Hungry Pot Korean BBQ and Hot Pot
The Shoppes at Buckland Hills
Manchester
April 23, 2024
After experiencing the earth-shattering crunch of Korean fried chicken a few weeks ago, I continued my exploration of food from the Hanguk peninsula continued with a visit to Hungry Pot Korean BBQ and Hot Pot at the Shoppes at Buckland Hills.
I’d experienced Korean barbecue for the first time late last year, and enjoyed the experience of preparing my own food. I wanted to try something different this time, so I decided to forgo the BBQ and try the hot pot instead.
The first thing I noticed when I arrived was the variety. Even the number of available sauces was dizzying. I braced myself for an interesting evening.
Before I began working on my culinary masterpiece, I wanted a drink. I went with a standard mojito as an easy lead-in for the meal. The drink left a refreshing feeling after I drank it, and I didn’t mind that there wasn’t much alcohol in it. I didn’t want an upset stomach before I started eating.
And eating was going to be an odyssey.
The first thing I had to choose was the soup stock that I wanted. I went with the Thai Yum Yum stock, which incorporates a spicy tomato base.
Next I chose the sauces I would add to the stock. Since too much spice is never enough, I added soy sauce, ginger sauce, hungry sauce, spicy hot oil, and yum yum sauce to the stock. I added a heaping amount of garlic, cilantro and jalapenos.
Finally, I had to choose which of the dozens of options for ingredients to put into my soup. After agonizing, I chose vermicelli as my noodles. I went with broccoli, corn, potatoes, enoki mushrooms and napa cabbage for my veggies. I was going to stuff my hot pot to the gills.
The final step was placing the meat I wanted into the soup. I went all in on the meat. I selected prime brisket, ribeye, sliced chicken and gyoza.
The meat is cut freshly for each order, which I would normally appreciate. However, the restaurant was very busy, and I waited 40 minutes for the meat to come out. I was able to eat the soup as I waited so I wasn’t hungry, but I was still slightly annoyed by the wait. When it arrived, though, it looked tantalizing even before I cooked it.
I learned an important tip about cooking meat in the hot pot: it takes only a few seconds to cook. The meat is sliced thin in order to facilitate cooking inside of the soup stock. I’ve always been someone who overcooks meat out of an abundance of caution. But I also have learned that overcooked meat is less delicious than it otherwise could be.
After I put all of my ingredients in and simmered them together, it was finally time to eat. The stock itself had a savory taste. The sauces I added gave it a spiciness that set the back of my tongue on fire, in a good way. The vegetables remained crisp (as long as I didn’t overcook them) and absorbed the seasonings of the stock. The meats were tender and cooked well; I enjoyed the ribeye cuts the most. All in all, I was proud of my concoction.
The best part of the hot pot is that it’s all-you-can-eat. So as I ate the ingredients I continued to order more. The stock was plentiful enough that I ordered three more rounds of ingredients and still didn’t finish the stock. By the time I got up to leave, I was waddling, afraid that if I went too fast my stomach might explode.
You’re two for two on the food front, Korea. I’m looking forward to the next delicacy I try.
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Hungry Pot Korean BBQ and Hot Pot is open seven days a week.
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