想知道北京火锅和重庆火锅的区别?全在锅里的调料盒食材中!

Ever wondered what the difference between Beijing and Chongqing hotpot is? Its all in the weird and wonderful things you put in the pot. Ye Jun visits a restaurant that can trace its roots back to the beginnings of the popular cuisine.

Even as a frequent restaurant visitor, I did not recognize a few of the items on offer at Bizu Old Hotpot Restaurant. I had to ask the owner, Chenma, or Mother Chen, what they were.

White slices of meat with clear wrinkles were actually the upper palate of a pig. A small white fish was called hao'er (rat) fish, because of its shape. A bowl of very bright, fresh-looking meat was fresh-cut beef.

I already knew many other ingredients on the table - cow's tripe, beef windpipe, duck intestines and pork chitterling.

The menu has two other ingredients that can divide option - pork brain and beef "whip" (penis). We decided not to try.

Animal's internal organs are an important factor that differentiate Sichuan hotpot from Beijing hotpot - but Sichuan hotpot eateries also serve Beijing-style offerings - lamb, beef, bean curd, mushrooms and vegetables.

Of course, Chongqing-style hotpot also has a spicy base soup. We ordered the twin soup pot, with non-spicy and medium spicy base soups. But few people even touched the milder side - the spicy soup was so much tastier.

Floating on the surface of the dark red spicy soup are red chilies and tongue-numbing Chinese peppers, which stimulate the appetite.

Chongqing people are probably the most open in terms of what they eat in a hotpot. The reason for that can only be explained by looking to the past.

The story of Bizu Old Hotpot Restaurant, which opened one month ago on Guijie food street, otherwise known as Ghost Street, can help people understand the history of the cuisine. Owner Chenma says the restaurant is named Bizu, "first originator", because her grandfather was one of the first in Chongqing to open a hotpot restaurant.

According to the 60-year-old, Chongqing hotpot originated around the end of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) in the area near Chaotianmen (Gate Facing Heaven). It was one of 17 ancient city gates, and the biggest wharf in the city.

Laborers working at the dock set up stoves to boil leftover animal internal organs, heads and hoofs, along with chili and ginger, both to feed the stomach and fend off the cold. That was the genesis of Chongqing hotpot, or beef tripe hotpot. Soon, some vendors were toting hotpot on poles to sell along the street, a custom that probably lasted for more than a century.

Modern Chongqing hotpot emerged in 1931, according to Mother Chen. A specialized hotpot restaurant took what was on the carrying pole and served it at tables. Customers could then sit down to eat, and there were more choices of dishes and seasonings.

Chen says three generations of her family have sold hotpot; she started to cook it at the age of 12 and spent many years developing her secret recipe of delicious base soup, which is tasty and spicy but mild. It will not give people "excessive heat", symptoms such as dry mouth and blisters on the lips, she says.

Apart from fresh vegetables and meats, Chen brings in most of her ingredients from Chongqing. She says she has not been satisfied with the quality of the options in the local market.

In North China, people are more used to having a warming hotpot in the cold months. But Chen has opened her restaurant in early summer, saying that in Chongqing, people eat hotpot around the year, and she hopes the idea will catch on in the capital.

For people who want the most familiar fare, Bizu Old Hotpot Restaurant offers lamb, beef, mushrooms and vegetables. Some dishes worth trying are pork or beef meatballs with coriander, Shanghai Maling luncheon meat, fresh bamboo shoots and sliced lettuce stems. Dipping sauces include sesame oil with garlic and Beijing sesame paste.