There is nothing more quintessentially Sichuan than hot pot. It's an act of communion, a pastime and a lifestyle. Long evenings cooking food together with friends over a steaming cauldron of bubbling broth perfectly captures the spirit of Chengdu and the fly restaurants I was so interested by. And it is ever-evolving. The versatility and excitement of hot pot rests in that at its core, how you do hot pot is all up to you.

I’m so thrilled to share our newest product, Fire Hot Pot Base—a spicy, tingly, complex base for building a fire hot pot at home. As we reconnect with each other after a year apart, FBJ’s Hot Pot Base is designed to share flavors and celebrate community, bringing the ones you love around a table. Built with a warming medley of chilis, ginger, star anise, Sichuan pepper and more, we’re so proud to bring to you the first all-natural hot pot base available in the Western world- free of sugar and MSG, non-GMO and vegan.

As always, our flavors are rooted in tradition, but made for eating however you like. Just add water and cook up anything you want in the pot, be creative, have fun, there are no wrong answers.

We'll just cover the basics, then you can take the reins. Here's what you'll need to get started on your journey.

BROTH

If you've ever had hot pot in Sichuan, you know just how central the broth is to the experience, how complex the flavors are, built with dozens of spices and herbs, bordering on hallucinatory, and how hard it can be to recreate at home.

Our Fire Hot Pot Base is a spicy, tingly, complex base built with a warming medley of chilis, ginger, star anise, Sichuan pepper and more, bringing those hard to capture flavors straight to your home.

After combining the base with water or stock, don't forget to add any other spices to taste — we like to throw in a few more Erjingtiao Chiles to make it extra hot.

DIPPING INGREDIENTS

There's only one rule here: you should stack as many ingredients as it takes to make sure your dinner table isn't visible. Here are some things we like to put on ours:

Proteins: Thinly sliced meats, like ribeye beef, pork belly, and lamb shoulder; seafood, like whole shrimp, scallops, squid, and fishballs (especially the ones with roe inside)

Greens: Leafy greens, like spinach, watercress, mustard greens, and chrysanthemum leaves; hardy greens, like bok choy and Napa cabbage; mushrooms (enoki, shiitake)

Tofu: Of all kinds — from soft, to firm, to fried (great for soaking up the broth); fermented bean curd, for dipping

Starches: vermicelli, sweet potato noodles, konjac noodles, lotus root, potato, sliced wintermelon, pumpkin

Dumplings: from that bag sitting at the back of your freezer

DIPPING SAUCE

No two dipping sauces are the same. Starting from pantry essentials like soy sauce, sesame oil, black vinegar, and chili crisp results in an infinite amount of combinations for that perfect dip.

I crowdsourced a few of the team's favorite combos:

• My personal favorite: sesame oil + soy sauce + XO sauce + 10 Year Aged Black Vinegar + Sichuan Chili Crisp + fermented tofu + sesame paste + xo sauce + lots of minced garlic + lots of scallions and cilantro

• sesame paste + sesame oil + chopped scallions + cilantro

• fermented tofu/bean curd

• Sichuan Chili Crisp + 10 Year Aged Black Vinegar + sesame oil + honey + minced garlic + chopped scallions

• 10 Year Aged Black Vinegar + chopped Erjingtiao Chiles

NOW GO WILD

Who's to say what we can and cannot put in our pots. Throw in soy milk for a creamier broth. Drop in rice cakes, or ravioli. Stack some cheese slices on top. Dip a taco, birria style. Or a corn dog, cause you can. The world is your hot pot. Dive in.