Chongqing Hotpot

Chongqing hotpot is said to have begun with dock workers on the Yangtze cooking cheap offcuts in a shared pot of spiced broth, and it kept the character: a base of beef tallow, dried chilli and green Sichuan pepper, deep red and slicked with oil, into which diners cook tripe, duck blood, luncheon meat, potato, lotus root and greens, dipping them in sesame oil with garlic to cool them. The pepper produces the numbing sensation called ma, which comes before the chilli heat. Split pots offer a mild side. It is eaten in the summer as much as the winter, on pavements, in car parks and in restaurants everywhere.

What to look for

• The tallow broth - beef fat, chilli and Sichuan pepper in a red pot.
• The numbing - the tingling from green Sichuan pepper before the heat.
• The cooked ingredients - tripe, duck blood, lotus root, greens and more.
• The sesame dip - oil with garlic used to cool each bite.

When to go

Year-round; locals eat it in the summer heat as readily as in winter, often outdoors in the evening. Restaurants fill from about seven and queue at weekends.

Practical notes

Heat and numbing are considerably stronger than most visitors expect, and a split pot is worth requesting. Offal-heavy ingredient lists suit some more than others. Oil clings to clothes.

Nearby

Hongya Cave and Ciqikou both have hotpot floors.