Malatang Mystery

[liuzhou]

Back in the Spring Festival (incorporating Chinese New Year), I moaned about 6 million puerile sensation seekers landing in Liuzhou over ten days to film themselves eating Liuzhou Luosifen in order to to post videos on anti-social media. The locals had to forego their favourite food and took to cowering under their beds to avoid these clowns lining up outside every shop which sells the local favourite (there are thousands of them). In my and most people’s favourite outlet, they were standing in line for six hours to eat some cheap noodles then complain to the world that it smells like rancid feet (not true) and is too spicy (ditto) They still turn up in their hundreds every weekend.

 

Luosifen Line

 

Today, May 1st 2024 marks the first day of a three day holiday all over China to mark International Labor Day. (Actually, it’s only a three day holiday but the Chinese count the weekend too, forgetting they don’t usually work that day anyway!)

 

This morning I read some potentially wonderful news. It seems the vacuous and fatuous may be moving on to 麻辣烫 (má là tàng), Malatang!

 

Malatang is available all over China including here, but it seems the sheep are latching on to one city in Gansu province, far from here. While I feel sorry for the poor people of 天水 (tiān shuǐ) Tianshui, literally Heavenly Water, an ancient city in north-eastern Gansu, I’ll be delighted if they all go! Why they want Tianshui’s version is a mystery. The article features a girl named Mao from Changsha, the capital of Hunan travelling all the way to Gansu to eat something sold all over her home city! Bucket list ticking gone insane. Perhaps she is from the same family as the Chairman, also a Hunannative from  near Changsha. He wasn’t exactly stable in the mind, either.

 

Quote

Since Tianshui’s previously unknown malatang went viral in mid-February, hordes of people from around the country have visited, including nearly 1 million in the three-day Qingming Festival holiday in April, according to Gansu’s Department of Culture and Tourism.

 

So, what is malatang, some of you ask. Well, it’s anything you want it to be, really. It’s a street food single serving of a Sichuan style hotpot. Hotpot for one. Sichuan and other hotpots biggest failing and attraction is that it is only suitable for a group meal. Four minimum. Eight to 12 for perfection. Decades ago, someone thought it would be good if people could have a quick version just for themselves and malatang was born.

 

Malatang - Image from Meituan, China's largest food home delivery app

 

Basically you choose the ingredients you prefer among the stall’s offerings; meats, vegetables, tofu, noodles, meatballs, fish balls, etc and the whole mess is boiled in a spicy broth and there you go. Hotpot for one. The ingredients are usually on skewers and, just as in most hotpot places, you are charged by the skewer. Obviously the noodles aren’t on skewers – don’t be silly. The article I read has complaints that people are now being charged by weight instead, but I don’t see that necessarily being a problem – the vendors judged how much to put on the skewers by weigh anyway! Logic isn’t the sensation seekers greatest skill.

 

What amuses me is that although malatang is hotpot for one, these jokers never hunt alone, but in packs negating the whole point of the dish.

 

The article is here.

 

Note: They mistranslate 烫 (tàng). It has many meanings, but 'boiled' isn't one of them. Try to scald, to burn (by scalding), to blanch (cooking), to heat (sth) up in hot water,  to perm hair, to iron, scalding hot.

 

 

[KennethT]

That's starting here too.  This place opened recently in my neighborhood.  When I pass it by, there's consistently a line out the door of young Chinese people - most likely students at NYU (New York University, which has a lot of Chinese national students for some reason).

[liuzhou]

1 hour ago, KennethT said:

That's starting here too.  This place opened recently in my neighborhood.  When I pass it by, there's consistently a line out the door of young Chinese people - most likely students at NYU (New York University, which has a lot of Chinese national students for some reason).

 

Yes, I'd heard, not of that specific place, but that it was making an appearance internationally. It has turned up in London, too.

 

The article you link to gives a good description of the dish and experience, but seems to imply that this is something new. It may be new to NYC, but it's been a thing for in China for at least twenty years here, just recently going viral.

 

Same thing though with Luosifen. People though it was new, although it had been around for decades.. It went insane in 2020 with Covid. The inferior, packaged version became China's biggest seling "instant noodle" product overnight, then when all the restrictions were over the masses wanted to travel here to try the real thing. I get that. It's the ones who come not to like it and say so in their dumb videos that I don't get.

