How to Host a Vegetarian Hot Pot Party
A thorough guide on how to host a fun and delicious vegetarian hot pot party at home. The post includes tips and instructions on how to prepare the food and includes a recipe at the end as guidance. You can replace any of the ingredients with ones you prefer. {Vegetarian, Vegan}
Servings: 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
Hot pot soup base
- Sichuan spicy hot pot base (store-bought or homemade)
- Non-spicy hot pot base (clear broth, mushroom or tomato)
Hot pot dipping sauce
- Homemade sesame dipping sauce
- cilantro , Chopped (for garnish)
- green onion , Sliced (for garnish)
- Sesame oil (and or chili oil) (Optional)
Hot pot ingredients (*Footnote 1)
- 1 lb (450 g) assorted mushrooms
- 1/2 block frozen tofu , sliced
- 2 cups yuba knots (or yuba sheets)
- 2 cups fried tofu , sliced
- 4 cups leafy green vegetables (napa cabbage, baby bok choy etc) , cut to large bite-size pieces
- 4 cups crunchy vegetables (bamboo shoots, cauliflower, lotus root) , cut to bite-size pieces
- 1 cup starchy vegetable (potato, sweet potato, taro root) , sliced
- 2 small batches noodles (or half a bag of frozen dumplings)
Instructions
To prepare the hot pot base
- Add the hot pot base into the hot pot, one flavor on each side. Add water according to the package instructions. For a more stunning presentation, you can add some dried chili peppers on the spicy side and chopped green onions on the non-spicy side (those are optional).
Prepare the dipping sauce
- Make the dipping sauce if using my homemade recipe. If using store bought, add them into medium-sized bowls, one flavor per bowl.
- Serve the chopped green onions and chopped cilantro in separate bowls alongside the dipping sauce. You can also add small bowls of sesame oil and / or chili oil on the side. It’s especially useful if you’re using store-bought dipping sauce, since it will make the sauce more fragrant.
Prepare the hot pot ingredients
- For the mushrooms, wash and drain as needed. Remove the tough ends, then tear into bite-size pieces or clumps. Serve on a plate.
- Add the frozen tofu, yuba knots and sliced fried tofu to a big plate.
- For the leafy green vegetables, wash thoroughly and drain. Cut into large bite-size pieces and serve on a plate.
- For the crunchy vegetables, cut into bite-size pieces if needed. Serve on a large plate.
- Wash and peel the starchy vegetables. Slice to thin pieces so it’s easy to cook through. Serve on a plate.
- Serve the noodles on a plate. If using frozen dumplings, pull them out of the freezer right before cooking (these are typically cooked at the end of the meal, so do not pull them out at the beginning of your party).
Cooking with the hot pot
- When your guests have arrived, heat up the hot pot over medium-high heat. When the hot pot is boiling, it’s ready to cook and eat. (*Footnote 2)
- For the dipping sauce, each guest will take their portion from the shared sauce bowl, then garnish it with cilantro, green onion and sesame oil, as desired.
- Cook whichever ingredients you’d like to eat. The cooking time depends on the ingredient. For example, yuba sheets take 30 seconds to 1 minute to cook through. Yuba knots take 1 to 2 minutes. Leafy greens and crunchy vegetables take anywhere from 1 minute to a few minutes. Starchy vegetables and frozen tofu take longer to cook and you should check on them from time to time until tender throughout.
- Once an item is cooked, immediately transfer it to an individual serving plate. It will overcook if you leave it in the pot. To eat, dip the cooked item in the dipping sauce and enjoy!
Notes
- For a hot pot party, you will want to prepare some extra food for variety, to make sure everyone has a great time. You can use the leftover vegetables to make soup, stir fries, or even Ma La Xiang Guo (Spicy dry pot). The other way to use leftovers is to cook everything in the hot pot at the end of the party and store the cooked vegetables in containers. The next day you can heat them up and serve them with the dipping sauce.
- After the hot pot has been boiling for a while, the soup level will get lower and lower. You should add boiling water to top off the soup base so the pot doesn’t run dry.