ANATOMY OF A DISH

Hotpot.

Here’s the drill: in the middle of the table there’s a pot of hot, bubbling broth, around which is arranged you and your friends, chopsticks clutched, plunging and dunking whatever you desire from the numerous bowls of raw ingredients surrounding the pot. The broth varies across regions but in Australia, you’ll mainly see two styles. There’s the red and spicy kind, from the Chinese megacity of Chongqing, known for its ma la, a combination of Sichuan pepper numbness and chilli heat. Then there’s the Cantonese and Thai styles that are more gentle, often made with a chicken stock base. Unlike, say, fondue, there’s not a lot of hard-and-fast rules with hotpot, but saving the noodles for the end, when the broth is well flavoured and needs something to soak it up, is always a good idea. Oh, and don’t wear white. Have at it.