In2006,ChongqingQiaotouHotpotwastitledasa“Time-honoredBrand”ofChina.byQinBin
Bymixingdifferentseasoningsauces,thecustomerscancreatetheirpreferredflavorthemselves.byQinBinLiBo,thefourth-generationinheritoroftheseasoningskillsthathavedefinedChongqingQiaotouHotpot.byQinBinChinaishometodiverseregionalcuisinesandablossomingforeignfoodscene,butformany,nothingtopsthehotpotritualofdippingfreshingredientsintoaboilingbroth.AndChongqing-stylehotpotisparticularlycelebratedforitsspicysoupanduniquediningculture.
Qiaotou(literally,“endofabridge”)Hotpotisacentury-oldrestaurantinChongqingandhasbeenlistedasanintangibleculturalheritageofthesouthwesternChinesemunicipality.
“Traditionalcookingskills,greattasteandasincereandhonestmanagementphilosophycomposetheessenceofChongqingQiaotouHotpot,”declaredLiBo,thefourth-generationinheritoroftheseasoningskillsthathavealsodefinedChongqingQiaotouHotpot.
KeepingTraditionalTaste
LiBohasworkedatChongqingQiaotouHotpotsincehewas17yearsold,makinghimnearlya30yearveteran.
Listartedhiscareerasawaiter,beforebeingpromotedtokitchenbackup,wherehelearnedhowtoprepareingredientsandhonedhisslicingskills.Twoyearslater,hefinallygotthechancetolearnabouttheseasoning.
Liknowsaswellasanyonehowdifficultitistobecomeagoodseasoningchef.Onemustbeabletotellvariousspicesapart,knowhowtomatchthemandexpertlystir-fryinadditiontohavingcomprehensiveseasoningskills.Forexample,bulletchilipeppersfromvariousplacesdifferinpungencyandtaste.
Chefsmustmakegooduseofdifferentingredientstocreatetheoptimaltaste.“Forexample,sesamepastecanreducespicinessascanoilandgarlicsauce,”Linoted.
Liillustratedthatmostclassicalseasoningchefsreliedonlyonexperienceanddon’tuseanyquantitativeorstandardizeddataforreference.Therefore,asaseasoningchef,onemustbenotonlydiligent,butalsosensitiveandclever.Indifferenttypesofweatherandtemperatures,theeffectofseasoningcanbequitedifferent.
“Evenwhenresearchinganddevelopinganewseasoningrecipe,wemustpreservethebasicflavorofChongqingQiaotouHotpot,andkeepithotandspicywithfullofflavor,soweneedtokeeplearningandmaketimelyadjustmenttolettheseasoningproducetheidealresult,”hesaid.
Asaninheritor,LiBooftenpondersoverhowtobestpreservetheessenceoftheoldbrand,“Itstillcomesdowntoorthodoxtraditionaltechniques,greattasteandasincereandhonestmanagementphilosophy.”
XiaHongliang,chairmanofChongqingQiaotouHotpotCateringServiceCo.,Ltd.,sharesLi’ssentiments.“Asatime-honoredenterprise,ourfirstmissionistopassontraditionalskills,maintainthespiritofcraftsmanship,dogoodthingsandbearesponsibleenterprise,”hesaid.
OriginatingfromtheDock
AttheendoftheQingDynasty(1644-1911)andintheearlyRepublicofChina(1912-1949)period,hotpotspreadacrossthecountry.
LocatedatthejunctionoftheYangtzeandJialingrivers,Chongqingisknownforitswell-developedwatertransportationnetworkandhasremainedamajorhubofsouthwesternChinasinceancienttimes.
Inthe1930sand1940s,harbortransportationdevelopedintoamajorlocalindustryandmanylocalsbeganworkingatthedocks.
Backthen,dockworkersperformedconsiderableheavyliftingeverydayforaverylimitedincome,sotheytendedtochoosecheapandconvenientfood,butalsodishesthatprovidedenoughenergytofueltheirlabor.
Somedockworkersgottheideatobuildastonestovebytheshoreandboilthegutsandorgansofcattleandpoultrythrownoutbyslaughterhouses,seasonedwithchili,pepper,gingerandgarlic.Entrailsrescuedfromthewastebinweretransformedintoatastydelicacyinthepot,earningthenickname“Lianguonao”(meaning“everythinginthesamepot”).
Inthe1940s,LiWenjun,awooden-boatbusinessman,inheritedhisfather’sfoodvendingbusinessQiaotouLianguonaoandexpandeditbybuildingseveralhutsnearHaitangxiwharf,thenanimportantwaterpassagelinkingSichuanandGuizhou.
Hemadeaboldinnovationinseasoningbyaddingcookingwine,crystallizedsugar,fermentedbeans,gingerandbuttertomakethesoupspicyandflavorful.Healsointroduceddippingsaucemadeofsesameoilandeggwhiteinasmallplatetoservewiththemaindish.
Becauseofthelowcostandgreatflavor,suchfoodwasabighitwithdockworkers.Manytravelingmerchantspassingbythewharfbecameactivepromotersoftherestaurant.Withthefastspreadoftherestaurant’sfame,LiWenjunformallychangeditsnameto“QiaotouHotpot.”
AnexcerptfromStoriesofTime-honoredBrandsinChongqing—QiaotouHotpot,acomicbookpennedbyZouSixin,whichrecountstheoriginandhistoryofChongqingQiaotouHotpot.courtesyofChongqingQiaotouHotpotMeatyHotpotDoctrine
Today,ChongqingQiaotouHotpotoperatesmorethan100boomingfranchiseesacrossthecountry.Evenwhenchangesaremadeintheseasoningtoadapttothelocaltastes,itsuniquehotandspicytasteremains.
Toexpandsaleschannelsandenablepeopletoenjoytheirflavorsathomemoreconveniently,ChongqingQiaotouHotpotSeasoningCo.,Ltd.wasestablishedinthelate1980s.Nowitproducesanannualoutputof1,400tonsaccordingtoXiaHongliang.In2006,thecompanybeganbuildingitsowningredientbasestogrowpeppersandotherspicestoensureatop-qualitysupplyandmaintaintheauthentictaste.
Accordingtoonlinesalesdataoftime-honoredbrandsreleasedbyAlibaba’sTmallinJanuary2018,ChongqingQiaotouHotpotisamongthetoptenbest-sellingoldbrandsoverseas.Itscustomerscomefrom173countriesandregions.
Theadvancementofsocietyhasprovidedgreatopportunitiesforthepopularizationofhotpot.ImprovedtransportationnetworkshaveincreasedexchangeandintegrationbetweenthenorthernandsouthernareasofChinaasthroughtheprovinces,whichhasenabledcertainlocalculturestoexpandintonationalculture.
TheheavierflowofpeoplehasminimizeddifferencesindiningculturebetweendifferentregionsofChina,givinghotpot’sinclusivediningstylehugedevelopmentpotentialandmarket.
Infast-pacedcities,“can’twait”dinersarecomfortedwhenaboilingpotarrivesattheirtableinstantly.Andbyenjoyinghotandspicyfood,manypressuresoflifeandworkcouldmeltawayintothe“hotfun.”
Aboilingpotcookingawidevarietyofingredientstogethercreatesauniquetasteeverytimeandasingularlyinclusivediningatmosphere,whichalignswiththe“DoctrineoftheMean”(orZhongyong)intraditionalChineseculture.FewmealsareaspopularwithChinesearoundtheworldastimehonoredhotpot.
Today,ChongqingQiaotouHotpotwithitsrobusthotandspicyflavorsisboomingacrossChina.byMaGengping