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SICHUAN HOT POT (HUAN GUO)
Chinese · Chongqing, Sichuan

SICHUAN HOT POT (HUAN GUO)

Sichuan hot pot — huan guo — is simultaneously a cooking technique, a social ritual, and an eating experience unlike any other in the food world. A split pot (yuan yang guo) of boiling, deeply spiced Sichuan broth and plain broth sits over a burner at the table; an array of raw ingredients is cooked by each diner in the boiling liquid, then dipped in a sesame-oil-based dipping sauce. The broth itself is built over hours from a base of Pixian doubanjiang, dried chillies, Sichuan peppercorn, suet, and aromatics — a construction of extraordinary complexity that intensifies over the meal as more ingredients cook in it.

‹Swipe for the next dish›
Serves4
Total50 min
Sourced2of 20 in BC
Cook
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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.

200 g
Sichuan peppercorns (huajiao)
divided
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
15 g
dried red chilies (chilhuacle or similar)
seeded
Your own market
60 ml
vegetable oil
Your own market
6
garlic cloves
smashed
Your own market
30 g
fresh ginger
sliced
Origin · New ZealandPurely Artisan Foods · San Diego →
4
scallions
white parts only, cut into 3 cm lengths
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1
star anise
Your own market
2
bay leaves
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
5 g
cumin seeds
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1.5 L
high-quality chicken or pork stock
brought to a boil
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
100 ml
Sichuan chili oil (doubanjiang base)
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
30 ml
15 ml
rice vinegar
Your own market
10 g
caster sugar
Your own market
8 g
sea salt
Your own market
400 g
protein variety (beef
lamb, pork belly, shrimp): thinly sliced
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
300 g
leafy greens (bok choy
spinach): separated into leaves
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
150 g
mushrooms (shiitake
oyster): sliced
Your own market
200 g
napa cabbage: cut into 3 cm pieces
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
100 g
silken tofu: cubed
Not yet stocked in British Columbia

Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.

II

The Method

1
Toast 100 g Sichuan peppercorns in a dry wok over medium heat for 3 minutes until fragrant; grind coarsely and set aside.
2
Toast dried chilies and cumin seeds in the same dry wok for 1 minute until darkened; set aside.
3
Heat 60 ml vegetable oil in a large hot pot or shallow braiser over medium heat; add garlic, ginger, scallion whites, star anise, and bay leaves; stir-fry for 2 minutes until deeply fragrant.
From the canon — Spring onion is the most ubiquitous aromatic in Chinese cooking and its function is more complex than its common use as a garnish suggests. SCALLION (SPRING ONION) TECHNIQUE →
4
Add toasted chilies and cumin; stir for 30 seconds, then deglaze with soy sauce and rice vinegar.
5
Pour in boiling stock and Sichuan chili oil; bring to a rolling boil, add sugar and salt, adjust heat to maintain an active simmer.
6
Arrange all proteins, vegetables, and tofu around the hot pot in separate clusters; place a small strainer at each place setting.
7
Diners cook their chosen ingredients in the broth (10–30 seconds for protein slices, 2–3 minutes for vegetables), dip in a sauce of ground Sichuan pepper, sesame oil, soy, and cilantro.
From the canon — Sichuan pepper — hua jiao (flower pepper) — is not pepper at all but the dried husk of the berry of the prickly ash tree (Zanthoxylum simulans or Z. Sichuan Pepper (Hua Jiao): Toasting, Grinding, and the Ma Experience →
8
Top broth with remaining whole Sichuan peppercorns and finish with a drizzle of chili oil just before serving.
IV

Sensory Tests

◇Where it lives or dies. The moment where Sichuan hot pot lives or dies is the personal dipping sauce construction — each diner should be provided with the ingredients to build their own sauce. The ratio of sesame paste to chilli oil is personal; some want heat, some want the sesame to balance the broth's heat. The sauce makes every bite different.
Pillar V
Cross-cuisine parallels are part of membership.
The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
VI

What to Pour

Sichuan hot pot is a meal in itself — it lasts 2–3 hours, encompasses a vast range of ingredients, and functions as a social experience as much as a culinary one. It requires no other dishes. The pairing is beer, baijiu, or *suanmei tang*. Nothing else complements the mala broth — the heat and numbing intensity of the broth is the entire flavour world of the meal.

The whole pairing
Pillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
Sourced through Provenance

The hands behind the plate.

Purely Artisan Foods
San Diego · fresh ginger, soy sauce
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