How To Eat Hot Pot? (here by request)

So what is involved in hot pot and how do we eat it?

Hot Pot is a communal style of eating. Numerous people may share one "pot". The pot is basically (and usually) a large pot or bowl which contains soup of some sort. The pot is placed over some type of cooking device. The food is served raw and usually is a mix of seafood, meat, and vegetables. The food is cooked in the pot with each person contributing what they want to eat. Sometimes there are sauces for you to dip your food into. Upon finishing or at any time during the meal, people may serve themselves soup from the pot.

Because hot pot is communal, there are some rules that need to be observed.

1. Because it is soup based, be careful! The soup is hot. If there are sauces, be careful too! You might make your meal mates angry if you stain their clothes.
2. If possible, use a spoon or some other utensil to help you scoop food up that you have difficulty picking up with chopsticks. It's quicker, you look less silly, and it prevents splashing and food waste.
3. If you add meat in, WAIT until the soup boils before eating anything in the pot. You want to make sure that your food is fully cooked and that any possibilities of bacteria from raw food is gone.
4. Don't try to grab all the food. It's communal for a reason.
5. If your utensils touch raw meat, you should hold them in the pot and give them a little cook. Safety first!

*Sometimes, under more formal situations, you may want to have a common pair of chopsticks or utensils for everyone to share. It's more sanitary and polite. But that's up to your group's discretion.

Here are some tips for having a good meal:

1. Make share everyone has an opportunity to try what's being served.
2. People should come away from a meal happy and satisfied, so do your best to either help make that happen or don't do anything that can prevent that from happening.
3. Watch what other people do and imitate when you're not sure.
4. If people are explaining the workings of the style of dining, Pay Attention.
5. and of course, ask questions when you're not sure.

Tips on food:

1. dumplings, meat/fish balls, and some mushrooms may take longer to cook. Take that into consideration. Once you pull it out of the pot and bite into it, you can't put it back.
2. Cut the noodles if you have them. Longer noodles are harder to pull out and can be quite messy.
3. Beef cooks relatively fast and tastes best when not over cooked. It also tastes best hot. Cook one or two pieces at a time for yourself or your friends.
4. Vegetables (the leafy and root ones) get softer the longer their boiled. If you prefer them hard, eat the at the beginning of their cook time.
5. Try the soup from time to time. The flavor changes after you add each new ingredient. All the wonderful and savory goodness.
6. USE a bowl to catch your food. It's cleaner and you'll likely to be able to eat more.

Enjoy!

Note: You can also enjoy DIY Hot Pot at home!