Chinese Hot Pot

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1. 1Step 1: For the soup base, you can use a tomato flavored hot pot soup base (see the linked recipe), or make a simple homemade pork bone or chicken stock. Simmer the stock with some slices of ginger and chopped green onions for 20 minutes in a hot pot pan or saucepan. Then add some goji berries, a splash of ground white pepper, and salt to taste. Store-bought soup base options are also available if you are short on time.
2. 2Step 2: Neatly arrange the ingredients on plates according to their categories. For seafood like fish balls, fish cakes, fish tofu, and shrimp balls, there is no need to thaw them beforehand; just rinse and separate them into individual pieces. For vegetables, wash and cut them according to the recommendations in the ingredients section.
3. 3Step 3: To make the dipping sauce, mix 2 tablespoons of Chinese barbecue sauce with 1 teaspoon of creamy peanut butter and 1 tablespoon of sesame oil. For optional added flavors, add 1/2 teaspoon of Chinese black (Chinkiang) vinegar, 1 teaspoon of chili crisps or sauce, 1 teaspoon of minced garlic or garlic paste, and/or 1/2 teaspoon of fermented bean curd.
4. 4Step 4: Center the hot pot on the table. If using a countertop butane stove, place the pot with the soup base directly on top of it. If using an electric hot pot, prepare the soup base first on the stove, then transfer it to the electric hot pot. Surround the hot pot with the plates of prepared ingredients.
5. 5Step 5: When the soup base starts bubbling, add a few ingredients from each category (or whichever you prefer to eat first) to the hot pot. The meat and seafood (like raw shrimp and fish fillets) become edible when they change color, which takes very little time. Ingredients like beef, fish, shrimp balls, and fish tofu become edible when they float to the top. Most vegetables do not require much cooking time, but there are exceptions like potato and pumpkin. Tofu can be cooked for a short or long time based on personal preference.
6. 6Step 6: Dip the cooked ingredients in the prepared dipping sauce and enjoy. You can also serve yourself a bowl of the soup straight from the pot, either at the beginning or towards the end. Note that the soup tends to become more salty as more ingredients are cooked over the course of the meal.