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All the Hot Pots I Had in Taiwan!

All the Hot Pots I Had in Taiwan!

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There is nothing I enjoy more for dinner in the winter time than Hot Pot!  In case your’e not familiar, Hot Pot is what most people call Huo Guo or 火鍋. However, it’s literal translation is “Fire Pot” (Huo 火 = Fire, and Guo 鍋 = Pot). I think its literal translation actually describes what it is better. What it is in short is a pot on top of fire.

Hot Pot
Hot Pot


“Big deal… isn’t that how you cook anything!” might be what you’re thinking.

The main diference here is that you cook your food in the Hot Pot while you’re eating it through out the meal (Maybe not AT THE EXACT same time as that might burn your face off, but you know what I mean)  Think of it like a fondue, actually.

So, how it’s served is you are sitting in front of a pot (with fire underneath it) and you have probably some nice soup base (in restaurants you get to pick what kind, for example, original or kimchi or seafood or whatever!) in it already with a few ingredients inside.  You also get dishes of raw ingredients such as different vegetables, mushrooms, fish and meat balls, and meat slices to throw in the pot.  Then you cook it, dip it in whatever dipping sauce concoction (usually involves soy sauce and sacha sauce) and eat it while it’s hot!  It can’t get any fresher than this!  I also would like to add, that if you avoid the rice like I did, and tofu and so forth, this could be a deliciously filling Paleo meal!

Though Taiwan in April doesn’t really make me yearn for Hot Pot (it’s been a high of high 80’s-low 90’s here!), I still love eating it there! Here’s all the Hot Pot during my trip in Taiwan!

The first picture I posted and this one above is a hot pot that is “Original” flavored.  This means it is whatever soup base that the restaurant you are at has.  This could be a chicken, beef, base, but basically it is “original” because unlike the other options it doesn’t have some special theme (such as the next one).  As you can see some of the ingredients are different types of mushrooms, carrots, meat slices, egg, and clams.

Kimchi Hot Pot
Kimchi Hot Pot

This is the Korean Kimchi Hot Pot.  (In case you’re not familiar, Kimchi is like Korean Sauerkraut…that’s spicy!)  The soup base for this hot pot is cooked with Kimchi so that you get a little spice.  Quite delicious in my opinion!

Now, something a little unusual (at least harder to find in the states..):

Taiwanese Hot Pot
Duck Blood Tofu Hot Pot

To be honest, I didn’t order this as a hot pot dish.  This restaurant I was at is famous for their duck blood tofu, and when you order one of the dishes, it comes out in the style of a hot pot.  But still, since it kind of fit the genre, I thought I’d share.

Taiwanese Hot Pot
Milk Hot Pot

This one is a specialty flavored one, and it’s milk themed.  There is also an option for soy milk themed.  My mom actually ordered this one, and not me, but I’ve had it a few years ago, and it’s pretty delicious if you like something different than the normal hot pots!
More Hot Pots:

Taiwanese Hot Pot
Hot Pot with its Raw Ingredients


If you’ve never had hot pot before, I highly recommend you try it sometime (the best is when it’s freezing in winter!) Also, which one would you most want to try?

In my next post I will be talking about the most delicious hot pot place I’ve ever been to in Taiwan!

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Apri

Sunday 26th of July 2015

I've become an alosbute crock pot fan :) Just because it is so easy to toss everything in and have the dinner ready when we get back from work and school. Although I have to say that I prefer to brown meats and even vegetables on high heat(on my cast iron pan) before putting them into the pot. I used to not to, but it gives a much better taste. Or you can add more spices ;) I usually do it in the evenings to have everything ready for the morning. It does take some time but not as much as slaving away after work. It's so nice to get home ta a warm meal.I do a lot of soups and stews in it. But also a good pork roast with sauerkraut (very Estonian, might not be for everyone ;)

kismitoffeebar

Tuesday 4th of September 2012

Oh I loved the pictures here ! As you saw, I just experienced my first hotpot and it is something I'd go for again and again ! :) This is a cool blog you have -food and travel - Boy! I'm following you :)

ohsnapitstina

Tuesday 4th of September 2012

Thanks for stopping by, commenting and following! I hope you have more yummy hotpot experiences in the near future! :)

Q Restaurant – Mongolian Hot Pot | We Say It's Dericious

Tuesday 19th of June 2012

[...] Pots on Fire: Post about “Hot Pots”! (mindsome.wordpress.com) Share this:TwitterFacebookLinkedInEmailStumbleUponPrintLike this:LikeBe the first to like this. This entry was posted in Chinatown, comfort food, Date Night, Downtown, Foodie, Hot Pot, Mongolian, Restaurant Review, Reviews, sushi and tagged Beef, Broth, Cellophane noodles, Cooking, Fish and Seafood, Hot pot by wesayitsdericious. Bookmark the permalink. [...]

35andupcynicismonhold

Thursday 17th of May 2012

My sister and I love tofu! That is, even as we know that not many people do... ^^ We love it anyway especially when mixed in a hotpot (as you have above). Your posts have made me hungry... ;)

Tina

Tuesday 19th of June 2012

Haha, sometimes I try to not look at all the pictures I have as it gets me hungry too! :)

dragonlife

Thursday 26th of April 2012

Dear Tina! Greetings! Thank you for visiting http://shizuokagourmet.com/ ! I'm afraid your pictures were too "high" when you pasted them on Wordpress! You may have to paste them all again or correct the size on the html text! Best rgards, Robert-Gilles

Tina

Saturday 28th of April 2012

Thank you for letting me know! I am trying to fix it now. It is hard to test, because it shows up totally fine from my end... I enjoy your blog by the way! :)