Technique: Hot Pot - All Translations

[edit] About Hot Pot

Hot pot is a common Asian dinner where a variety of meats, vegetables, mushrooms, tofu, dumplings or noodles are cooked at the dining table in a large pot.  The pot is filled with broth and placed over a portable burner then brought up to a boil. 
Each person cooks their food by placing into the boiling broth, then dips into any number of sauces (soy sauce, sesame paste, oyster sauce, chiu chow sauce).  As food is cooked throughout the meal, the broth becomes more richly flavored.
Near the end of the meal, noodles are added to the pot and cooked.  Each guest is then given a bowl of cooked noodles topped with the remaining broth.

Since the meal utilizes a burner and can last for a long period of time, the meal is most commonly eaten in Winter as it can tend to heat up the house.