Hot pot vs. cold winter

Friends and family gathering together and sitting around a table to share a hot pot meal on a cold winter night is a much loved tradition among Chinese people, young and old, rich and poor, from all regions of the country.

A long time ago - it is said that the origins of hot pot can be traced back to the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) - Chinese people first developed this famous cuisine. It sounds basic: a pot of broth is brought to a boil and diners cook various foods in the soup.

However, as the many parts of China are quite different from each other in terms of weather, local produce and eating habits, people from different regions enjoy hot pot in completely different ways. For example, people in the north of China refer to hot pot as eating shuan guo (instant-boil sliced meat and vegetables in a pot), while south of the Yangtze River the name for the cuisine refers to the type of pot it is cooked in, not the food itself.

"People in Guangdong Province call it da bianlu (cooking on the side of the oven), in reference to the central cylinder of the pot, which has coals inside. What is more interesting is that they use chopsticks that are almost twice as long as normal ones to eat hot pot!" said Qiu Kun, a chef at the Hyatt Regency Qingdao Hotel. "People in Sichuan Province simply call it eating hot pot. They like to sit on tall chairs, looking down from a height so it's easier to manage the boiling food," Qiu told the Global Times. In Chongqing, people often divide the pot into several cells so that everyone at the table can eat from the same pot without their food getting "stolen."

The country's hot pot preferences are as varied as its terrain, but here are a few treasures from different regions to help fend off the cold this winter.

Doumi hot pot

Doumi (kidney bean) hot pot is a delicious and unique twist on tradition from Guiyang, the provincial capital of Guizhou Province in Southwest China. This style uses red kidney beans as the main ingredient for the soup.

"No one knows when doumi hot pot first appeared in Guiyang. What is known is that it has a long history," said Dao Ge, co-founder of Three Guizhou Men Restaurant. "It used to be a food for the poor, who thought of using cheap red kidney beans to replace meat in the hot pot. Eventually, it became widely popular among locals from all social backgrounds," he told the Global Times.

The beans are boiled for a long time, until they are extremely soft and tender, as if they will immediately melt in the mouth. After such a long period of boiling, the skins are no longer noticeable, and only a wonderful mellow, thick mouthfeel will be found on the palate.