10 Best Hot Pot Cookers in 2022 (Aroma, Zojirushi, and More)

Here, we'll be introducing the important points to check when you choose a hot pot cooker. You'll want to consider the different types and materials, as well as pot shapes. And don't forget to think about safety and maintenance.

Split pots are the same size as a normal hot pot dish, but usually have two sections that are completely sealed off from one another. This allows you to cater to different tastes by having two different types of broths in one pot.

These are good if there are vegetarians or those with special diets in your group, or if you want to have both mild broth and spicy broth available.

Smaller volume, deeper pots are best used by those dining alone. These types of pots are usually multi-functional and can be used to make almost anything you’d make in a saucepan or soup pot. Electric ones are good for those without a stove, and ceramic ones can even double as rice cookers.

For all you hot pot fiends and shabu shabu addicts, start your search with our 10 best picks. Here are some handy electric versions. We made our choices based on the points listed in the buying guide below, as well as reviewer comments when available.

Being based in Japan, mybest knows a thing or two about hot pot. Here are some of our favorite recipes! Keep in mind that these are mostly Japanese, so we'd encourage you to look at other resources for Chinese hot pot and more.

The standard nabe hot pot recipes in Japan are fairly healthy since you just need three main components: soup, a ton of vegetables, and meat (optional). This recipe by Kikkoman (original recipe is in Japanese only) is a fairly standard yet highly customizable nabe recipe you can easily make at home.

Ingredients (serves 3 people):

• 7 ounces thinly sliced pork
• 1 block of soft tofu
• A few leaves of Chinese napa cabbage
• A handful of mizuna (can also be substituted with spinach)
• 1 stalk of green onions
• 1/2 carrot
• 1 pack of shimeji/brown mushrooms
• 3 shiitake mushrooms

• 1/2 cup shirodashi (white dashi fish broth)
• 2 cups plain soy milk
• 2/5 cup water

Recipe:

1. Chop all of your veggies and tofu into bite-sized pieces. For the shiitake mushrooms, you can just cut off the stems.
2. Add your soup base ingredients to the hot pot and bring to a boil.
3. Lower the heat and add the rest of your ingredients, simmering until cooked. You can add them in stages or batches as you like. It's also okay to use pretty much any vegetable or meat you want, since this mellow soup goes with anything!

Sukiyaki beef hot pot is another classic Japanese hot pot recipe, and this one is also provided by Kikkoman. Like the tofu nabe recipe above, you're free to mix and match ingredients, but you'll at least need the beef and the soup base for an authentic experience.

Ingredients (serves 3 to 4 people):

10.5 ounces thinly-sliced beef

1 block of grilled tofu

2 stalks of green onions

7 ounces of shirataki rice noodles

1 pack of enoki mushrooms (optional, if this is difficult to find)

4 shiitake mushrooms

1 handful of crowndaisy (optional; any mild-tasting greens will work)

Cooking oil

4 eggs (optional)

(for soup base)

2/5 cup soy sauce

2/5 cup mirin cooking wine

4 tablespoons white sugar

2/5 cup water

Recipe:

1. Cut all of your ingredients into bite-sized pieces. For the shiitake mushrooms, you can just cut off the stems.
2. Add your soup base ingredients to the hot pot and bring to a boil.
3. Lower the heat and add the rest of your ingredients, simmering until cooked. You can add them in stages or batches as you like. 
4. (optional) Sukiyaki is traditionally eaten by dipping the beef into raw egg that's lightly beaten, but if you're concerned about the possibility of salmonella, we encourage you to skip this step!

Let's say you've already finished your delicious hot pot recipe, but you still have soup leftover. It's actually pretty easy to turn this into another meal! In Japan, this is sometimes referred to as shime (SHEE-meh), or closing out the meal.

Some ways you can make your leftover soup into a shime meal is to add uncooked ramen noodles (adding heat to cook the noodles in the soup, of course), buckwheat soba noodles, chewy udon noodles, or even cooked rice. 

It's also common to add in a few extra ingredients like green onions or eggs to give it even more flavor, and you can give it another flavor boost by adding a dash of your favorite condiments like soy sauce, hot sauce, and more. Go crazy with it!

While hot pot cookers are versatile, they're not the only piece of equipment you'll need to make a wide variety of meals. Here are some of our favorite gadgets!

Not sure you've found quite the right hot pot for you? Here are what Amazon customers like for electric hot pots!

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