Chapter 93.1 Hot Pot on the Offensive
Perhaps due to the season or the foundation laid by the recent East Market’s Hot Pot Festival, the hot pot dishes across several branches had been selling exceptionally well.
Seizing the opportunity, Shen Shaoguang decided to follow the success of autumn’s Crab Month by launching a "Hot Pot Month" campaign with the slogan "Thirty days of dining, never repeating a dish." She even created a dedicated hot pot menu, and after counting, there were indeed over thirty varieties.
While it's true that Shen Indelible's hot pot offered a wide range of broths, there was also a bit of marketing flair involved.
Previously, Shen Indelible already offered around eight types of broths, including the classic milky broth and clear broth, as well as the seafood broth, fish-head broth, and fish-bone broth known for their "fresh aquatic" flavor. There were also vegetarian options such as the mushroom broth and the wolfberry, red date, and longan fruit broth. This winter, the hot pot family expanded even further.
One major category of the hot pots was the "nourishing broths." The people of Tang Dynasty placed great emphasis on health preservation, with countless engaging in herbal concoctions and alchemical practices. Even ordinary folk enjoyed dishes like black rice and Milkvetch Root Congee.
Black rice, also known as green essence rice, is made by crushing the leaves of the sea bilberry plant to extract their juice, which is then used to soak glutinous rice before steaming. The soaking and steaming process is meticulous, often requiring "nine soakings, nine steamings, and nine sun-dryings." The result is rice grains that are black, tight, and small, suitable for both cooking and brewing, making it a semi-convenient food. Shen Shaoguang had tried it a few times but found the taste unremarkable. However, the purpose of medicinal food isn't flavor. As the great poet Du Fu once said, "Of course I had green essence rice, to make my complexion fine[1]."
Shen Shaoguang consulted a physician and obtained ten or so recipes suitable for autumn and winter dietary therapy, one of which indeed included Sea Bilberry for its benefits in strengthening muscles, replenishing qi, boosting vitality, preserving essence, and enhancing complexion—perfect for winter nourishment. Initially, Shen Shaoguang worried that the dark color of the broth after adding Sea Bilberry might be unappetizing. To her surprise, it was well-received by everyone.
One diner even wrote a poem: "Milky broth with wolfberries, a complexion like jade; a small pot of green essence rice, color as rich as cinnabar," making it sound almost akin to an advertisement for beauty products.
Aside from these medicinal broth bases, as a modern person who had traveled through time—coming from an era where spicy hot pot dominated all—Shen Shaoguang couldn't resist the urge to create a spicy broth.
After five or six attempts with Yu San, they finally perfected a fragrant and spicy broth.
They started by heating sesame oil and chicken fat to sauté Sichuan peppercorns, green onions, and ginger until fragrant. Then they added black pepper, cardamom, cassia bark, and other spices for a brief fry before incorporating a generous amount of cornel dogwood paste, along with some salted fermented bean paste, glutinous rice wine, and sugar. As the steam rose, it carried a potent and complex spicy aroma that was as nose-tingling as it was mouthwatering.
As soon as the young waiter stepped into the kitchen, he sneezed and quickly retreated. Meanwhile, Shen Shaoguang and Yu San were fully equipped, wearing masks—courtesy of A’Yuan’s sewing skills. They added water to the freshly prepared base, simmering it before straining it through a fine sieve. After adding a generous amount of sizzling Sichuan peppercorn oil, the concoction began to resemble the mala hot pot of modern Sichuan and Chongqing.
Spiciness was truly a magical sensation. Whether it stimulated the mouth or the nasal membranes, it inevitably triggered a mouthwatering response.
The heat from cornel dogwood was different from that of chili peppers. It's less aggressive but carries its own distinctive fragrance, effectively masking the gamey or fishy odors of lamb and seafood, making it ideal for hot pot.
Due to the new hot pot menu, the staff at the original Shen Indelible Traven regularly sampled various hot pots during lunchtime. When it came to the fragrant and spicy broth, those who loved it couldn't get enough, while those who couldn't handle the heat scurried around looking for cold water to rinse their mouths.
