Hot Sichuan Hotpot

A hotpot, also known as a steamboat, is a convivial Chinese meal shared amongst family and friends over a pot of boiling stock. The ingredients are finely sliced and served raw at the table so everyone can cook whatever they fancy together.
The hotpot is prevalent throughout China and legend has it that it originated in Mongolia, where the warriors used their helmets to boil the stock. There are countless varieties by region, nevermind throughout China - a reflection of our traditional attitude that "anything that walks, swims, crawls or flies with it's back to heaven is edible".

Our friends Hollie and Kieran who are also now living in Paris and, like us, absolutely love food, took us to a fantastic Sichuan place they found in the East of Paris. Sichuan is a region in South-West China famed for it's spicy dishes. The Sichuan peppercorn is known to give "ma la" (double-spiciness) due to the numbing effect it has on both the tongue and mouth. So it's no surprise then that this particular variety of hotpot put the hot into the hotpot. Although civilisation has existed there since the fifteenth century BC, the hot pepper was only introduced from South America in the 17th century. The spice quickly became a pillar of the local cuisine due to the humid climate of Sichuan that often necessitates the preserving of food through pickling, smoking, salting or drying. Chinese also believe that such humidity is bad for the circulation and bones and that spicy food can help balance the internal dampness of one's body.

Auciel is situated on Rue De Charrone away from all the other concentrations of Chinese restaurants at Place D'Italie or Belleville. It only seats about 50 people so luckily we booked as we saw many groups turned away in salivating disappointment as we ate. Each person has their very own hotplate built into the table and the waiter brings you your individual pot.

As a starter, some of our friends had a dry pot with prawns and crunchy vegetables (celery, lotus root, water chestnuts) mixed with chilli paste. When most of the contents are eaten, the waiter pours the hot water into the pot with the remaining chilli paste to make the stock.

I opted for a particularly spicy variety which was basically a pot of dried chillies and oil boiling away in the stock. The sort of thing you should probably wear a haz-mat suit to handle.

We were served beef and lamb finely sliced, prawns, fishballs, crabsticks and squid. There was also an abundance of vegetables - different chinese mushrooms, soya beancurd, lotus root, potato, fresh and fried tofu, a few varieties of salad leaves, and also some glass noodles. Sichuan cuisine is well established as one of the four great traditions of Chinese cuisine. Being landlocked, the region does not have much seafood but is abundant in freshwater fish, poultry and beef (more so than most other regions of China due to the large number of oxen).

Even before we started eating, our heads were starting to drip sweat and my throat was tingling in anticipation of the spiciness. The ingredients were all fresh and the stock was deliciously hot. I think I went through two entire packs of pocket tissues during the meal! They so serve less spicy versions of the stock and it's also a good idea to wash it down with something like soya milk.

It was a real bargain for 16 euros. The drinks were also reasonably priced (by Parisian standards) - a large bottle of Tsingtao for 3.30 and a fresh mango milkshake for 4.40. There's also an all you can eat option for just one euro extra, although the whole table has to go for it.

Sichaun food consists of far more than spicy food, and the hotpot is just one method of cooking. However if you want a good indicator of how hot their food is, check this place out. As Kieran suggested before the meal: "bring a sweatband".


Auciel
97 Rue De Charrone, Paris
Metro: Charrone