The Chinese Hot Pot, also known as huo guo, Mongolian Hot Pot or Chinese Fondue boasts a history of over 1000 years (!) With a simmering pot of stock in the center of the table and an array of hot pot healthy and fresh ingredients — sliced meat, leafy vegetables, tofu, fish balls, dumplings, noodles – plus savory dipping sauces, the hotpot is a popular tradition across Asia.

Get your hot pot fix at Mini Hot Pot (4897 Buford Hwy, Atlanta, GA 30341)  or I’ve heard Chong Qing Hot Pot in Chinatown is good (5385 New Peachtree Road, Atlanta, GA 30341).  Or contact us and we’ll throw a hot pot party at your house or office.  It’s warming, healthy and a lot of fun!

Funny note:  Whenever my dad comes back from a visit to Taiwan or China during hotpot season, all his old friends there treat him to bottomless hotpots and he gets “hotpotted out.”  He comes back to the U.S. craving a BK Whopper or Steak ‘n’ Shake! I guess there can be too much of a good thing…

There are some things that are hard to translate into English. For example, there is an entire Chinese food category and industry that I refer to as “buns, bings and baozi.”  (And you thought Sally by the seashore was a tongue twister! There are also “balls” but I was afraid the post would be caught in spam filters.)

There are whole aisles of buns, bings and baozi at the Asian grocery, in bamboo steamers at restaurants and on food carts on street corners all over China and Taiwan. It’s a comfort food, street snack and traditional staple for millions of Chinese here and abroad.

For  non-Chinese friends, I’ve referred to them as stuffed pockets, filled buns, steamed bread, rolls or cakes but often it doesn’t seem to capture their diverse, delicious, weighty essence. Some are made with yeast, some are flat doughs but they are all stuffed with either a meat, vegetable, combo or a sweet paste made from lotus seed, black sesame or red bean. There is the “mantou” exception that is not stuffed but a big chunk, ball or bundle of white-as-snow steamed bread. The mantou carries its own set of traditions, stories and followers as the original peasant street food, not to mention, the challenges of producing the perfect balance of chewy softness. Kind of like the bagel debate!

Asian groceries and markets carry several varieties, some fresh if they have a bakery or in the frozen food aisle.  New Korean bakery-cafes like Mozart and White Windmill offer a modern Starbucks-like atmosphere with wonderful Asian drinks and baked goods, including less-sweet Asian cakes. Favorite buns, bing and baozi fillings include red bean paste, lotus seed, meatball and scallion or vegetarian (chopped mustard greens, scallions, mushroom and/or chives).  I have used them as a grab & go breakfast or snacks anytime. Yum!