Beth Skogen
It’s all in the timing at Mini Hot Pot.
Dining at Mini Hot Pot, one of the newest and most buzzed-about restaurants in the South Park Street corridor, is as much an educational experience as it is a delicious one.
The charming little spot specializes in a classic East Asian style of soup (also known by the Japanese name shabu-shabu) in which meats and vegetables are cooked, fondue style, in a simmering cauldron of broth. Traditionally, the hot pot is a communal dining experience, but Mini Hot Pot offers individual meals that diners cook on electric burners built right into the tabletops.
From the start, the hot pot is customizable — pick a protein (such as beef, pork, chicken, crab, or a seafood medley), then choose a broth base (there’s spicy Sichuan, coconut, Korean kimchi, mushroom, and spicy-sour Thai). In addition, hot pot combos come with a well-appointed vegetable tray, piled high with fresh spinach, Napa cabbage, enoki mushrooms and corn on the cob. Plus there’s an array of extras like fish cakes, fish balls, beef balls, mini sausages, clams, a shrimp dumpling, a crab stick, tofu and a slice of Spam. There’s also the option to order ingredients a la carte — perhaps a good option for a second visit, once you’ve identified your favorites.
Once you order, head to the noodle bar, where there’s even more fun stuff to add to your hot pot — unlimited soba and vermicelli noodles, raw eggs, sliced potato and sweet potato. Grab what you’d like and set it aside for when the broth arrives. Finally, there are sauces and the condiment bar, where you’ll find minced garlic, chili oil, hoisin, Taiwanese barbecue, Mongolian sauce, sesame paste, fermented bean curd, leek-and-chive pesto, ground peanuts, cilantro, jalapeños, green onions. Mix up whatever seems appetizing or try them individually. If you can’t find a flavor you like here, there is truly no hope for you.
You with me so far? That’s the easy part. Luckily, Mini Hot Pot co-owners Amy and Vincent Chang (head chef and lead server, respectively) are on hand to guide inexperienced hot potters through the meal, offering tips on how long to cook each ingredient and providing friendly, impeccable service. More than once, I saw them swoop in to rescue struggling diners by providing a ladle, an extra napkin or a splash of hot water when the broth started running low. Originally from Taiwan, Vincent Chang moved to the U.S. to study hospitality and managed the food court at a HyVee in DeKalb, Ill., before coming to Madison.
Wanting to visit both ends of the flavor spectrum, my date and I order Sichuan broth (the spiciest option, clocking in at four chili pepper icons) with beef, and the coconut broth (the mildest) with seafood. We pledge to share. The food arrives promptly on beautifully arranged platters — thinly sliced beef, prawns, scallops, squid, clams and two of the biggest mussels I’ve ever seen. The broth, already hot, starts bubbling quickly once the burner is on. The Sichuan comes thick with chilis and peppercorns. It’s flavorful and pleasantly mouth-numbing. The coconut is lightly sweet with a hint of cream, a perfect tabula rasa for a hot pot journey.
Since my knowledge of hot pot was limited to the instruction “just make your own soup,” I made the mistake of throwing a bunch of stuff in at once, thinking I would end up with a bowl of soup. That is incorrect, I quickly learned. The trick to a perfect hot pot is timing. Bigger vegetables, like corn and potato, take the longest. Toss them in the broth first and let them hang out for a bit. Then, cook individual bites as you go, dipping each ingredient in your chosen sauce. (Take care when handling raw ingredients and try not to cross-contaminate. You can “sterilize” the chopsticks in the boiling broth.) Finish with noodles, which require just a quick dip in the hot broth. And the best part? The flavor changes as the soup cooks, making the entire meal a fun, surprising, exploratory event.
During lunch, the restaurant also offers some favorite Americanized Chinese dishes (sesame chicken, orange chicken and the like). The entrees are affordable, generously portioned and way above average — on a return visit, my sesame chicken had big chunks of white meat, lightly fried, not drowning in sauce. They come with white rice and a fried spring roll. Try the homemade bubble tea, too.
There’s a reason people are obsessed with this place — everything is across-the-board fantastic. And it just gets better with practice.
Mini Hot Pot
1272 S. Park St., 608-709-6558, facebook.com/MiniHotPotMadison
11 am-2 pm and 5-10 pm Mon.-Thurs., 11 am-10 pm Fri.-Sun., $6-$19
