So….what is Hotpot exactly?
Well, you may have tried the fondue before, and now, think of it as Chinese fondue, with a metal pot filled with broth at the center of the table, and lots of raw ingredients placed around the pot, people gather together and cooking while eating at the same time. It is not just a dish anymore, it is more like an experience, which so many Western restaurants have recently adapted. when you look into Chinese history, you will find out that Hotpot appeared around the Zhou dynasty and it has been more than one thousand years, Hotpot is one of the most common dishes for traditional holidays and for winter.
How to start your first hotpot?
Here are some suggestions and food guide for the beginners to choose your very first hotpot.
First, choose your broth. There are varies kinds of broths that you may choose from, tomatoes’, pure vegetables, chicken, beef, seafood or Ma-la. For people who love spicy food, I would strongly recommend the Ma-La broth, it is one of the ancient broth in China which contains Sichuan peppers, chilies, and chili oil.
Second, choose your ingredients. There are no limitations to ingredients, you may put everything you love into the pot, including meat, seafood, vegetables, pasta, dumplings…etc. All you have to remember is to not to over- cooked these ingredients which it is easily to forgot, after all, you are eating while you are cooking.
Last, choose your dipping. Hot Pot dipping sauces are the last steps yet the most important role, with a right sauce you may add the extra effects to your hot pot, which it maximizes the tastes of the ingredients. These sauces are customizable and are mixed by natural ingredients such as soy sauce, chili oil, sesame oil, garlic, vinegar and green onions.
Where can I have some delicious Hotpots in Milan?
After exploring in Milan for two years, today I am going to introduce my favorites Top 3 Hot Pot restaurants in Milan.
Yuan Niu Dao – Via Carlo Farini, 74, 20159 Milano MI
For the beef lovers, here is your ultimate choose for having a beef hot pot. In this hot pot restaurant, you may taste the original Chaoshan beef hot pot, which is famous for fresh beef slices. You may choose different parts of beef to try, but all of them are all really tender and juicy.
Guan Guan – Via Luigi Federico Menabrea, 33, 20159 Milano MI
Have you ever heard of chuanchuanxiang? If not, you may have your first try here. chuanchuanxiang first appeared in the mid-1980s, originated in Chengdu, Sichuan, and now you may see this ‘way’ of eating everywhere. Instead of putting all the raw ingredients into the put, it is skewered with bamboo sticks, cooked in a marinade, dipped in spicy seasonings and then put them inside the hot pot which enriches in flavours.
Quattro Stagioni Hot Pot – Via Padova, 194, 20132 Milano MI
In this restaurant, you may have the ”four squares hot pot” which means that you may have four broths at the same time. Instead of choosing one broth as the base, now it gives you an opportunity to taste four kinds of flavours. Each flavour is separated from another by the pot’s design, so I will suggest to order four extremely different flavours to balance the mouth taste.
Now you have my Hot Pot guide in Milan, are you ready for your first hot-pot experience?
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