 

By the way the translation of 楊國福 (yáng guó fú) they give as "Lucky Northern China" is nonsense. It's someone's name (in traditional characters). Probably male and born between 1966 and 1976. 

 

 

Edited May 1 by liuzhou (log)

[weinoo]

7 hours ago, KennethT said:

That's starting here too.  This place opened recently in my neighborhood.  When I pass it by, there's consistently a line out the door of young Chinese people - most likely students at NYU (New York University, which has a lot of Chinese national students for some reason).

 

I don't think that's anything new, though here in NYC it might be.  But I remember places in the Bay Area, many years ago, where one would gather ingredients from a similar set up, and then cooks would cook it all up and hand it back to you.  It was actually called Mongolian Barbecue, and maybe there were even places here that did it...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongolian_barbecue

[KennethT]

17 minutes ago, weinoo said:

 

I don't think that's anything new, though here in NYC it might be.  But I remember places in the Bay Area, many years ago, where one would gather ingredients from a similar set up, and then cooks would cook it all up and hand it back to you.  It was actually called Mongolian Barbecue, and maybe there were even places here that did it...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongolian_barbecue

Malatang is a little different - it's not a stir-fry/grill/plancha setup, it's like an individual sized hotpot.  Normal hotpot is great with a big group of people - it's very communally oriented.  It can still be fun with only 2 people but there's a limit to how many different items you can get as each one comes as a whole plate so you can't try very many.  So malatang solves that and also makes it possible to have hotpot if you're by yourself or want it to go.  It's not a communal experience like hot pot is and since you're selecting the ingredients individually, you can select whatever you want.  So it's more like all the flavor of hotpot without having to sit down with a bunch of people for a few hours.

[weinoo]

16 minutes ago, KennethT said:

Malatang is a little different - it's not a stir-fry/grill/plancha setup, it's like an individual sized hotpot. 

 

Right - I was more or less referring to the sequence of how you get to eat...pick your own ingredients out into a plate or bowl, hand them to someone who weighs and cooks them for you, and then you eat! (Although, if my memory serves me correctly, it was generally an all you can eat for $X type of place.

[liuzhou]

Malatang and Mongolian hotpot are two quite different things. Malatang is based on Sichuan/Chongqing hotpot. Yes they are both hotpots, but that's all. The flavours are very different. Mala (麻辣 - má là), literally 'numbing and hot' refers to the combination of Sichuan peppercorn and chilli that is a signature feature of Sichuan cuisine.

 

 

 

[liuzhou]

On 5/1/2024 at 2:43 PM, liuzhou said:

This morning I read some potentially wonderful news. It seems the vacuous and fatuous may be moving on to 麻辣烫 (má là tàng), Malatang!

 

Not just yet, though. Here is a maybe a fifth of the line outside my favourite luosifen place (which I can't go to anymore) this noon. The malatang place round the corner had three customers.

 

 

Edited May 2 by liuzhou (log)

[pastrygirl]

On 5/1/2024 at 1:34 PM, KennethT said:

all the flavor of hotpot without having to sit down with a bunch of people for a few hours

 

Sold!

 

I hadn't heard about malatang, although I have seen individual hot pot restaurants.  Looks like there are a few malatang spots near me, including the first US branch of Zhang Liang, if that means anything.  Will definitely try it one of these days.

 

 

[liuzhou]

9 hours ago, pastrygirl said:

the first US branch of Zhang Liang

 

Yes. Zhang Liang are international.. I've seen, but not visited the branch in London's Chinatown. However, they are in a bit of bother here in China after some branches were closed down after food safety violations.

 

I've made hotpot just for me occasionally. Not for a while, though. Not very practical and anyway, the point of hotpot here is social more than gustatory, although the food can be great.

 

 

Edited May 3 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

I was thinking about this last night and thought I'd search the internet in Chinese to see if there were any recipes for making malatang at home. I found one, but it's utterly bizarre.

 

I've translated it below, but literally to give you a flavour of the madness. But first let me say that luncheon meat and ham sausage are not exactly first choice of 'protein by any means and sesame sauce is certainly not "the soul of malatang" and milk? What is this person on⁈⁈

 

The ingredients list with some giving no amounts and the amounts listed without giving the ingredient are not my translation errors; they're straight from the original. Fairly normal for Chinese recipe writing.

