History
Hot pot (da bin lo) has been a Cantonese cold-weather meal for centuries, but the modern Hong Kong format hardened in the 1960s when local eateries popularised the dual yin-yang split-pot with two broths. The satay broth (sa cha tong) is the Hong Kong signature, a Chiu Chow-Cantonese fusion that does not appear in mainland hot pot traditions. The season runs October to March, and the personal condiment bar (sa cha sauce, peanut sauce, raw egg yolk, chilli, garlic, coriander) is itself a city ritual. Megan's Kitchen in Wan Chai, The Drunken Pot in Causeway Bay and Lau Haa Hot Pot are among the modern reference rooms.
Common allergens: Shellfish, Fish, Egg, Soy, Peanut, Sesame
Make it at home
Ingredients
- For the chicken-mushroom broth: 1 whole chicken carcass, 1 thumb ginger sliced, 6 dried shiitake mushrooms (soaked), 2 spring onions, 2L water, salt to taste
- For the satay broth: 1L chicken stock
- 4 tbsp sa cha sauce (Bullhead brand)
- 1 tbsp chilli bean paste (toban djan)
- 1 tbsp light soy
- 1 star anise
- Protein platter (per person): 80g shabu-shabu beef (paper-thin)
- 60g sliced lamb
- 4 large prawns shell-on
- 4 fresh fish balls
- 60g cuttlefish
- 1 chicken meatball
- Vegetable platter: 200g napa cabbage
- 100g enoki
- 100g tofu cubed
- 100g lotus root sliced
- 100g pea sprouts
- 100g daikon
- 4 fresh shiitake
- Carb platter: 200g fresh egg noodles or wide rice noodles, added at the end
- For each diner's dipping bowl (lay out a row of small bowls): sa cha sauce, peanut sauce, light soy, sesame oil, raw egg yolk, chopped coriander, chopped spring onion, minced garlic, chilli oil, Chinese black vinegar
Method
- Simmer chicken carcass with ginger, soaked shiitake (reserve liquid), and spring onion in 2L water for 2 hours. Strain. Season the chicken-mushroom broth with salt; reserve.
- For the satay broth: heat 1L chicken stock, whisk in sa cha, chilli bean paste, light soy and star anise; simmer 15 minutes.
- Set a divider hot pot on a portable burner at the centre of the table. Fill one side with chicken broth, the other with satay broth.
- Arrange protein, vegetable, and carb platters around the pot. Set out a small bowl per diner.
- Each diner mixes their own dipping sauce from the condiment row (the classic Hong Kong base is 2 tbsp sa cha, 1 raw egg yolk, 1 tsp light soy, garlic, spring onion).
- Start with leafy vegetables to flavour the broth, then quick-cook proteins (beef 5 seconds, prawns 90 seconds, fish balls 3 minutes).
- Finish with noodles, cooked in the by-now-rich broth, and ladle the remaining broth over to drink.
Tip from the editors. The dipping bowl is non-negotiable; the broths are deliberately mild so the diner's own custom sauce mix carries the flavour. Don't over-salt the broths.
Where to eat hot pot (da bin lo)
Hot pot (Da bin lo) in Hong Kong
Featured by TableJourney as a signature dish of Hong Kong. See the Hong Kong signature dishes guide for the canonical version.
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