Chongqing Mandarin Ducks Hot Pot: A Delicious Dual Experience
Origin of Hot Pot and Chongqing’s origins
Hotpot, this unique form of cuisine has a long history. In China, the hotpot culture has a long history, and Chongqing hotpot is one of the best. Chongqing, a city located in southwestern China, has a unique geography and food culture that has given birth to the highly distinctive hot pot. In the early days, Chongqing hot pot was created by dockworkers to drive away cold and dampness, and it was known for its spicy and fresh flavor, with ingredients such as tripe, maw, and other downers. With the passage of time, Chongqing hotpot gradually spread to the whole country and even the world, becoming a bright business card of Chinese cuisine.
Birth of Mandarin Hotpot
On the basis of Chongqing hotpot, mandarin duck hotpot was born. It was created to satisfy different people’s taste needs. For those who are not quite able to accept spicy food, or when a group of friends with different tastes get together, mandarin duck hotpot becomes the perfect choice. There is a compartment in the center of the pot that divides the pot into two, with a spicy red broth on one side and a light white broth on the other, just like a pair of snuggly and independent partners, hence the name “mandarin ducks”.
Red Soup: Spicy Temptation
The red soup of Chongqing Yuanyang Hot Pot is its soul. It is made with butter as the base, and a lot of chili peppers, peppercorns, bean paste and other seasonings are added and carefully stir-fried. The color of the red soup is bright and eye-catching, and the boiling hot soup exudes a rich aroma with a spicy flavor that stimulates every taste bud. Ingredients shabu-shabu in the red soup, such as tripe, duck intestines and yellow throats, only need to stay in the pot for a short period of time to absorb the essence of the red soup and become spicy and delicious. Eating a red soup hot pot often makes you sweat profusely, but the feeling of being hearty is so good that you can’t stop eating it.
White Soup: Light and Nourishing
In contrast to red soup is white soup. White soups come in a wide variety of varieties, commonly including bone broth and mushroom broth. Bone broth is made from pork and beef bones, and the broth is rich, mellow and full of nutrients. Mushroom soup is made with a variety of fresh mushrooms, such as shiitake mushrooms, flat mushrooms, tea tree mushrooms, etc., and produces a flavorful and refreshing soup. White soup is suitable for cooking vegetables, seafood and tofu, which can maintain their original flavor while absorbing the nutrients of the soup. For those who prefer lighter flavors, White Soup Hot Pot is also a wonderful taste sensation.
Unique Shabu Shabu Experience
When eating Mandarin Duck Hot Pot, there is a wide variety of shabu-shabu dishes to choose from. In addition to the classic Chongqing hotpot ingredients such as tripe and duck intestines mentioned earlier, there are also a variety of meats, seafood, vegetables and soy products. For meat, you can choose from tender slices of beef and lamb rolls, while seafood includes shrimp sliders, crab sticks and squid. For vegetables, green leafy vegetables such as cabbage, lettuce and spinach, and root vegetables such as potatoes, sweet potatoes and lotus root slices are good choices. Soy products such as tofu and bean skins are also popular in hot pots. Each ingredient takes on a different flavor when swirled in red and white broths, allowing one to mix and match to their liking.
The art of matching dipping sauces
Dipping sauces are also an essential part of eating mandarin duck hot pot in Chongqing. Common dipping sauces include fragrant oil dish and garlic dish. Aromatic oil dish is based on sesame oil, with seasonings such as garlic paste, cilantro and chopped green onion, which not only relieves the spiciness of the red soup, but also adds flavor to the ingredients. Garlic paste dish, on the other hand, mixes garlic paste with soy sauce, vinegar and other seasonings, which is suitable for matching with white soup ingredients and can enhance the fresh flavor of the ingredients. Of course, you can also add other seasonings such as millet chili and oyster sauce to create your own unique dipping sauce according to your taste.
The Social Charm of Mandarin Duck Hotpot
Chongqing Mandarin duck hotpot is not only a kind of food, but also a way to socialize. A family or a group of friends sitting around the hotpot, chatting and exchanging ideas while shabu-shabuing the ingredients, makes for a cozy and lively atmosphere. In the steaming heat of the hot pot, people get closer and their relationship gets deeper. Whether celebrating a festival or a daily gathering, mandarin duck hot pot can bring people a pleasant time.
If you have a chance to come to Chongqing, China, you must taste this unique yuanyang hot pot, feel the deliciousness and joy it brings, and experience the charm of Chinese food culture.