Hot Pot! Flavour of Home

大家好! (pronounced "Tai JIa Hou", meaning hello everyone!)
Today, I'm going to share with you the trick of cooking really simple hotpots at home--help you find the flavor of home on a chilly homesicking night!)

First, the Food and Sauce.
One of the great advantages closing to a Chinese supermarket is that you can find almost everything here. You'll be thrilled to find hotpot soups from Sichuan (both spicy and seafood flavour), as well as all kinds of vegetables (cabbiges) and thin-sliced beef, pork and lamb you can dip in the hotpots. It's really convenient! Also, you can find all sorts of Chinese dipping source here, ranging from seseme sauce to satay sauce and more. You will find all that you need to have a great hotpot home here. The average cost for a three-person hotpot meal will be from 30 to 50 dollars depending what you want to eat.

Above (left): Seseme Sauce; (right): Satay Sauce

Above (left): Thin Slice Meat (Pork, beef, Lamb); 

(center): Vegetables; 

(right): hotpot soups from Sichuan

Second, place to set up the hotpot.
Well, there are electrical-powered hotpots equipments--but it's expensive.
SO, we came up with a BRILLIANT idea of setting up our hotpot around our gas stove! Several advantages help us set up the hotpot this way:
1.we've got a big and open kitchen, two and more people can stand around the gas stove.
2.we've got a stand to hold the ready-to-dip dishes, and enough space for people to eat around the hotpot.
3.we don't mind standing and walking around to have the delicious hotpots. Afterall, some walking help you gain bigger apetite and eat more!

Get ready to enjoy the great taste of Home!!
Do you wanna share your secret of great hotpots?  Leave a comment below!