The earliest hot pots were cooked in pots About 10,000 years ago, our ancestors invented the earliest containers - ceramic pots, which can be said to be very large pots, whether three-legged or four-legged pots, at that time, as long as it was possible to eat the food, such as meat, are thrown into the pots, and then in the bottom of the fire, so that the food is cooked to become a large pot of food, which is called "soup". It was called "soup", which was the earliest hot pot. However, if you think about it, there was no so-called salt, no seasoning, and no dipping sauce, just a bunch of meat cooked, would it taste good? In addition, the tripod is too big, can not be moved, can only be fixed display in a certain place, it is not convenient to enjoy at any time. Therefore, the wise ancestors, to the Western Zhou Dynasty, not only invented copper and iron, and a variety of ceramic products have been improved into smaller vessels, suitable for general use. The production of copper and iron, not only formed a revolution in utensils, but also with modern pots and pans are very similar, copper pots and ceramic casserole, to the present is still the most practical, the most common hot pots and pans, and the big tripod is finally extended to the symbol of power.
The Three Kingdoms and the Five Cooking Kettles, the originators of the mandarin duck hotpot
The development of the hotpot, just like the development of the history of food and beverage, was gradual, depending on the utensils of the time, the needs of the society, and the discovery and introduction of raw materials. Just as "pepper" was not introduced into China before, how could there be spicy pot? How could there be spicy seasoning before "chili peppers" were introduced into China? During the Three Kingdoms period, Emperor Wei mentioned the "five-cooking kettle", which was a pot with several compartments to cook different kinds of food at the same time, similar to today's "mandarin ducks pot". In the North and South Dynasties, "copper pots" were the most common utensils, which are nowadays known as hot pots. In the Tang Dynasty, the hot pot was also known as the "warm pot".
Waves of snow on the clear river, winds of evening sunlight Dialing for the Xia is the name of the hot pot in the Southern Song Dynasty
The most evocative depiction of the hot pot in its historical evolution was the shabu-shabu rabbit meat slices in the Southern Song Dynasty, described in the book "Shanjia Qingsui," which was authored by Lin Hong. At that time, Lin Hong went to Wuyi Mountain to visit the hermit Zhi Zhi Shi, Zhi Zhi Shi lived in Wuyi Mountain, the sixth of the nine curves of the immortal palm peak, when Lin Hong almost to the peak of the mountain, it was snowing heavily, a rabbit darted in the mountain rock, because it had just snowed the rock was very slippery, rolled down the rock, was caught by Lin Hong, Lin Hong wanted to grill to eat, and asked Zhi Zhi Shi would not burn rabbit, Zhi Zhi Shi replied to him that, I ate the rabbits in the mountains is this way, in the table on the table to put a raw coals of the I ate rabbit in the mountains like this: I put a small stove with charcoal on the table, put a soup pot on the stove, cut the rabbit meat into thin slices, made a sauce with wine, soy sauce, pepper, and cinnamon, and then shabu-shabu the slices in the soup when the soup was boiling, and then dipped the slices in the sauce and ate them. Using this shabu-shabu method of eating, Lin Hong felt that this method of eating was very delicious, and that it was very pleasant to gather with three or five friends in the snowy winter to talk and laugh and take food at will, and thus gave this method of eating a beautiful name of "dialing the Xia for", which was taken from the phrase "the waves of the sunny river and the snow, the wind and the evening sun". The wind turns over the evening sun" of the beautiful scenery. It has evolved to the present day, where it is eaten with a variety of meats and vegetables.
Fewer changes in utensils White iron pots are common
From the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties to the present day, there have not been many changes in the utensils of hot pots. In addition to the use of high-temperature-resistant, transparent glass in the new containers, which can be seen as the food is tossed around when it is boiled, and there are no leaks in the food when it is eaten, the most common and widespread pots and pans are the copper pots, iron pots, casseroles and other pots and pans, which are only more delicate in their production and have been in use for more than a couple of thousand years, and the most popular and widespread pots and pans are the ones that are used today. The most widely used pots and pans are "stainless steel pots and pans", also known as "white iron pots and pans".
Fuel changes day by day, seasoning secret secret secret
While the hot pot utensils change little, but the progress in the use of fuel is a day by day, from firewood to charcoal, from the electric stove, alcohol to gas, induction cooker to the charcoal of the longest history of use, but also the most flavorful, but also the most polluting air in a way. Induction stoves are the cleanest and most convenient, but the flavor is poorer. Gas is the best way to control the size of the fire, which is convenient and easy to use, but also more dangerous. In contrast to the many variations in fuels, the evolution of flavored dips has tended to be conservative and secretive. The dip for shabu-shabu has remained unchanged for millennia; Shantou Shatou sauce boasts a unique recipe, and other tofu curd and bean paste call for old favorites. In addition, some of the basic dips include soy sauce, scallions, garlic, eggs, sesame oil, chili peppers, and so on, in a number of styles that rely on each family's own unique concoctions to make them different from one another.
There are three main types of hot pots: the first type of soup is light, with shabu-shabu as the main ingredient, and dipping plays an important role, with shabu-shabu and Cantonese-style hot pots being the most popular. The second type of hot pots are those where the ingredients are already cooked, such as casserole dishes with fish head and mutton in the oven, where the fire is only used to keep the food warm and to blanch the greens. The third is the pot of material all cooked through, even vegetables do not need to wear hot, the stove fire is completely used to keep warm, and cauldron dishes are no different, such as the Buddha jumped over the wall, revival of pots and other cauldron dishes in the way. It is the season of hot pot again, about three to five friends or a family reunion, what you want to eat, buy what you want to eat, eat less meat, more vegetables, fish, dip do not mix too salty, accidentally salt is too much, not good for the heart. Eat hot pot is the most primitive practice, what you want to eat on what to put, how comfortable, but also the most fresh, no grease, for the modern healthy eating, how about it, come to a pot!