Do you know a Chinese hotpot called “火鍋（huǒ guō）”? It is a very popular meal in China. It has been said that this style of eating already existed around 17 century BC and it is said to have been used as an offering for deities by cooking soup in an ancient pot called “鼎 (Kanae, or Tei)” with a variety of ingredients.
Reference：「鼎（Kanae）, an ancient pot」文化遺産オンライン（文化庁）
People in Northern China particularly enjoy the 火鍋（huǒ guō) in a pot which is divided in two in the middle. The divider is often in an “S” shape, which makes the pot look like the shape of Taijitsu (太極図), commonly known as the yin and yang symbol.
Reference: Wikipedia
Taijitsu (太極図: tàijítú) is a Chinese philosophy about the opposite forces of yin（陰）and yang (陽). For example, having two different spiciness of soup, like one that is spicy and one that isn’t, also represents the “Yin(陰)-Yang（陽) Symbol.”
Having Yin-Yang soup in the pot, it can be said to represent the spirit of unity and balance by including two opposites in one. However, it is so hard to explain Yin-Yang philosophy with my little knowledge, so I will stop talking…hehe
Here is information on the Chinese hotpot restaurant that we went to.
Restaurant Information: 海底捞火锅(印象城店)
I think it might be rare to receive a warm towel, Oshibori, at a Chinese restaurant?
We got a bowl of rice porridge with red beans.
You can pick all kinds of food, for example, seafood and tofu, and also various types of noodles.
When we visited this restaurant, it was before I learned how some hotpots have the Yin-Yang Symbol (太極図: Taijitsu), so we chose 4 kinds of soup…
From top-left going clockwise
１）Pork tripe and chicken soup (White soup）
２）Sliced radish and goji berry soup (Hot water）
３）Tomato soup
4) Peppers and Sichuan pepper soup
We could choose the level of spiciness for 4)’s soup but it was still very spicy… I loved the tomato soup the most!
This is the dipping sauce stand.
You can make your own dipping sauce the way you like by adding soy sauce, sesame oil, and peppers in sesame-based paste.
These green things are corianders. I love them so much!
Near the end of the meal, we ordered noodles. A staff came to our table and he made long noodles from one dough while dancing to the music.
It was so much fun to see how he made the noodles but also I was nervous if the noodle would break at some point… We enjoyed the freshly made noodles by dipping tomato soup! It was delicious!
The restaurant was clean and the staff were so kind and accommodating. I think this place will be the best for having birthday parties and celebrations.
I will try their two kinds of soup next time! Thank you for reading my blog!
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