Though its origins may not be from the Philippines, everything else about hotpot feels very Pinoy. There’s a big bowl of flavorful soup for everyone to share, a wide variety of ingredients you get to cook on the spot, and there are no hard and fast rules to making one. It’s meant for sharing, easy-to-make, and fun—basically, everything we like about cooking at home.
While you can be as creative as you want when making hotpot, it’s a good idea to brush up on the essentials. Check out this guide before cooking it at home. Once you’ve got everything you need, try using this budget-friendly recipe as your base.
Serves 6
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: about 40 minutes
Hotpot Noodle Soup Ingredients:
1 250-gram Sapporo Long Kow Vermicelli
2 liters water
4 chicken broth cubes
4 cloves garlic, chopped and crushed
3 teapsoon-sized slices fresh ginger
4 bay leaves
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 medium carrot
1 medium kamote
3/4 cup enoki mushroom
1 cup wombok or Chinese cabbage
150 grams firm tofu
100 grams salmon balls (or any other processed meatball)
150 grams beef sukiyaki cut
150 grams pork sukiyaki cut
Choice of dipping sauces (soy sauce with a little brown sugar works)
How to Make Hotpot Noodle Soup:
1 Cook Sapporo Long Kow Vermicelli according to package instructions. Drain and then rinse under cold running water. Set aside.
2 Boil water in a pot over medium heat. Dissolve chicken broth cubes, and add garlic, ginger, bay leaves, soy sauce, and salt. Mix well. Cover and cook for about 30 minutes, adding water as necessary.
3 While the broth is cooking, rinse all vegetables and thaw all proteins. Slice the carrot and camote into thin discs. Cut the tofu into cubes. Separate the cabbage into individual leaves. Arrange all ingredients onto serving dishes, keeping the meat in the refrigerator and covered with plastic wrap.
4 Once the broth is done, remove all solid ingredients from the pot. Put the pot on a portable burner on low heat. Serve with the veggies, meats, and other prepared ingredients on the side, as well as your preferred sauces.
5 Cook raw ingredients in the simmering broth. Bowls of rice optional.
*Price for 6 servings: P307.40
This recipe should serve as a good foundation for other hotpot variations you may want to try out. Every ingredient was chosen because it was readily available at most supermarkets, making this version something anybody can make.
One particular ingredient—Sapporo Long Kow Vermicelli—works incredibly well with all sorts of dishes because of the noodles’ ability to absorb flavors without getting too mushy. When you feel like experimenting with more complex broths, you can count on vermicelli to be a standout part of the meal.
The Grocery List**:
1 pack 250-gram Sapporo Long Kow Vermicelli: P57.95
4 chicken broth cubes: P21.60
4 cloves garlic: P5.55
10-gram ginger: P1.60
4 bay leaves: P2.34
50-gram carrots: P5.25
50-gram kamote: P6
50-gram enoki mushroom: P37.50
150-gram wombok or Chinese cabbage: P13.50
150-gram firm tofu: P15.91
100-gram salmon balls (or any other processed meatball): P17.20
150-gram beef sukiyaki cut: P81.75
150-gram pork sukiyaki cut: P41.25
Try out the recipes featuring Sapporo Long Kow Vermicelli you can find on Sapporo’s official website. To learn more about their other products, follow Sapporo on Facebook.
*Price per dish is computed by the price of the ingredients per gram. This means that leftovers are subtracted from the total price.
**Note: Excluded from this list are staples water, soy sauce, salt, and sugar.
