Cultural Symbols of China: Hot pot, a Symbol of Chinese Cuisine

A similarly steaming hot pot can be spicy and flavorful， or delicate and nutritious， depending on people’s various use of local products. Behind these tastes hides Chinese ancient wisdom of “following the law of nature.” Nowadays， hot pot has become a symbol of China like the panda and Peking Opera， and a window of taste into which people worldwide can see a clearer image of China.

Cultural Symbols of China：

Hot pot， a Symbol of Chinese Cuisine

Da Qi

China Intercontinental Press

April 2022

128.00 （CNY）

The Past and Present

of Hot Pot in Chongqing

Da Qi

Da Qi is a foodie and travel writer who travels around China and is a super fan of delicacies and writing. He is the author of Chinese Cities： Chengdu Impressions， Chinese Cities： Hangzhou Impressions， and China on the Map： Eating in China.

Chengdu， known as the city of leisure， is a relaxing city that makes you not want to leave; and Chongqing is more affordable. Chongqing people are righteous， brave， and tough with a hot temper. The genes of the city ultimately determine the flavor of a city.

If there is a city where even the fragrance of hot pot is present in the air， it must be Chongqing. Walking in the streets of Chongqing， the probability of encountering a hot pot restaurant is much greater than a cab.

The iconic nine squares hot pot in Chongqing was first designed to make it easier for diners to identify their own share. Chongqing has a developed shipping industry with many docks. The workers all do the heavy work and need to replenish a lot of energy after a day ’ s work. The hot pot then provided the greatest convenience.

At the time， there were many butchers in Chongqing who slaughtered pigs and cows and discarded the offal that no one ate. The boatmen felt it a pity to throw them away， so they picked them up and cleaned them， then mixed them with some seasonings to cook in a pot. Because of the chili peppers and fresh ingredients， the taste is extremely good. This became the initial prototype of the Chongqing hot pot. The offal that rich people did not eat became a good choice for laborers to treat themselves.

Later， the offal was not thrown away. The hawkers， shouldering poles along the river， washed and boiled bargain-bought buffalo tripe， and processed and cut other offal into small pieces. They opened the clay oven on one end of the pole and placed a large pot upon it， then put a “tic-tac-toe” frame inside. Workers on the riverbank gathered around. Each chose a frame and ate while boiling. They charged money according to the amount of food eaten. The price was fair， and the food was cheap and of good quality. To attract customers， the hawkers boiled spicy and fresh soup base with large bones plus chilis， pepper， ginger， and garlic. All kinds of boiled offal， both fill you up and clear up the cold， damp feeling one gets living in Chongqing. This was the earliest and most famous Chongqing spicy tripe hot pot， but back then it was called “Shui Bakuai”， instead of hot pot.

This way of eating gradually spread， and diners also spread from the riverside docks into the town. So， there was a small restaurant in Chongqing city trying to move the iron pot from the shouldering pole to the table. It not only retained the clay oven and freshly cooked ingredients， but also increased the variety dipping sauces. The compartmentalized large iron pot was once replaced with a small red copper pot. There was no need to eat with others together at the table. It was much cleaner and more sanitary.

In the early 1920s， cattle dealers often came to spend the night on Zaifang Street of Nanjimen， the Chongqing southern urban area， which is now under the Yangtze River Bridge. The cattle dealers often drove beef cows to Chongqing along the Sichuan-Guizhou Road. They spent the night on the south bank， crossed the river the next morning， and drove the cattle to slaughter on Zaifang Street. At that time， two brothers surnamed Ma， bought poorly sold cattle tripe and blood quite cheap， and opened a red soup tripe hot pot restaurant with tripe as the main dish on the southern section of Zaifang Street. This hot pot restaurant imitates the production and eating methods of “Shui Bakuai”， bleaching the tripe， washing and de-stemming it， and seasoning with sesame sauce and garlic paste.

After the “Shui Bakuai” from the dock moved into the stores， the diner group also continued to expand. More stores saw the business opportunity and began to study how to make it more delicious. On the basis of retaining the traditional cattle offal and other ingredients， the stores refined their processing of ingredients， such as cattle offal must be buffalo belly， liver， and loin， beef must only use yellow cattle tenderloin and shank meat （lean meat on the leg）， vegetable dishes must only use pea shoots， cabbage hearts， yellow onion， garlic seedlings， and sweet ingredients are to be used with sweet rice wine rather than rock sugar .

This hot pot with tripe as the main ingredient is the origin of the Chongqing tripe hot pot. In the early 1940s， a grandma surnamed Ma at Jiaochangkou in Chongqing opened an authentic tripe hot pot specializing in tripe， which charged by the piece （two cents per piece）. The fresh and crispy tripe attracted diners from near and far， so much that tripe hot pot was famed from then on.