Many people have heard that hot pot soup should not be drunk because it contains toxic substances. Some friends ask, when should it not be drunk? Can't you drink it right after it's cooked? Can a soup that has been boiled for a long time not be drunk at all? The key to this question lies in data. The dangers in hot pot soup, besides the purine substances that worry gout patients, also include nitrites and nitrosamines.
Is long-boiled hot pot soup toxic?
A domestic research paper (Author: Suwen Wang, Title: A Survey of Nitrite Content During Hot Pot Cooking, published in the "Shanghai Journal of Preventive Medicine"), researchers measured the changes in nitrite content in four types of hot pot soup. Data was collected at four points: at the start of the meal, and 30, 60, and 90 minutes after various foods were swished in the broth.
The measurement results found that as the time of measurement extended, the nitrite content in the hot pot soup was indeed continuously rising. By the 90-minute mark of the meal's end, the sour pickle broth base showed the highest increase, at 9.83 times, followed by the seafood broth base, which was also relatively high at 7.06 times. The bone broth base and the yinyang (two-flavor) broth base had smaller increases, at 2.88 and 3.05 times, respectively.
In terms of nitrite content, the initial concentration of the broth bases was not much different, ranging from 1.3 to 1.8 mg/L. However, as the hot pot cooking time extended, the differences in nitrite content became larger. The final content of the sour pickle broth base was as high as 15.73 mg/L, and the seafood broth base also reached 12.70 mg/L. Therefore, the statement that a hot pot soup boiled for too long is unhealthy is based on evidence.
If you drink such a soup, will you get nitrite poisoning?
Calculating based on the highest concentration of 15 mg/L, if you drink 2 small bowls (400 ml) of soup, the intake of nitrite would be 6 mg. Adding the value from the swished food, the total should not exceed 20 mg. This amount is still not enough to cause nitrite poisoning in most people, as the dose for nitrite poisoning is usually above 200 mg. However, this does not mean it will not have adverse effects on the body. In hot pot soup, the content of amino acids and amine substances is relatively high. Under heating conditions, they may react with nitrites to form carcinogens like nitrosamines. Although there are no measured data for the nitrosamine content in the soup, its presence is still a cause for concern. If you often eat such hot pot, the risk of promoting the occurrence of digestive tract cancers cannot be ruled out, so it is advisable to drink less of the long-boiled hot pot soup.
The order of eating hot pot—Vegetables first, then meat
Most people start eating hot pot with meat right away. Usually, by the time several plates of meat are finished, they are also quite full, and the vegetables are just eaten casually. This method is not advisable, as it easily leads to a large intake of fat at once, while the amount of vegetables and staple foods is minimal.
The best order is to first swish potatoes and vegetables to fill the stomach a bit, then eat the meat. This can avoid eating too much fat and effectively control the total calories. If you really want to eat meat first, be sure to also swish more vegetables and pair them with potatoes. Moreover, the amount of vegetables should be at least twice that of the meat.
The temperature of hot pot food—Warm is better than scalding
Many people enjoy the intense heat of hot pot and like to eat food freshly scooped from the boiling soup. In reality, this way of eating is very dangerous. Our digestive tract is very sensitive to heat. The mouth's heat tolerance is 65°C, while the esophageal mucosa's heat tolerance is only 45°C. Excessively high temperatures can damage the delicate oral and esophageal mucosa. If it is constantly damaged by such high temperatures, coupled with the irritation of spicy food, the mouth and esophagus will not be able to withstand it, easily causing inflammation and ulcers.
Therefore, food swished from the boiling soup should not be eaten immediately. Let it drain more, pour off as much of the broth as possible, and let it cool in a small dish until it is warm but not scalding before eating.
Pay special attention to hot pot broths with a high fat content, like the red oil hot pot. Because food scooped out will be coated with a layer of oil, which has a good "insulating" effect. The temperature inside the food will be very high, and with this layer of oil "protecting" it, it will cool down more slowly. Therefore, after scooping it out, be sure to wait a while longer and eat only after the food is completely cool to the touch.
Choosing Hot Pot Ingredients
Vegetables: Should be the most numerous and varied food. It's best to include a variety of vegetables, and be sure to include green leafy vegetables that are highly beneficial to the body: spinach, crown daisy, coriander, lettuce leaves, pea shoots, broccoli, green-leaf lettuce, rape, etc. Then, based on preference, choose some light-colored vegetables such as cabbage, winter melon, white radish, bamboo shoots, etc. Vegetables contain large amounts of vitamins and chlorophyll, and most have a cooling nature. They can not only eliminate greasiness but also supplement the body's vitamin deficiency in winter. They also have a cooling, detoxifying, and heat-clearing effect, but the vegetables should not be boiled for too long to have this heat-clearing effect. Add an appropriate amount of tofu: Tofu is a bean product containing gypsum. Adding tofu to the hot pot can not only supplement the intake of various trace elements but also exert the effects of gypsum in clearing heat, purging fire, relieving vexation, and quenching thirst.
Mushrooms and algae: You can also order more mushrooms, wood ear fungus, and kelp. Many hot pot restaurants have mushroom platters, so you might as well order one to try several types of mushrooms at once.
Starchy vegetables: Order some starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes, potatoes, Chinese yams, and taro. Swish them to eat as a staple food, which is much better than having an oily crispy pancake, fried steamed bun, or plain noodles after the hot pot.
Bean products: Tofu, frozen tofu, and tofu skin are all very suitable for swishing. However, note that oil-fried tofu puffs and fried bean curd sheets are high in fat.
Meat: Obese people and those with chronic diseases should order less high-fat meats like fatty beef and fatty lamb slices, because the fat content of these meats for swishing can be as high as 30%. It is best to order lean beef slices, fish and shrimp, chicken slices, omasum/abomasum, and duck blood, which are lower in fat. Of course, if you are someone who is thin and fears the cold, you can order some beef or lamb.