Chongqing is where Sichuan’s hot pot originated.  It is the most famous and favorite dish in Chongqing.  First eaten by poor boatmen of the Yangtze River in Chongqing area and then spread westwards to the rest of Sichuan.  Now is a very popular local flavor and can be found at every corner of the city.  There are a great variety of hotpots, including Yuanyang Hotpot (double tastes), four tastes hotpot, tonic Hotpot, cattle gut hotpot and fish head hotpot. 

Chongqing hotpot is known for its delicious soup base and dipping sauce and is characterized by its peppery and hot taste, heavy flavors and dense soup.  It consists of a simmering pot of stock at the center of the dining table. While the hotpot is kept simmering, ingredients are placed into the pot and are cooked at the table.

The traditional Chongqing hotpot's materials include cattle guts, cattle waists, beef and other vegetables, being a real self-help course.  Nowadays the typical hotpot dishes include thinly sliced raw variety meat, bean curd, leafy vegetables, mushrooms, wontons, egg dumplings, various seafood, including fresh sliced abalone, sea cucumber, fish fillet, shrimps, scallops, and fish balls.  The soup base in the pot is always mixed with hot pepper oil to cater for local people's flavor.  The dipping mixture of sesame oil, chili sauce, peanut sauce, chopped chilies and garlic combine to make magic.

The raw ingredients arrive on plates, not skewers, so the pots are divided up into compartments to prevent mixing.   All of these are boiled in the soup, and then you can dip them in a little bowl of special sauce. If you are adventurous enough, you can basically cook anything with hotpot, e.g., pig’s brain and duck’s kidney.  

The local residents are certainly dedicated, tucking into them even during the sweltering summers.  People gather around a small pot boiled with charcoal, electric or gas filled with flavorful and nutritious soup base.  The fire dances under the pot, the heavily oiled and spiced soup boils with hazy steam, and the people are bathed in sweat.