A staple of the hot pot experience, there are a variety of dipping sauces that you can prepare with ease. Hot pots are a warm and comforting dish perfectly suited for the fall and winter months, and they wouldn’t quite be the same without some delicious dipping sauce.
While some variants require a certain amount of skill to pull off, most just take a little practice and the right ingredients.
The following article will outline seven of the tastiest hot pot dipping sauce recipes, including all the suggested ingredients, and exactly how to prepare them. From Beijing hot pot dipping sauce to spicy soy sauce, there should be something here that you’ll love.
While some of these ingredients are somewhat unique, you should be able to track them down at Asian grocery stores, or if you do a little digging online. The base of this Beijing dipping sauce is Chinese sesame paste.
This paste differs from tahini in that it uses roasted sesame seeds to make for a more complex flavor. When shopping for Chinese sesame paste, look for the kind made with 100% sesame seeds (with no extra peanuts), as this tends to taste better than other kinds.
You’ll also need red fermented bean curd, which is often referred to as furu. Salty and creamy and reminiscent of cheese, you should be looking for the red type of bean curd specifically, rather than the white.
The final key ingredient is fermented leek flower sauce, which is pungent, salty, and has a distinctive garlic flavor. You’ll also need minced cilantro, toasted sesame oil, grated garlic, and soy sauce.
The best way to mix this dipping sauce is by diluting the sesame paste until it’s a runny sauce. Simply whisk in some water until it’s the right consistency. The sauce will first start to thicken, but will eventually thin out as you add more water.
Add the red fermented bean curd, breaking it apart until it’s incorporated into the sauce. Finally, dissolve the rest of the ingredients in the sauce. If it’s not quite to your tastes yet, add a little more sesame oil, garlic, or soy sauce.
Great for entertaining guests in the summer months, this Thai peanut dipping sauce keeps for up to two days, and goes great with grilled yellowtail snapper, summer rolls, and fresh vegetables.
All you’ll need for this recipe is a half cup of creamy peanut butter, two tablespoons of low sodium soy sauce, two tablespoons of red curry paste, two tablespoons of lime juice, one tablespoon of fish sauce, a half cup of unsweetened coconut milk, and, as an optional garnish, chopped peanuts.
To make the perfect Thai peanut dipping sauce, first whisk together soy sauce, peanut butter, lime juice, curry paste, and fish sauce in a medium bowl. Keep whisking until the mixture is smooth.
Then, slowly drizzle in your unsweetened coconut milk. Before long the mixture will be smooth and creamy and ready to serve.
With a recipe as simple as just whisking all the ingredients together, this ginger soy dipping sauce is great for when you need to rustle up a quick addition to your hot pot.
The ingredients include six tablespoons of soy sauce, a quarter cup of toasted sesame oil, two tablespoons of light or dark rice vinegar (cider vinegar will work too), one tablespoon of minced fresh garlic, two tablespoons of orange juice, hot water, or chicken stock, one tablespoon of minced fresh ginger, one tablespoon of sugar, and a quarter cup of minced scallions.
Mix it all together with a whisk- all except the scallions, which should be added after everything else has been combined.
Known as Nuoc Cham (not to be confused with Nuoc Mam, which is the fish sauce found in this sauce), this classic Vietnamese dipping sauce is fat free and has a very varied flavor profile.
It goes great with hot pots, but it’s versatile enough that it can be served with pretty much anything, be it wontons, spring rolls, or vermicelli bowls. It can also be used as a marinade or a dressing.
The ingredients you’ll need include fish sauce (preferably a kind that’s not too salty), vinegar, red chilis, chili garlic sauce (but only if you’re after some extra spice), lime, sugar, water, and carrots.
All you’ll need to do to prepare this dipping sauce is combine all the ingredients in a small bowl (all except the carrots, which you should set aside for now). Mix until all the sugar has dissolved, and just before serving, add the carrots. At this stage you should also be adding the chili garlic sauce, if you so choose.
This healthy alternative to honey mustard is dairy free, gluten free, egg free, nut free, grain free, refined sugar free, soy free, and paleo- suffice to say, it can be enjoyed by almost anyone. It takes just five minutes to prepare, and goes great with hot pots as well as a range of other foods, including egg rolls, chicken strips, and sandwiches.
The ingredients included are a quarter cup of apricot preserves (the fruit juice sweetened variety), two tablespoons of gluten free Dijon mustard, one tablespoon of honey, two sliced green onions (both the white and green parts), and two tablespoons of gluten free chicken stock.
To prepare, simply stir together all the ingredients but the scallions in a small saucepan at medium high heat. Keep stirring until the mixture is thickened, which should take about five minutes, before adding in your scallions and serving.
If you’re the type who uses soy sauce on pretty much everything, you might be getting the urge to change it up a little. Look no further than this spicy soy sauce recipe.
All you’ll need is four tablespoons of light soy sauce, four shallots, three tablespoons of water, two spring onions, one green pepper, one red pepper, one small bunch of cilantro, one tablespoon of sesame oil, and an oil of your choice.
First heat oil in a pan before adding your shallots and fruiting them for a couple of minutes, then add the peppers and spring onions and fry them for roughly a minute.
Add the soy sauce and water and bring to a boil, then take the pan off heat and stir in your cilantro before finally adding your sesame oil.
This versatile sauce can be used for soups, as a marinade for meat, as seasoning for stir fries, and more. Its ingredients include four tablespoons of barbecue sauce, two shallots, two tablespoons of light soy sauce, two spring onions, a half tablespoon of sugar, one bunch of cilantro, and oil of your choice.
Heat your oil in a pan before adding your shallots and fruiting them briefly. Then add your barbecue sauce and fry for roughly one minute before adding your spring onions, your soy sauce, and then your sugar. Transfer the sauce to a bowl, add your cilantro, and serve.
Conclusion: 7 Amazing Hot Pot Dipping Sauce Recipes
If you’re making a hot pot, dipping sauces are an integral component, but the ideal thing about these dipping sauces is that they can be enjoyed alongside a wide variety of food, some as marinades, some as seasoning, and some as simply something to dip a snack in (shocker, we know!).
Now that you know how to quickly whip up a variety of dipping sauces, your next hot pot experience should be a delicious one.
