Hot Pot pot

I’m in the market for a Chinese hot pot pot, does anyone have any favorites?

I grew up with a 1.5 inch thick stone pot that was wide and shallow with a rounded bottom, and we use a gas canister powered single burner to heat it. The pot could be moved from the stove to the burner, but it was a heavy heavy pot and we sometimes ran out of gas in the canister. Very old school.

I’m wondering what people have liked… Obviously it needs to be shallow but another big consideration is safety around young kids. Also, is electric more convenient or safe than a burner/pot combo?

What about getting an induction stove for hot pot? It should be safer, and it is electric.

I would be open to that idea. Do you have experience using one for hot pot? What pot did you use?

Hi felice,

Is this the kind of pot you used?

http://www.amazon.com/Korean-Stone-Dolsot-Sizzling-Bibimbap/dp/B00KFMTLOO/ref=pd_sim_sbs_79_3?ie=UTF8&dpID=41wm2E0RCKL&dpSrc=sims&preST=AC_UL160_SR160%2C160&refRID=02ZTMMDD4A85HFFKR7HX

Ray

Yep. I don’t have that setup, but most of the hotpot restaurants I have been to now use the induction setup. Some of my friends also have the induction-hot pot setup. Here are some photos of

In this case, all you need is an induction stove (portable) and a steel based pot. The advantages are that it is slightly safer because only the stove is not hot, and it is easier to clean because the stove has no burned on residue.

In term of pot, you just need to buy whichever style you like the best. On the top photo, that is a personal size hot pot (I have been to that place). The middle one is the split style with two broth. You just need to buy a steel based (ferromagnetic pot) to go with the induction.

No, that one is deep. The one we used growing up looked more like this:

I did a bit of research on Amazon to figure out what pitfalls are associated with the induction burners. Have you come across either of these two problems before?

  1. A large diameter pot being too large for the induction burner (most burners are 12 in max).
  2. The pot sliding because the burner surface was too slick/slippery.

For comparison, this is one that a friend uses that works well. The advantage of the induction/separate pot setup is that you can use either for other purposes.

Yes, I do think it is important to buy a pot which matches your induction burner. It is something you can keep in your mind when you purchase pot. The bottom of the pot has to match the induction stove, and only the bottom.

Yes, the surface of an induction stove is smooth, but not that smooth. I have never had the experience of the hot pot moving around on the cooking surface.

Yes, these type of electric cookers also work. This one will give you three functions:

I think all of them will work, so pick the one which makes more sense for you. Good luck.

1 Like

Hi felice,

I don’t see induction as a good match for the Hot Pot in your picture. The diameter of the typical cheapy induction unit is scaled for 8", and effectiveness declines with overhang. Besides, all you need is a simmer, and the key advantage of induction is temperature control. You might do better with electric or gas.

Ray

I ended up with this one from your picture, works great and is easy to clean. I only use the hot pot function. Even though it’s not as quaint as the one I grew up with, it’s not heavy and is super stable with no safety issues. Plus I don’t have to buy those gas canisters.

Great. It sounds like the electric hot pot is working out for you. Maybe one of these days, you will get to try its other functions as well. If so, please report back and let us know how the other functions work out for you.