Her origins are very remote, they would date back to the time of the Jìn dynasty, (265 to 420 AD) when it was consumed in the winter months to find comfort from the cold. The culinary practice did not spread much among the mongol horsemen who had invaded China, a proud and indomitable people of nomadic guerrillas who during their military incursions used the practice of cook their soup using helmets and battle shields. Later, with the Qing dynasty, hot pot spread throughout China, adapting to the tastes and ingredients of different places. Finally the practice of the Hot Pot went beyond the borders of the celestial empire to find widespread, over the centuries, in Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan and Korea.
Mongol horsemen cooked it in helmets or shields
The original culinary principle is quite simple is based on one casserole placed at the center of the table in which the diners placed in a circle can cook all types of food in common, especially vegetable scraps and less noble parts of farmed meat or game. The success of the hot pot over time lies in the fact that it is an inexpensive and very tasty dish because the various components, vegetables, meat or fish, constantly enrich the flavor of the cooking broth which is sipped, imbued with important nutritional elements, both during lunch and at the end of the meal. But above all, what most marked the fortune of this ancient cooking method over the centuries is his unifying ability, knowing how to involve family and friends, becoming the meeting place at the end of the day for the family, but also village leaders to deal with community problems, and finally also to do business or settle disputes.
From a poor dish, the hot pot has evolved over time and today it is a dish appreciated by gourmets
Over time the humble Hot Pot has evolved and today it is a "noble" dish, appreciated by gourmets, composed of quality raw materials and highly appreciated precisely for its social sharing characteristic. Officially they can be distinguished 3 types of hot pots: the first involves a light-tasting soup in which raw food is cooked at the moment (typically mutton), in the second the food in the casserole is already cooked and the flame is used only to keep the dish hot and to cook the vegetables, finally the third type involves the entire cooking of both the meat and the vegetables before the casserole is served. In the second type, mainly prawns, deer, chicken and fish are pre-cooked, always with little spice. Mushroom soup, on the other hand, is consumed simultaneously with the cooking of the other ingredients. For the meat you are spoiled for choice ranging from beef to mutton to pork belly but it can also include chicken and rabbit offal. And the same can be said for the fish, molluscs, crustaceans. Seasonings typically used are soy sauce, garlic, shallots, bean sprouts, chrysanthemum leaves, egg, sesame oil, and chili peppers.
In ancient times they attributed beneficial functions to it, today the beneficial properties of chili peppers for the body are ascertained
At the Hot Pot they have been attributed since ancient times beneficial functions as it is believed that, through its hot and often spicy broths, the body is freed from retained humidity, especially in the hot seasons.
Il spicy therefore remains fundamental, it is known that chilli pepper is highly healthy for our body. A study of the Fondazione Veronesi certifies that frequent consumption of hot peppers can reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular causes. Furthermore, the pepper would have an antibacterial and vasodilatory action. But not only. In fact, it would also help to keep cholesterol and blood pressure values under control. And, based on the conclusions of a study published in 2017 in the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, it would be an element that should never be deprived of during a slimming diet (thanks to its potential positive effect on metabolism). Elements, the latter, which put together could explain the reduction in cardiovascular risk. The benefits of chilli derive from a mix of antioxidant substances present in it: vitamin C, carotenoids, polyphenols. But the main merit of its value can be ascribed to capsaicin, the main molecule contained in the berry and responsible for its spiciness.
12-36-45-65-75: the degrees of spiciness patented by the De Zhuang restaurant on the Esquiline
If we talk about spiciness and fidelity to the origin of this historic dish, it should be noted that a great one Chinese hot pot chain, over a thousand restaurants, has landed in Rome in the Esquilino district with the De Zhuang restaurant offering the authentic Chinese hot pot with an exclusive: patrons can choose before the meal the degree of spiciness of the dish, an almost scientific choice: 12° Mild Spicy, 36° Little Spicy, 45 Medium Spicy, 52Hot Spicy, 65 Extra Spicy, 75 Bomb Spicy, obviously the last two categories are reserved for men and women looking for strong sensations, such as walking barefoot on burning embers.
Faithful to the original meaning of the dish Giorgia Chen and her husband Claudio, both Chinese and long-time residents of Italy, have aimed to conquer the clientele of the capital with a local tone that focuses on the high quality of the raw material, on the variety of combinations of the numerous courses that can be chosen, as many as 120, on the sauces made in the kitchen to enrich the most varied flavors of the dishes and above all on conviviality. In their room with marked oriental furnishings and in shades of red that seats up to 80 seats distributed over 20 tables, there are two, four and eight-seater stations. All tables are characterized by a space in the center where the pot of cooking broth kept at a boil is placed, differentiated by the staff hall that constantly monitors the temperature trend for optimal cooking of the food, varying it from time to time on the basis of the choices and tastes of the patrons. To be precise, three boiling spaces are obtained in the pot that is placed on the stove which is located in a recess in the center of the table, in the center there is always a porcini mushroom broth then for one half there is the spicy broth made with a secret base that comes directly from the parent company in China based on vegetables flavored with ox oil at different levels of spiciness that must be decided at the time of ordering and for the other half a broth usually of very delicate ossobuco or tomato to let the mouth rest if necessary or a delicate vegetable broth made every day in the kitchen for those who love soft flavours.
The poor ingredients of the past replaced by quality raw materials including vegetables, fish and meat
The dishes with the components to be cooked are then scattered around the central pot. The undisputed protagonist of the hot pot is the meat – sakura – of lamb or beef, entrails (pork tail and intestines, black pudding) but also fish, vegetables and pasta (soy spaghetti, gnocchi with Chinese red potatoes). Beyond the meat, the choice can fall on ping gu mushrooms, Chinese cauliflower, seaweed, chicken and duck feet, duck tongue, fine tripe but also prawns, fish, king crab claws and smoked tofu. All quality ingredients to be combined following only one's own taste or one's desire to experiment.
In practice each of the diners can follow a gastronomic path to their liking but the cooking moment is common, as per tradition, just as the initial broth enriched by the various cooking methods can be shared by everyone. That is the moment closest to the meaning of the hot pot, a moment of aggregation around the table as it happened for the Mongolian knights when dinner was an opportunity to tell their deeds.
For the record, it should be reported that the à la carte menu also offers traditional Chinese dishes such as rolls, sautéed rice with beef or egg, dumplings and desserts, including an original jelly with Chinese fruit. But frankly, one goes to a place like this to have an original, non-customary experience
De Zhuang Hotpot
Via di San Vito 15/16 Rome
beltroadhotpot@outlook.it
PHONE 06 57297420