 

The only thing the recipe says that makes sense is the advice "Don't stick to this recipe."

 

Malatang

 

Ingredients

 

1 pack of instant noodles

100g of green bamboo shoots

3 shiitake mushrooms

100g of luncheon meat

100g ham sausage

100g fish balls

100g fish tofu

100g sesame sauce

15g light soy sauce

20g vinegar

20g sugar

10g salt 1

15g sesame oil

and bean paste

35g hot pot base

50g green onion

50g, ginger slices

50g minced garlic

minced coriander (can be omitted)

10g oil:

25g milk

300g

 

Preparation Sesame sauce is also the soul of malatang, and it is also crucial. Mix all the spices in proportion. The consistency of the sesame sauce can be adjusted with the right amount of water. After all, each brand of sesame sauce is different.

 

2. Pour oil into the pan, pour in the green onion and ginger slices, and stir-fry a few times to taste. Tips: Malatang is a kind of food that can be put into the pot for everything, whatever you like, just add it casually. Don't stick to this recipe. Adding milk makes the taste smoother and less spicy.

 

3. Pour in the bean paste and hot pot base and stir-fry a few times, noting that the bean paste is easier to paste. After the hot pot base is melted, pour water, the amount of water depends on how many ingredients you have, and also depends on how big the pot is, which is more casual.

 

4. After boiling again, remove the residue and pour in the milk.

 

5. Then you have the exciting part, you can put your favourite ingredients, in line with the principle of meat, fish balls, vegetables, instant noodles, put the ingredients into the pot in turn.

 

6. After all the ingredients are cooked, take out and pour sesame sauce and minced garlic, and if you can eat coriander, you can sprinkle some chopped coriander. Of course, if you don't feel spicy enough, you can add some chilli oil.

I dare you to try it!

 

 

[liuzhou]

Here is the ingredient section in my nearest malantang place, about five minutes from home.

 

 

At the top are green vegetables and below that mushooms and non-green veg such as daikon radish, lotus root etc. Going down, next are various types on dried and fresh noodles.  And on the lowest level are the proteins. I only photographed the proteins. The other shelves were being sprayed with mist and I prefer my phone dry.

 

 

 

 

 

I've never eaten there. I'm kind of not into meats and vegetables that have been sliced and left exposed to every passer-by for hours on end,

 

 

 

[liuzhou]

What a strange few days, The descending hoards were back. This is my favourite market street yesterday.

 

 

It's the oldest market in the city, dating back to the Qing Dynasty and extends along a mile-long, narrow street and into side alleys off that. It was always a busy street market, with only one or two tiny restaurants / cafés for the foot weaary to rest their bones. Post-covid it hs been ridiculous. Many tiny restaurants have opened selling both malatang or luosifen, but never the two in the same store. Of course, the vain and vacuous have to visit. Now the locals struggle to buy their daily supplies there. Too many tosspots with cellphones.

 

It's busier than The Great Wall of China was yesterday. It was near deserted by comparison.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 5 by liuzhou (log)

[KennethT]

18 hours ago, liuzhou said:

I've translated it below, but literally to give you a flavour of the madness. But first let me say that luncheon meat and ham sausage are not exactly first choice of 'protein by any means and sesame sauce is certainly not "the soul of malatang" and milk? What is this person on⁈⁈

 

 

 

Preparation Sesame sauce is also the soul of malatang, and it is also crucial. Mix all the spices in proportion. The consistency of the sesame sauce can be adjusted with the right amount of water. After all, each brand of sesame sauce is different.

 

 

Back in 2012, my wife and I took our first trip (of more than a stopover) to Singapore.  After about 25 hours in transit (including changing planes in Hong Kong with some good airport dim sum and a really good loose leaf tea selection), then walking around all day, we decided to spend our first dinner at the closest restaurant to our hotel:

The magic of Chongqing hot pot.

 

This was our first hot pot experience (ever!) and our waitress was very patient in explaining everything to us.  The purpose of this long winded story is that she said that the sesame dipping sauce is the "magic sauce" - maybe she was referring to the soul of it?

 

Magical sesame sauce bottom right; bottom center is chilli sauce to add to the magical sauce - makes it more magical?

