Szechuan hotpot

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Hotpot (Simplified Chinese: 四川火锅, or 麻辣火锅, meaning "spicy hotpot") is a Sichuanese dish that originated in Chongqing. A typical hotpot meal lasts several hours, wherein diners will be offered a selection of meats, vegetables, mushrooms and tofu. At the centre of each table is a large bowl of boiling chili oil to which Sichuan peppercorn (huajiao) has been added. The diners simply add items to the oil and remove them shortly thereafter when cooked. The oil is very spicy, with the classic Sichuan flavour combination of hot red pepper (from which the oil is derived) and huajiao. Most hotpot restaurants, even in Chengdu, offer a non-spicy broth which is based on chicken stock rather than chili oil, for diners that dislike hot and spicy foods. Hotpot is considered a celebratory occasion, and it is very common to see 8 to 10 diners gather together to go for hotpot. As such, meals are often accompanied by copious amounts of beer or baijiu (Chinese liquor).