Sharing: Chong-Qing Hot-Pot

A few years ago I traveled to China as the producer of an orchestral tour which took us to several cities spread over thousands of square kilometers in this most fascinating country. Everything varies greatly from one city to another, as you'd expect. Food is only one example of how different regions in China have developed their own traditions over centuries.

Everything begins with a broth base.
In this case, a (very) hot sauce in the middle
flirts with the more adventurous eaters.

One thing you will see a lot in China is public space. Every area in every city will have parks, plazas, monuments. Parks are meeting places for people of all ages: children playing, grown-ups taking ballroom dance lessons, elderly folk practicing Tai-chi–you name it. People flood the parks and plazas every day, almost every time of day. I was told by locals that they do so because their living quarters are usually small and their buildings have many, many apartments. Going out is the only way to have some room to move, walk, exercise. Parks in China are cultural centers where thousands of years of art, knowledge, music, and science coalesce.


There are also eateries all over. In large cities, such as Chong-Qing, you will find these small fonda-like food vendors by the dozens on each block. At peak times, people will form huge lines in order to get whatever that particular vendor is selling: meats, soup, noodles, dumplings... Many apartments do not have kitchens, and eating out is the only alternative for thousands of city-dwellers. I had my good share of street delicacies, including a memorable dumpling soup off a street corner in Chong-Qing, spicy roasted peanuts and barbecue octopus off a vendor in Lanzhou, and a veritable feast of several dishes in a tiny restaurant in Beijing, near Tiananmen Square.

Now, considering that people flood public areas and street eateries, it is very easy for you to feel that you are never eating by yourself. Sharing meals is as common in China as it is to share public spaces for exercise and leisure. The first city I visited was Chong-Qing, known for its signature dish: Hot-Pot. Now, many people in the west think that Hot-Pot is only a soup, but it is so much more than that. It is an art, a whole production, thousands of years of tradition.

If you can think of it, it can be dipped in the Hot-Pot.
And yes, that is the bull penis in the center.

In any Hot Pot place, big or small, cheap or steep, you will immediately that every table has a burner. As soon as you sit, they will light it up, and bring a pot with the broth base of your choice. It will soon begin to boil. Then you order several small food items and spices, and you cook them on the pot. Everyone at the table does the same, and you end up with a veritable universe of flavors, aromas and colors.

Dig in!

I had Hot-Pot in at least four places, each time with a different crew. Among the items we dipped in the hot soup were chicken, chicken livers, bull penis, several kinds of vegetable, pork dumplings, noodles, eggs from all sorts of fowl, sprouts, octopus, scallops... and many items whose identity I will never know. The soup went from being a simple broth to being a unique mixture of tastes that will only happen a single time, never will it taste exactly the same. To me, that alone makes the experience magical.

In the end, Hot-Pot is but an example of how sharing is an integral part of chinese culture. Our orchestra musicians, used to sharing and contributing hard work and passion toward the creation of a world of sound in a Symphonic performance, were able to practice some more intimate, familiar, unforgettable sharing. More about the many pleasures of chinese food and culture in future posts!