How to Enjoy Hot Pot While Staying Healthy Tips Inside

Author: Health Writer, Reviewer: Nutrition Expert, Curator: Food Health Organization, Production/Organizational Information: Health and Nutrition Institute

Title: How to Enjoy Hot Pot While Staying Healthy Tips Inside

Introduction: Hot pot culture promotes healthy eating by selecting fresh ingredients and healthier soup bases for delicious meals.

What kind of broth is both delicious and healthy, leaving a lingering flavor after finishing? Actually, a clean water or clear soup base is the best choice. For example, the broth used in traditional Beijing hotpot is simply hot water with a bit of green onion, ginger, dried shrimp, and spices, containing no added fats. This kind of broth has almost no calories. Some clear soups might have a little fat added, but generally, it is not too much.

However, what people often love the most is the spicy red soup base. Although this type of broth is rich in flavor, it contains a very high amount of fat. For instance, the spicy red oil broth base purchased from supermarkets is solid at room temperature, indicating that it has excessive saturated fat content, which should not be consumed in large quantities. If you enjoy spicy food, you can opt to add a little chili oil to your dipping sauce; this allows you to enjoy the spiciness without significantly increasing your fat intake. However, for patients with gastrointestinal or respiratory diseases, consuming too much spicy food can irritate the throat and gastrointestinal tract, potentially worsening symptoms like a sore throat, gastric ulcers, gastritis, and diarrhea, so it is advisable to minimize the consumption of spicy and irritating broth bases.

The selection of ingredients should be done with care.

The basic principles for choosing hot pot ingredients are that they should be natural and fresh, diverse in variety, predominantly vegetarian with less meat, and include both mushrooms and root vegetables.

1

Vegetables

Vegetables can be categorized by color into dark and light varieties. Dark-colored vegetables generally have higher nutritional value than light-colored ones, as they are rich in chlorophyll, lutein, carotene, anthocyanins, and more. Therefore, it is advisable to consume more dark vegetables such as spinach, oilseed lettuce, garland chrysanthemum, coriander, leaf stalks of lettuce, pea shoots, broccoli, green leaf lettuce, and rapeseed. Of course, one can also choose some light-colored vegetables according to personal preference, such as Chinese cabbage, winter melon, white radish, and bamboo shoots. It is best to include a variety of vegetables and combine them in a balanced way for optimal health. According to the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents," the recommended daily intake of vegetables should be between 300 and 500 grams.

2

Microalgae

Mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, and kelp should be included in the diet as they are rich in proteins, polysaccharides, carotenoids, and mineral elements such as iron, zinc, selenium, and iodine. Therefore, it is advisable to appropriately increase the intake of fungi and algae.

3

Root vegetables

This refers to root vegetables such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, Chinese yams, and taro. These starchy foods are relatively high in carbohydrates and can be used as staples. Additionally, root vegetables contain certain vitamins like vitamin C, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, and mineral elements such as potassium, which can be beneficial for obese individuals in weight control and preventing constipation. They are much healthier than having oil-fried buns or fried bread after enjoying hot pot, or eating white noodles.

4

Soy products

Soybeans are rich in high-quality protein, unsaturated fatty acids, calcium, and B vitamins, making them an important source of quality protein in the diet. Many women, in order to maintain their figure, tend to avoid consuming too much meat, but they still need to ensure their daily protein intake. As a result, they often choose to eat soy products such as tofu, frozen tofu, and tofu skin. However, it is important to avoid high-fat soy products like fried tofu puffs and oil-fried yuba.

5

Meat

Meat is the main ingredient in hot pot. People who are overweight or have chronic diseases should consume less fatty beef and lamb slices, as these can contain up to 30% fat. It is better to choose lean beef slices, fish, shrimp, chicken slices, tofu skin, and duck blood, which are lower in fat content.

The time for boiling should be controlled.

1

Leafy vegetables should be briefly blanched before being served, as prolonged cooking in hot pot can lead to the loss of nutrients and diminish the fresh, tender texture of the vegetables. In contrast, meat slices such as beef and lamb, as well as seafood like fish and shrimp, must be thoroughly cooked. Many people, in pursuit of a tender texture, quickly blanch lamb slices in the broth before eating, but this practice is very unhealthy. Undercooked meat may contain bacteria and parasites that have not been eradicated, making it prone to causing gastrointestinal infections.

The hot pot broth is not for consumption.

I believe everyone enjoys having a bowl of soup after hot pot, which in some regions is referred to as "liufeng." So, is the broth left after cooking still suitable for drinking? We all know that people with gout or high uric acid levels should avoid hot pot because the meat broth contains a considerable amount of purines. In addition to purines, the fat content in the broth can be quite high, especially if the base is made from bone broth. Moreover, the soup from cooking vegetables may contain substances like nitrites and oxalic acid. Therefore, it is advisable to drink as little broth as possible or to avoid it altogether. If you really enjoy having soup, it's best to drink it right at the beginning when the cooking time is short and fewer ingredients are cooked.

Eating a hot pot in cold weather warms the heart immensely. However, when it comes to hot pot, there are certain considerations. It's not just about filling your stomach; one should eat in a reasonable and scientific manner to truly appreciate the value of the food.