SICHUAN HOT POT
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For the soup base:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 slices ginger
3 to 5 bay leaves
10 cloves garlic, peeled
1 cinnamon stick
5 star anise
10 cloves
1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns
12 whole dried red chilies
1 package spicy hot pot soup base
12 to 15 cups chicken stock
For the dipping sauce:
soy sauce
sacha sauce
chili oil or paste
Chinese black vinegar (or rice vinegar)
sesame paste (or peanut butter)
sesame oil
sesame seeds
chopped peanuts
chopped cilantro
chopped scallions
chopped garlic
To eat with the hot pot, your choice of:
thinly shaved beef or lamb
sliced chicken
assorted fish balls (you can buy these pre-made at Asian grocery stores)
thinly sliced fish fillets (tender white fish like tilapia or sea bass work for this)
tofu sheets
firm tofu (sliced)
soy puffs (fried tofu puffs)
straw mushrooms
shiitake mushrooms
wood ear mushrooms
fresh noodles
glass noodles (mung bean vermicelli)
prepared frozen dumplings or wontons
Chinese rice cakes
bok choy (or choy sum)
green leaf lettuce
Napa cabbage
1. For the soup base: Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat, add the ginger and cook the for about a minute, making sure the ginger doesn’t burn. Add the bay leaves, whole garlic cloves, cinnamon stick, star anise and cloves and cook another 2 minutes, until the mixture is very fragrant.
2. Add the Sichuan peppercorns, dried chiles (whole) and the spicy hot pot soup base. Cook for another 2 minutes, then add the chicken stock. Bring to a boil and transfer to the pot you’ll be using for your hot pot meal. You want the pot to be relatively wide and at least 6 inches deep.
3. For the dipping sauce: Array the sauce ingredients on the tabletop, give each guest a small bowl and encourage them to combine whatever mix of ingredients they like.
4. For the hot pot: To assemble the hot pot, plug in your hot plate, place the prepared pot of broth on top and bring it to a low boil or simmer. Place your choice of ingredients to be cooked in the broth on the table around it, encourage guests to mix their own dipping sauces, and dive in. Each person takes what they like onto their plate, adds pieces to the pot, waits for them to cook, and then returns them from the pot to their plates and dips them into their sauce. As the liquid in the hot pot evaporates while you’re cooking, add boiling water is needed. Serve with white rice.
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LEE KUM KEE SOUP BASE FOR SICHUAN HOT AND SPICY HOT POT
adapted from thewoksoflife.com