Exactly How Long Does It Take To Cook Beef When Eating Hot Pot?

The most widely-known (and arguably most fun) aspect of hot pot is that foodies cook their own dinners. The basic layout consists of a large eponymous "hot pot," a metal cauldron filled with bubbling broth, surrounded by a spread of raw foods to be cooked in the hot liquid. The pot is positioned atop an electric hot plate or butane burner and the liquid inside is heated until boiling. In addition to encouraging epicure participation, this tableside cooking allows diners to cook their meats to order, achieving their desired level of doneness for maximum customization. So, how long, exactly, is the proper cooking time for raw meat?

Hot pot ingredient spreads typically consist of an array of raw vegetables like baby bok choy, lotus root, enoki mushrooms, and daikon radish, uncooked noodles, rice cakes, or mung bean vermicelli, and strips of beef or other types of protein, all pre-sliced into small pieces for fast cooking. With veggies, cooking time is more about preference, but when handling raw beef, proper cooking time is also essential for food safety.

If you're working with a paper-thin sliced, ultra-tender cut like a rare eye round, 10 seconds submerged in the hot broth might be all it takes. But keep in mind that different cuts of beef might need different cooking times. For a more general failsafe guideline, any raw meat (including beef) should be left to simmer for 30 seconds to a full minute before removing from the water.

Overcooking beef makes it tough and inedible, but ingesting it when undercooked can leave foodies with an upset stomach. To tell whether your beef has fully cooked, give it a careful look. The color should turn from bright reddish pink to dull brown or even gray and should feel soft and tender when poked with a chopstick. Word to the wise: Avoid adding too many ingredients to the pot at once, which can significantly lower your broth's temperature and slow cooking time. It's also generally a good idea to start with the raw beef when cooking hot pot to ensure a more constant broth temperature and avoid accidental overcooking.

This all makes for a fun experiential outing at a hot pot restaurant but is also easy to create at home for an interactive meal at your next dinner party. If you're hosting a hot pot dinner at home, be sure to arrange your raw beef on a separate platter from any other ingredients to prevent cross-contamination. The best cuts of beef for hot pot are well-marbled with streaks of fat, such as ribeye, flank steak, brisket, short rib, or sirloin, sliced against the grain. Traditional Chinese hot pot (not to be confused with the traditional British dish of the same name) can also feature other proteins that require different cooking times; 30 seconds is ideal for shrimp and beef tripe, while a full minute is best for chicken and tofu.