At the table
1. Choose ingredients or a set meal, then ask which broth and chili levels are available. Self-selection and ordering arrangements vary. 2. Staff cook the selection; ask where to collect your bowl or whether it will be brought over. You do not keep cooking at the table as with hot pot or hot-pot skewers; some other skewer styles are also staff-cooked. 3. Eat the cooked pieces with chopsticks. The bowl is already seasoned and usually needs no separate dip. Rice may be included in a set or ordered separately. “请问含米饭吗？少辣。” means “Does this include rice? Less chili, please.”
This example contains beef and soy. The base and marinade may contain wheat and other allergens; cooking wine is used. Confirm the full base and toppings if avoiding particular ingredients.
A vegetable-only selection does not establish vegetarian or vegan suitability: the base, stock and cooking fat must also be checked. This pictured beef version is not vegetarian.
GET TO KNOW THE DISH
What goes into it?
Explore some key ingredients below. Preparations may use additional seasonings and ingredients.
Some versions use stock instead of water. Hot-pot base may use vegetable oil or beef fat; the ingredients and chili level vary.
Typical ingredients
In some versions
Recipes vary by restaurant.
How does it taste?
Savory and spicy, often with Sichuan pepper tingling and garlic.
- Chili heat
- Texture
- Varies with the selected ingredients, from crisp vegetables to tender meat.
- How it’s made
- Simmer the ingredients in water with mala hot-pot base, cooking oil, Sichuan pepper, ginger and garlic. Beef is marinated with cooking wine, light soy sauce, starch and ground chili. Season with salt and optionally chicken seasoning, scallion or cilantro.
Some versions use stock instead of water. Hot-pot base may use vegetable oil or beef fat; the ingredients and chili level vary.
A CONNECTION TO PLACE
Origin & regional roots
Associated with Sichuan.
About this regional connection
Sichuan: Associated with Chengdu, Sichuan.
Ask if they have it first
请问你们有冒菜吗？
Do you have this item?
A LITTLE SOMETHING TO READ
Story & history
A ready-cooked alternative to hot pot
This account describes a tradition or story, rather than an established historical fact.
Maocai brings the hot-pot idea to a bowl that arrives cooked. It works for choosing a mix of ingredients without tending a simmering pot at the table; rice makes a useful accompaniment.
