is sour and spicy and very satisfying.

In the hot summer, having a meal of sour soup hot pot can not only relieve the summer heat and stimulate the appetite but also taste the unique local flavor. It is truly a pleasant enjoyment.

Nourishing in Autumn: Fragrant Mutton Hot Pot

In autumn, the weather gradually turns cooler. It's time to replenish energy for the body and withstand the upcoming cold winter. The fragrant mutton hot pot becomes the favorite on the dining table in this season. Select superior mutton, such as the mutton from Inner Mongolia. The meat is tender, with a balanced proportion of fat and lean, and has very little mutton smell.

Cut the mutton into thin slices and put them in the boiling pot for a quick blanching. In an instant, the mutton changes color and cooks through. Take it out and dip it in the dipping sauce made from sesame paste, Chinese chive flower, fermented bean curd, etc., and put it in your mouth to chew. It is tender, juicy, and fragrant.

The pot base of the mutton hot pot is usually clear soup or medicinal food soup. The clear soup can retain the original fresh taste of the mutton to the greatest extent. The medicinal food soup adds Chinese medicinal materials such as wolfberries, red dates, codonopsis pilosula, and angelica sinensis, which have the effect of nourishing and maintaining health.

During the process of blanching the mutton, you can also add some seasonal vegetables of autumn, such as radishes萝卜(luó bo), Chinese cabbages, and Chinese yams. The radishes are sweet and refreshing. Eating them with mutton can not only neutralize the greasiness of the mutton but also promote digestion and ventilation. The Chinese yams are soft and sweet, rich in various nutrients, adding a special texture to the hot pot. The whole family sits together, tasting the steaming hot mutton hot pot, feeling the warmth and happiness of autumn. It is truly a great pleasure in life.

萝卜 (luó bo), noun, radish

Examples:

  1. These radishes are fresh.
    这些萝卜很新鲜。
    zhè xiē luó bo hěn xīn xiān 。
  2. I like to eat pickled radishes.
    我喜欢吃腌萝卜。
    wǒ xǐ huān chī yān luó bo 。 

Hot and Spicy in Winter: Classic Spicy Hot Pot

In winter, the chilly wind howls, and people long to dispel the cold in their bodies through delicacies. The classic spicy hot pot is undoubtedly the best warming device in winter. The spicy hot pot is famous for its rich spicy taste and rich texture. The pot base is usually fried from various spices such as chili peppers, Sichuan peppers, beef tallow, ginger, and garlic. The bright red color and the fragrant aroma make people's appetite increase at first sight.

When the beef tallow melts in the pot and the chili peppers and Sichuan peppers release the spicy flavor under high temperature, the entire space is filled with a rich spicy smell. Put various ingredients into the pot for blanching, such as beef, tripe, duck intestines, tofu skin, and enoki mushrooms. They are instantly wrapped by the hot and spicy soup and absorb the full spicy flavor.

After blanching the tripe up and down seven or eight times, it is crispy and delicious. Every bristle is covered with the spicy soup. The duck intestines curl up after a slight blanching in the pot. They are tender, smooth, spicy, and delicious when eaten. When having spicy hot pot, how can you miss a cup of iced beverage or beer? The collision of ice and fire stimulates a wonderful taste feast on the tip of the tongue. In the cold winter, sitting with friends and family in front of the spicy hot pot, enjoying the warmth brought by the hot and spicy delicacies while chatting and laughing. That kind of liveliness and satisfaction makes people forget the severe cold of winter.

The four-season hot pots each have their own charm. It not only satisfies people's pursuit of delicacies but also reflects the Chinese people's dietary wisdom of following nature and eating seasonally. In different seasons, taste the hot pot suitable for the current season, feel the blending of nature's gifts and food culture, and make life full of unique flavors. 

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