P
Chinese · Guangdong
Cantonese Chrysanthemum Hot Pot (Ju Hua Guo)
Ju hua huo guo: the refined Cantonese chrysanthemum hot pot — a clear broth infused with fresh white chrysanthemum petals, used for delicate Cantonese hot pot cooking. The chrysanthemum adds subtle floral bitterness and visual elegance. Thinly sliced lamb, fish maw, and vegetables are the typical ingredients. A counterpoint to Sichuan's aggressive tallow broth — this is the hot pot of restraint.
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I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
For the broth
2 litres
clear superior stock
chicken, pork bone, or dried shrimp — must be clean and well-clarified
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
40 g
fresh white chrysanthemum petals (bai ju hua)
petals only, rinsed gently; added at the last moment
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For the hot pot ingredients
300 g
thinly sliced lamb
sliced paper-thin for quick cooking
Your own market
200 g
fish maw
pre-soaked and cut into pieces
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
200 g
scallops
halved horizontally if large
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
300 g
200 g
leafy vegetables
e.g. napa cabbage or watercress, separated into leaves
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For the dipping sauce
60 ml
Chinese sesame paste
stirred smooth
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
30 ml
oyster sauce
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
30 ml
soy sauce
1–2
fresh red chillies
finely sliced
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Bring the superior stock to a gentle simmer in the hot pot vessel over the table burner. The stock must be fully clear — any cloudiness signals insufficient clarification. Skim the surface until no impurities rise.
2
Combine the sesame paste, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sliced fresh chilli in a small bowl. Stir until the paste is fully incorporated and the sauce is cohesive. Divide into individual dipping bowls. The sauce is done when it coats a spoon in a smooth, even film.
From the canon — Oyster sauce was invented by accident in the 1880s in Guangdong province when a cook named Lee Kum Sheung left oyster soup simmering too long and discovered … Oyster Sauce (Cantonese — Original Method vs Commercial) →
3
Arrange the thinly sliced lamb, fish maw, scallops, tofu, and vegetables on platters at the table. Diners cook each ingredient in the simmering broth to their preference — lamb and scallops require only seconds; tofu and fish maw, a minute or two. The ingredients are done when the lamb has just lost its pink and the scallops are barely opaque at the centre.
4
This is where the dish lives or dies: only when all diners are ready to eat, scatter the fresh white chrysanthemum petals across the surface of the simmering broth. They must not cook in advance — prolonged heat drives off the delicate floral note and tips the bitterness from subtle to harsh. The petals are ready the moment they soften and release their faint, clean fragrance, within thirty seconds of contact with the broth.
5
Ladle broth — now pale with petals floating at the surface — into bowls alongside the cooked ingredients. The finished dish should present as a clear, gently floral liquid with white petals drifting intact; any discolouration or wilting of the petals signals they have been held too long.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Fresh bai ju hua sourced at the height of the October chrysanthemum season; a hand-clarified double-boiled superior stock of aged hen and premium pork bone; wild-caught scallops and traditionally processed fish maw.
02
Estate — Cultivated white chrysanthemum from a reliable supplier; a home-made clear stock simmered and skimmed with care; fresh market scallops and good-quality pre-soaked fish maw.
03
Market — Fresh white chrysanthemum from a Chinese grocer; a clean commercial chicken stock reduced and seasoned; frozen scallops fully thawed and dried before use.
04
House — Fresh petals remain essential at every rung — dried chrysanthemum produces a fundamentally different, medicinal character and cannot substitute.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Smell. The broth releases a faint, clean floral scent within thirty seconds of the petals being added — the signal to serve immediately.
◇Sight. Petals float intact and white at the surface; any yellowing or wilting indicates they have been held in the heat too long.
◇Sight. The stock base is fully clear before the petals are added — cloudiness means the broth has not been properly clarified.
◇Touch. Thinly sliced lamb offers no resistance when pressed with chopsticks — it is cooked through and ready to eat.
◇Where it lives or dies. The chrysanthemum petals must enter the broth only at the last moment — added too early, the floral delicacy collapses into flat bitterness and the dish is lost.
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VI
What to Pour
A lightly aged Shaoxing rice wine served warm suits the floral delicacy of the broth without competing with it; alternatively, a pale, dry Chinese green tea — such as a Hangzhou Longjing — served alongside echoes the restrained, vegetal register of the dish.
The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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Sourced through Provenance