Shen Shaoguang, having endured the torment of "devil-level spiciness" before, found this level of heat quite manageable and even enjoyable. To her surprise, even someone as picky as Princess Yu San turned out to be a spice lover. Typically stingy with compliments, with the single word "good" at best, he actually uttered a full sentence this time: "It's pretty good." Shen Shaoguang was almost moved to tears by this rare praise. A’Yuan, ever loyal to the ‘everything Miss makes is delicious’ camp, also ate a fair amount, despite occasionally exclaiming that it was too spicy—only to spend the rest of the afternoon making multiple trips to the restroom.
A’Yuan's experience prompted Shen Shaoguang to add a special note to the menu: "This spicy broth, while flavorful, can be harsh on the stomach. Ladies and Gentlemen, please choose with caution."
Who would have thought that this warning would have a reverse effect? Many diners, emboldened by a sense of adventure, felt compelled to try it just because the menu suggested caution. The result? Quite a few menfolk ended up with tears in their eyes.
Shen Indelible was exceptionally considerate; the waiter served fragrant rice congee without mentioning its purpose to alleviate discomfort, thereby sparing any embarrassment. Instead, they merely spoke of its benefits for protecting the digestive system.
In addition to the unique hot pot bases, Shen Indelible has also added lamb spine pot, pickled vegetable and plain boiled pork pot, chicken pot, pigeon meat pot, and other pre-stewed hot pots. The bones tender, meat soft, and the steam rose enticingly. They could be eaten with dipping sauce or enjoyed on their own. Stewed dishes were popular in autumn and winter, and these stewed hot pots were particularly favored by more conservative diners.
To complement the slogan "Thirty days of dining, never repeating a dish," each branch's poetry wall features the comics regarding the ‘Hot Pot Contest’—clearly inspired by the crosstalk ‘The Five Senses Compete for Merit[2]’.
Several long-legged, hand-bearing hot pots gathered together:
A hot pot with ‘delicate features’ wearing a scholar's robe says, "My broth is clear yet flavorful."
A hot pot with a long beard dressed in a Taoist robe declares, "Eating me can prolong life and promote health."
A round, chubby hot pot with a cheerful smile claims, "Still, my stewed pot has tender bones and meat."
A hot pot dressed in a pomegranate-red skirt, with a hint of flirtatiousness, retorts, "Anyone who’s tasted my spicy broth won’t go back to any of you again!"
Though they are just hot pots, they have beards, eyebrows, and vivid expressions. The people of Tang Dynasty had never seen such an advertisement before; anyone who saw it would burst into laughter.
Especially at the East Market branch, where the poem wall was long and wide, Shen Shaoguang put a lot of effort into painting it. The hard work paid off, as many customers who saw the artwork would come in and order, saying, "Give me the one that prolongs life and promotes health!" or "I want that spicy broth that makes you forget all others!"
Shen Shaoguang occasionally overheard this and felt quite pleased with herself.
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Footnotes:
[1] Of course I had green essence rice, to make my complexion fine - Is a verse from the poem ‘Presented to Li Bai’ by Du Fu, a Chinese poet and politician during the Tang dynasty. Together with his elder contemporary and friend Li Bai, Du was often considered one of the greatest Chinese poets. This was presumed to be the earliest of Du Fu’s poems to the older poet Li Bai 李白 (701–762), who at this point had been relieved of his position as a Hanlin Attendant (politely represented in this poem as Li Bai’s "escape"). The poem translated by Stephen Owen, this pdf contains a large collection of Du’s poems. This specific one is on page 23 - https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/27423/9781501501890.pdf
[2] The Five Senses Compete for Merit (五官争功) - is a well-known Chinese crosstalk (相声) performance that uses humor and personification to depict a playful debate between the five senses—sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch—each arguing about their importance and contribution to the human body.
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Foods:
Milkvetch Root Congee (黄芪粥) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6fqTFmUDMA