Plain boiled pork hot pot, often served with pickled Chinese cabbage Photo: CFP

Friends and family gathering together and sitting around a table to share a hot pot meal on a cold winter night is a much loved tradition among Chinese people, young and old, rich and poor, from all regions of the country.

A long time ago - it is said that the origins of hot pot can be traced back to the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) - Chinese people first developed this famous cuisine. It sounds basic: a pot of broth is brought to a boil and diners cook various foods in the soup.

However, as the many parts of China are quite different from each other in terms of weather, local produce and eating habits, people from different regions enjoy hot pot in completely different ways. For example, people in the north of China refer to hot pot as eating shuan guo (instant-boil sliced meat and vegetables in a pot), while south of the Yangtze River the name for the cuisine refers to the type of pot it is cooked in, not the food itself.

"People in Guangdong Province call it da bianlu (cooking on the side of the oven), in reference to the central cylinder of the pot, which has coals inside. What is more interesting is that they use chopsticks that are almost twice as long as normal ones to eat hot pot!" said Qiu Kun, a chef at the Hyatt Regency Qingdao Hotel. "People in Sichuan Province simply call it eating hot pot. They like to sit on tall chairs, looking down from a height so it's easier to manage the boiling food," Qiu told the Global Times. In Chongqing, people often divide the pot into several cells so that everyone at the table can eat from the same pot without their food getting "stolen."

The country's hot pot preferences are as varied as its terrain, but here are a few treasures from different regions to help fend off the cold this winter.

Doumi hot pot

Doumi (kidney bean) hot pot is a delicious and unique twist on tradition from Guiyang, the provincial capital of Guizhou Province in Southwest China. This style uses red kidney beans as the main ingredient for the soup.

"No one knows when doumi hot pot first appeared in Guiyang. What is known is that it has a long history," said Dao Ge, co-founder of Three Guizhou Men Restaurant. "It used to be a food for the poor, who thought of using cheap red kidney beans to replace meat in the hot pot. Eventually, it became widely popular among locals from all social backgrounds," he told the Global Times.

The beans are boiled for a long time, until they are extremely soft and tender, as if they will immediately melt in the mouth. After such a long period of boiling, the skins are no longer noticeable, and only a wonderful mellow, thick mouthfeel will be found on the palate.

Furthermore, one ingredient that should never be left out of a great doumi hot pot experience is ruan shao (diced pork fried in sauce until no longer oily). Locals love adding a handful of tasty ruan shao into their doumi hot pot—without it, they would consider the dish to be incomplete.

The right way to enjoy doumi hot pot is to do it slowly, as the longer the broth boils, the better it tastes. At the end of the meal, hot pot fanatics are known to take a full bowl of the sticky doumi broth, infused with the essence of beans, meat, seafood and vegetables, and drink it down, pleasing the tongue and warming the stomach.

Chrysanthemum hot pot

It is said that chrysanthemum hot pot was created by Empress Dowager Cixi, the formidable and powerful woman of the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), who thought chrysanthemums to be good for her beauty. Another rumor contends that this flower-based hot pot was invented by Tao Yuanming, the renowned Chinese poet of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420) who resigned from public life to live in seclusion. Tao is known for his love of chrysanthemums, and it is said that he would pluck several of the blossoms and throw the petals into a hot pot and drink alcohol while composing poetry.

But no matter how this version of the cuisine came to be, adding the flower to the pot lends a sort of romantic feeling to the broth. Furthermore, chrysanthemum reduces internal heat, benefits the liver, and contains anti-aging flavonoids.

Soak the flowers for a while to remove any dirt and drain well. Bring chicken or pork broth to a boil and then add sliced chicken, pork, fish or vegetables of your choosing. After one minute, add chrysanthemum petals and boil for a little while before enjoying the food.

Two things to remember: First, though chrysanthemums are lovely to smell and are good for your health as part of a broth, it is not recommended that you bite into the petals directly as the taste is not very pleasant. Second, when eating chrysanthemum hot pot, add more broth frequently, as the liquid can tend to lose its volume after a long period of boiling.

Plain boiled pork hot pot

Just as its name implies, the main ingredient in this style of hot pot is plain boiled pork, usually streaky pork, or pork belly. In addition, pickled Chinese cabbage is a must, as it cuts the grease from the meat and enhances its flavor.

In Northeast China, hot pot was once a meal that only the rich could afford to eat. Regarding its origins, one story holds that when the Qing emperors, who were Manchus, held rituals to worship their ancestors or gods, they liked to prepare plain boiled pork as offerings and bestow the pork to their spiritual guides after the ceremony. However, as pork boiled in plain water is tasteless, people began to eat it with pickled Chinese cabbage. Gradually, this delight became a tradition.

In addition to plain boiled pork and pickled Chinese cabbage, this style of hot pot usually contains meat, refined salt, dried shrimp and fensi (vermicelli made from bean starch). After the soup is heated, add sliced medium-well boiled pork, beef and mutton. Once they're cooked, dip them in a mixture of soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, brine shrimp oil, fermented bean curd and leek flower sauce. No matter how cold it is outside, enjoying such a delicious meal can conquer any low temperature.

By Shen Lili