#qimin

As a native Californian girl, I love my sun, something that I have been missing here in Shanghai. The temperatures have been bearable and nothing compared to the igloo of a city I used to live in (Beijing), but with March approaching, I can’t help but get excited for the spring! With high hopes of sunny days and stashing away my winter coats, I will not miss Shanghai’s cold and rainy winter days. However, I must admit that I will miss the combination of hotpot + chilly days. Even though hotpot is available year round, it doesn’t have the same effect when it’s hot and sunny outside, even with the AC on! Now that I think of it, if they had hotpot at Middlebury the winters wouldn’t have been so bad. So, in celebration of my least favorite season, I had hotpot over the weekend. There’s nothing like having hotpot in the winter, really, there’s not, trust me. It makes me appreciate the cold for a hot second (until the warmth leaves my stomach and I’m freezing…).

Anyways, reasons I like hot pot.

1. I love cooking my food just the way I like it (probably something to do with my slight OCD)

2. You can pretty much put anything in hot pot and it will be delicious

3. There are so many different types of tofu you can have in hotpot, it’s like my perfect tofu dream all in a bubbling pot of amazing broth

4. It is a very communal meal but accommodates everyone’s tastes with the choice of ingredients and broths (there are vegetables, meat, noodles, tofu, seafood and multiple choices for broth)

5. Dips, dips and more dips! With so many different ingredients available for your dipping sauce, it makes the experience even more fun and personal. I’m a fan of a sesame based dipping sauce.

So until the sun comes out and spring arrives, hotpot it is!