Pickle Hot Pot

Pickle Hot Pot

　　Pickle Hot Pot

　　Lishui is located in a mountainous area where the mountains are high and the water is cold. Villagers often eat hot pot during autumn and winter. The mountain-style hot pot mainly features ingredients such as pickles, Chinese cabbage, radishes, pumpkins, loofahs, taro, as well as bamboo shoots, bracken, wild mushrooms, and bitter greens — with homemade pickles being especially common. There are various preparation methods: pickle-making techniques include frying, sun-drying, salting, pickling, fermenting in sauce, soaking in liquor, and mold-fermenting, each yielding different flavors. Fried pickles are mainly made from bamboo shoot greens. Sun-dried pickles come in a wider variety, including those made from Chinese cabbage, mustard greens, radishes, pumpkins, and potatoes. Salt-pickled pickles are made from bamboo shoots, ginger, chili peppers, eggplants, and cabbage, with diverse textures and tastes. Pickled-in-brine pickles mainly include cucumbers, tender ginger, pomelo peel, and sweet potato, meant to be eaten right after pickling, offering a unique flavor. Mold-fermented pickles primarily consist of fermented soybeans, made from fresh mung beans that have been mold-fermented, often served with white liquor and aged vinegar.