Hotpot - Healthy, Unhealthy or Don’t Care?

Hotpot seems to be all the rave in the past year. Being Asian, hotpot is a symbol of reunion and gathering and just hours of non-stop eating and gossips. And for my friends and I, hotpot is another expensive meal we’ve decided to empty our pockets for.  But it is truly irresistible. Seriously. If you have done any of these, you are a (hot)pothead.

Have you:

1. Skipped lunch because you are going to have hotpot for dinner?
2. Wear bottoms that are elastic at the waist?
3. Willingly queued in line for hours to get a table?
4. Unbuttoned your jeans because of your 3hrs old food bump.

Proud to say that I’ve done all of these. Having eaten so much hotpot, are they healthy or unhealthy? Or do you simply not care because if you’d asked me, I couldn’t care less. I mean if you are planning to be healthy hotpot wouldn’t even cross your mind… But here are just some points that make hotpot “healthy”.

Firstly, having hotpot on colder days will help you to keep warm, and having it on hot days will make you sweat to keep cool! Another point would be that since you boil the soup to cook the food, it is healthier than fried food.

So now, the unhealthy parts. Both the sauce and the soup are full of fat and sodium. Soup bases like pork bone, Mala, are higher in calories, fat and sodium. I know, Mala is amazing. But remember that layer of oil that we try to ignore by stirring the soup around?

Here are some tips that will help you to be “healthier” while eating hotpot!

1. For the sauce, choose herbs instead, like parsley, spring onion, soy sauce, garlic etc.
2. For carbs, choose udon, glass noodles, etc. instead of instant noodles
3. If you want to prevent overeating, and the whole unbuttoning situation, then eat the vegetables first, followed by your carbs and leave the meat for last.

If you are too lazy to leave the comfort of your home for hotpot, order hotpot to be delivered to your doorstep! Actually, to your dining table to be exact. Order now at www.foodline.sg/d/13955  or www.foodline.sg for all your catering needs!