[liuzhou]

7 hours ago, KennethT said:

The magic of Chongqing hot pot.

 

I've been through my Chinese language cookbooks for Chongqing/Sichuan cookbooks looking for sesame sauce.

 

Some suggest dipping sauces incorporating sesame oil, which is certainly not unusual. However that recipe seems to be suggesting some kind of commercially produced sauce - it says all sesame sauces are not the same, which is true, but all Chinese sesame oils are essentially the same.

 

The recipe seems to be advocating a factory made sauce like this. I've never seen those being used in hotpots in Chongqing or Sichuan. They are more like what is used with Japanese しゃぶしゃぶ (shabu-shabu) as ごまたれ (goma dare), made with sesame paste.

 

 

Anyway I'd argue the 'soul' of those hotpots is definitely their mala flavour and sensation.

 

 

 

Edited May 5 by liuzhou (log)

[KennethT]

11 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

I've been through my Chinese language cookbooks for Chongqing/Sichuan cookbooks looking for sesame sauce.

 

Some suggest dipping sauces incorporating sesame oil, which is certainly not unusual. However that recipe seems to be suggesting some kind of commercially produced sauce - it says all sesame sauces are not the same, which is true, but all Chinese sesame oils are essentially the same.

 

The recipe seems to be advocating a factory made sauce like this. I've never seen those being used in hotpots in Chongqing or Sichuan. They are more like what is used with Japanese しゃぶしゃぶ (shabu-shabu) as ごまたれ (goma dare), made with sesame paste.

In Beijing, we went to a very popular hot pot place, HaiDiLao, with about 900 restaurants world wide, definitely has a sesame based sauce and there is a bunch of ingredients you can mix into it at their self-serve area.  In addition  to what we made ourselves, our server made us a few of her favorite "recipes".

 

[liuzhou]

50 minutes ago, KennethT said:

In Beijing, we went to a very popular hot pot place, HaiDiLao, with about 900 restaurants world wide, definitely has a sesame based sauce and there is a bunch of ingredients you can mix into it at their self-serve area.  In addition  to what we made ourselves, our server made us a few of her favorite "recipes".

Yes, but Haidolao is famous for having sauces from all over China. One of their selling points. All I know is I've never been served that type of sesame sauce in Sichuan/Chongqing. And it certainly it isn't served with malatang anywhere I've seen.

 

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it. It just seems strange to me in the context of that recipe and the claim about it being the "soul of hotpot". None the recipes I've seen over the last couple of days of looking even mentions it. Most mention the sesame oil dip.

 

 

Edited May 5 by liuzhou (log)

[pastrygirl]

The mystery to me is whether this is all an exaggerated rant for comedy, or if you're actually butt hurt about the damn kids these days eating soup wrong.  Maybe both, hard to tell 🤷‍♀️  But thanks for posting, I went out for malatang last night and enjoyed it, will do it again.

 

I was hungry and got way too much food, which is easy to do with a giant mixing bowl in your hand and wanting to try everything.  The self-serve aspect didn't bother me, its all refrigerated and will be cooked, not any more people breathing on your ingredients than in the grocery store.  Definitely some opportunity for cross-contamination though, so would not recommend for people with severe fish/shellfish allergies.

 

 

YGF near the University of Washington  https://ygfmalatangwa.com/

 

Edited May 14 by pastrygirl (log)

[liuzhou]

11 hours ago, pastrygirl said:

The mystery to me is whether this is all an exaggerated rant for comedy, or if you're actually butt hurt about the damn kids these days eating soup wrong.

 

I don't think I said anything about anyone eating soup wrong. I don't care how people eat anything.

 

What I, and most people here, do care about is when literally 6 million people turn up in a city of 5 million over one week, bringing the place to a grinding halt. No one could move or go about their business. And for what?

 

It was nothing to do with food, but about getting their precious 'look at me; aren't I so amazing' videos on Douyin, the Chinese version of Tik Tok. They were all filming themselves 'eating' malatang or luosifen, except few really were.  There have been numerous reports from restaurateurs saying people were standing in line for over four or five hours, ordering these dishes, filming themselves beside it (maybe taking one bite) then leaving with the dish uneaten. Mission accomplished. On to the next vacuous venture.

 

In the meantime, the good people of Liuzhou were going hungry as they couldn't get to the markets to get their food.