Naxi hot pot: A winter dish favored in Lijiang

Bai Chunyu, hostess of the Dayan Flavor Restaurant in Lijiang, is busy attending to guests.

The first step to make the hot pot is preparing the broth. The Naxi people typically use one of the following as the main ingredient for the broth: free-range chicken, fresh pork ribs, cured ham hock, or cured pork ribs.

In preparing the broth, only a few seasonings like ginger slices or tsao-ko (a spice) are added to remove any unpleasant odors. When the meat in the broth is about 70% cooked, fresh ingredients are added one after the other, with the sequence depending on how easily they can be cooked.

A Naxi hot pot is in the making.

During the 2023 Sanduo Festival, Naxi women prepare the hot pot in Lijiang’s Black Dragon Pool Park.

Essential ingredients for Naxi hot pot include: arrowhead, Chinese leek root, firm tofu, vermicelli noodles, sheet jelly, carrots, potatoes, bean sprouts, green vegetable stems, Chinese yam, black fungus, and lotus root.

The hot pot often graces the dining table during gatherings with friends and family or festive celebrations. Thus, this delicacy also reflects the leisurely lifestyle of the Naxi people.

A Naxi lady presents the steps of making Naxi hot pot.

Tourists taste Naxi hot pot in Lijiang old town.

Tourists taste Naxi hot pot in Lijiang old town.

Source: Lijiang old town