In recent times, Malatang is the top name in the catering industry.

In the past, a Dutch Olympic athlete fell in love with Malatang in the Winter Olympic Village at first sight and started eating and broadcasting Amway on Instagram; later, Yang Guofu applied for listing and took the lead in hitting the number one share of Malatang. Malatang seems to have shed its original label of roadside stall delicacy and has become more and more noble.

But no matter how it is upgraded, the three words Malatang will always be friendly and down-to-earth to most people. Maybe it’s because it witnessed your student days when you didn’t have much money, maybe it’s because it accompanied you through many late nights of working overtime and watching TV shows, or maybe it’s because it listened to the wonderful moments when you chatted with your friends.

Malatang can contain the excitement of a group of people, as well as the joys and sorrows of one person.

We can’t help but wonder, where do people like to eat spicy hotpot the most? What ingredients are the best to add to Malatang? Mr. DT has collected a lot of data and prepared a "Mala Tang Research Report". Let's take a look at it together.

Malatang world, ruled by the Northeast

Malatang was born in Leshan, Sichuan, and flourished in Heilongjiang, Northeast China. After a thousand years, it grew wildly and quickly took root across the country. Now it has It is a civilian snack that can be seen everywhere in the streets.

Malatang can be regarded as a "hero" in the world of gourmet food. It does not have a long history or the blessing of famous chefs, but because of its convenience, deliciousness and cheapness, it has become a national delicacy. According to statistics from Ele.me, in 2019, there was a Malatang shop for every 20 food takeaways, and 3 of every 10 takeaway users ordered Malatang.

From a geographical perspective, the number of malatang companies in Northeast China is unparalleled. There is some truth to this. After all, Malatang was popularized by Northeastern people who love to stew. Just like the current Malatang door, the words "Northeastern Authentic" are always added to make it more delicious and convincing.

According to Qichacha, there are currently 328,000 malatang-related companies in the country, and there are 14 provinces with more than 8,000 companies. Among them, Jilin and Heilongjiang, the northeastern brothers, are advancing hand in hand, with more than 30,000 companies. A spicy hotpot company.

However, as the real hometown of Malatang, Sichuan does not have many Malatang companies, and it is not even among the top 10. We speculate that this has something to do with the excessive number of local competing products and the improved taste of Malatang.

On the one hand, local hot pot, maocai and cold pot skewers, both hot and boiled delicacies, have already captured the stomachs of Sichuan people. On the other hand, in order to adapt to the catering market across the country, Malatang has undergone many improvements in taste, such as introducing tomato flavor, topped with sesame sauce, etc. The spicy hotpot we often eat today is no longer the spicy flavor that Sichuan people are familiar with.

In addition to turning Malatang into an independent food genre, Northeasterners also scaled up the Malatang industry. In 2003, a small shop called Yangji Malatang opened in Yonghe Street, Harbin. In 2007, the store was officially renamed "Yang Guofu Malatang" and expanded rapidly in the next few years to become a well-known chain brand. As of September 2021, Yang Guofu Malatang has more than 6,000 stores worldwide.

While Yang Guofu was frantically expanding his territory, Malatang brands such as Zhang Liang, Mijie, and Ji Apo also gradually gained popularity. Among them, Zhang Liang Malatang and Yang Guofu formed a situation of dominance by two heroes. . According to data from Narrow Door Restaurant, as of February 5, 2022, the number of domestic operating stores of the two brands is similar. Yang Guofu has 5,650 stores and Zhang Liang has 5,610.

Zhang Liang Malatang is not opened by model Zhang Liang, I guess everyone knows this. But the fact that Zhang Liang and Yang Guofu are cousins ??can probably be regarded as trivial knowledge.

In fact, many Malatang brands come from the magical place of Bin County, Harbin. Because Yang Guofu took the lead in launching the Malatang business, people from the same county joined the team one after another. Among the top 20 Malatang brands in terms of number of domestic stores, 7 are from Harbin.

At the same time, there are many emerging brands from all over the country. For example, Mijie, a local brand in Shanghai established in 2017, has 766 stores nationwide, second only to Yang Guofu and Zhang Liang.

Although most of the Malatang market is in the hands of Northeasterners, the three Northeastern provinces are not the places with the highest amount of Malatang in terms of takeout consumption.

According to the "Consumption Analysis of Best-Selling Takeaway Meals in 2019 - Malatang", Ningxia people won the title of "Favorite Malatang", with an average of 1.9 servings of Malatang in every 20 takeaways, and Heilongjiang, the "second hometown of Malatang", ranked second.

In Malatang, who is the C position?

If the soul of hot pot lies in the collision of soup base and dipping sauce, then the essence of Malatang is entirely in that bowl of soup.

From Sichuan to Northeast China and then across the country, Malatang has experienced many changes in the soup base.

As we all know, the typical Sichuan flavor is famous for its spicy and spicy flavor. But outside Sichuan and Chongqing, people's acceptance of spicy food is relatively low, and many people say they "can't eat it." Therefore, after Malatang came to the Northeast, it was modified into bone soup. The original spicy flavor became seasonings, which can be added as you like. Today, Malatang soup base has developed into a variety of flavors such as tomato, vine pepper, curry, golden soup, etc.

In order to find everyone’s favorite Malatang soup base, we studied the relevant notes of Xiaohongshu and found that the most popular new style soup base is none other than tomato soup. At the same time, flavors such as curry, tom yum gong, pork belly chicken, etc. have also received a lot of love.

