Szechuan Hot Pot

I love tasting every newly-opened Szechuan hot pot restaurant in Seattle once I hear of it. I am obsessed with spicy food, especially hot pot. Why am I a hardcore fan of Szechuan hot pot? Because it makes me happy. I enjoy the numbing sensation. I love this intimate family-sharing style. Most importantly, it is the most creative dining for me compared to other Chinese food. 

Szechuan hot pot gives me the special numbing feeling. The hot pot broth cooks with a variety of ingredients. Massive amounts of prickly ash and dried Szechuan chili pepper are the most fundamental secret weapons to provide the distinctive numbing flavor that other Chinese cuisines lack. Szechuan hot pot offers numerous food options. There are over thirty foods offered on most menus, including marinated spicy meat, freshly sliced beef or lamb, assorted seafood, mushroom, tofu, and vegetables. My favorite hot pot food is thinly sliced beef.  I pick up one translucent strip of beef, soak it into the spicy broth for several seconds to absorb the bountiful tastes, and dip into the sesame oil mixed up with mashed garlic. Then, it is the time to experience the juicy tender beef exploding in my mouth. The tingly numbing feeling lingers on my tongue, and the fresh spicy odor slips down to my throat. This spicy numbing feeling penetrates into my whole body and ignites my appetite. I want more. 

Szechuan hot pot is a group dining activity. It is usually the first choice for a family or group gathering. Families and friends sit around the table, chitchatting, drinking, eating, and laughing. Everyone drops their favorite foods in a communal pot. It is easy to lose track of foods we choose. We often use a strainer with handle to hunt for the foods. When a strainer with various foods is taken from the pot, everyone gets involved to discuss how to share. Nobody really cares about getting food. We enjoy each other’s company and share conversation in this relaxing atmosphere. We count down to boil the beef tripe together. We exchange our dipping sauces. We play drinking games. It’s hard to find a quiet Szechuan hot pot restaurant in China. Its boosts the families’ bonds and friendships with a lots of fun by sharing. 

Szechuan hot pot offers a self-serve counter for diners to create their own custom dipping sauces.  That is the best part of eating Szechuan hot pot. Over twenty kinds of condiments are served on the table. There are fresh chopped green onion, cilantro, sesame seeds, mashed garlic, grated ginger, tahini, vinegar, soy sauce, oyster oil, and others. The tastes vary depending on the dipping sauces I make. A common dipping sauce is sesame oil with mashed garlic. If I want to have an extra spicy flavor, I mix chili flakes with crushed cumin and Szechuan peppercorn powder. If I want to have a sweet creamy taste, I combine tahini, peanut butter, and honey. I am not only a diner, but also a cook creating sauces to interact with my food because there are a tons of possibilities existing on that self-serve counter. 

Most people say they love summer because of BBQ. I say I love summer because of eating Szechuan hot pot. The spicy numbing flavor, the family-sharing style, and the creative dipping sauces formulate my favorite food, Szechuan hot pot. Sweaty but happy. 

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