Tomato soup base is already a regular guest in many spicy hotpot restaurants. From Haidilao Huo to Malatang, the tomato soup base is sour, sweet, and suitable for all ages. It seems to be perfectly suitable for all kinds of cooking. A sip on a cold spring day will instantly warm your heart.

Curry soup base and Tom Yum Goong soup base are the new favorites of the Malatang industry. The former is rich and spicy, while the latter is sour and refreshing. The rich soup seems to be mixed with the sunshine and sea breeze of Southeast Asia.

When it comes to selecting ingredients, Malatang is even more all-encompassing.

A wide variety of ingredients are laid out, waiting obediently for diners to patronize. Different ingredients are simmered together in boiling hot soup, put in a bowl and add a few spoonfuls of toppings, and it will immediately whet your appetite.

Under the principle that everything can be hot, Malatang’s ingredients include meat, eggs, seafood, and vegetable staple food. All kinds of delicious food can be gathered in this small bowl. Thousands of ingredients are combined to create countless flavors, and everyone can create their own unique set meal.

According to the "Consumption Analysis of Best-Selling Takeaway Meals in 2019 - Malatang", on average each Malatang takeout contains 10 kinds of ingredients, and the most popular ingredients among consumers are enoki mushrooms, baby cabbage and potatoes. It is worth noting that there is not a single piece of meat among the top 10 ingredients.

When eating Malatang, vegetables are the main raw materials, and there are 9 kinds of vegetables among the 20 kinds of ingredients on the list. Mushrooms are soaked in soup, green leafy vegetables are fresh and crispy, and potatoes and sweet potatoes are sweet and soft. You don’t have to worry about boiling it for too long and turning it into nothing like hot pot. It is an absolute must-choice for Malatang.

In addition, soy products and meat have three ingredients on the list respectively. The fifth-ranked quail egg is the only type of egg, and it is also the most common type of egg in Malatang ingredients. In terms of staple food choices, fried dough sticks and wide noodles have gained the most favor.

After the ingredients are boiled and put into bowls, the last step is to add the toppings of your choice to add color. While bone soup and spicy soup are still the mainstream soup bases, the preparation of small ingredients can give Malatang a different soul. Chichi (pseudonym) told DT Jun that she has her own secret seasoning recipe for spicy hotpot: three parts vinegar and one part sugar. Whoever eats it will say it tastes good.

We have counted the sales of takeout seasonings at word-of-mouth Malatang restaurants in four cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and found that when it comes to choosing ingredients, both the north and the south are keen on the best companion of Northeastern Malatang. —Sesame paste.

Interestingly, we found that there are also some regional biases in the preference for spicy hotpot ingredients. In Shanghai, pure peanut butter is often used instead of sesame paste, while pickled beans are a must-have in Guangdong Malatang restaurants.

It seems that Malatang is really good at adapting to local conditions. No matter where it takes root, it can grow in a way that the locals like.

Malatang can really be very healthy

As a once-famous "mama's snack", Malatang has been known as junk food for many years after its debut.

But now when searching for Malatang on Xiaohongshu, the screen is filled with lists of magic tools and must-haves for slimming down. Recalling the days when when I was a child, my parents would talk about it for a long time even if I ate Malatang. Mr. DT couldn’t help but sigh, times have really changed.

Is eating Malatang healthy? Doctor Dingxiang once said: Yes, as long as it is not numb, spicy, or hot.

Although there are elements of joking and deconstruction, this sentence is actually quite reasonable. In the final analysis, the essence of Malatang is "boiled vegetables". As long as the stores take care of safety and hygiene and keep out all kinds of spoiled ingredients and illegal additives, Malatang will become a very good dietary choice.

After all, there are only a handful of options where you can eat more than a dozen ingredients at once for twenty or thirty yuan. If on this basis, you choose low-sodium and low-fat seasonings and ingredients, it would be even more perfect.

Based on the Malatang-related research and the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents" released by Clove Life Research Institute, DT compiled a red and black list of Malatang ingredients. If you want to eat healthily, you may wish to refer to it. This list.

Green leafy vegetables and mushrooms can be eaten almost casually. The Dietary Balance Pagoda for Chinese Residents recommends consuming 300-500g of vegetables every day. The best opportunity to supplement is when eating Malatang.

Root starchy vegetables are the best staple foods, such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, and lotus roots. If you choose these vegetables, reduce the noodles and vermicelli appropriately.

In addition, please be careful when choosing highly processed and fried ingredients. After all, they are high in fat, and hot pot meatballs pose health risks.

In fact, as long as the ingredients are properly selected, Malatang can be turned into a bowl of healthy boiled vegetables. Of course, if you feel that eating this way is not enjoyable enough, then feel free to choose. After all, having fun while eating is the most important thing!

Written at the end: Why do we like Malatang?

Probably because it is always kind and tolerant, like an old friend who is always available and can appear whenever you need it. In a corner of the world, in a bowl of hot food, what comes to your face is the warm and healing fireworks of the world.

For you and me who want to eat a bowl of Malatang, even if Yang Guofu goes to Hong Kong for IPO, it is still a familiar and ordinary shop downstairs. When you smell the aroma when passing by, you will want to recommend it. A small utopia where the door shouts "Boss, add more spicy food".

Having said all that, would you like a bowl of spicy hotpot for today’s takeout?