One of the biggest differentiators between one hotpot restaurant and another is the quality, flavour and fragrance of their soup bases. And not just any soup bases, but these 4 popular ones that every hotpot restaurant must have on their menu.
Mala
The popularity of Szechuan mala selections has exploded in recent years. Today, you’ll even find mala-flavoured potato chips and instant noodles. So, as a hotpot restaurant, you owe it to your customers to include this staple in your soup choices.
To further differentiate your restaurant from the competition, you could offer several levels of spiciness for your mala soup bases. Truly adventurous diners will love challenging themselves to higher, unexplored spice levels!
Create a rich, flavourful and authentic Szechuan mala soup base for your diners by using our recipe.
Tomato
Now, a soup base that fans of non-spicy soups can get behind: tomato! Packing a stronger punch that other non-spicy choices such as herbal soups, the beauty of a tomato soup base is that it retains its flavour, even after an assortment of meats, fish balls and vegetables have been cooked in it throughout the course of a meal.
For chefs, this soup base is also ideal because of how easy it is to prepare with Knorr Tomato Paste and Knorr Pronto Tomato in your kitchen. Want a taste of our favourite tomato soup base? Try out our delicious tomato soup base recipe and impress your customers with your variation of it.
Mushroom
Mushroom-based soups appeal to all types of diners—including those on meatless diets—and can be a fantastic addition to your hotpot menu. Take care when tossing mushrooms into your hotpots though, as there definitely can be “too much of a good thing”. For example, too much shiitake can make your soups sour, while overdoing shimeijis could turn soups bitter.
With that said, popular choices include enoki, oyster, and the above-mentioned shiitake and shimeji mushrooms. Keen on getting started? Give our mushroom soup base recipe a go and treat your diners to a familiar, tastes-like-home-cooked favourite that’s bursting with shitake, shimeji and button mushroom goodness!
Chicken, Cordyceps Flower, Ginseng
An appetising hotpot menu is only complete when it contains a traditional soup base that’s packed with nutrients and perceived immunity-boosting properties. In addition to appealing to a wide audience, these soups are also packed with flavour and regarded as “premium soup bases” that you can charge a higher price for.
Need inspiration for a nutritional soup to add to your menu? This scrumptious soup recipe features chicken, cordyceps flowers and ginseng and could be the next big thing in your restaurant’s hotpot menu!
Knorr Pronto Tomato 2kg
Knorr Pronto Tomato sauce delivers superior quality and taste consistently. Made from 40 freshly-chopped, quality Italian tomatoes together with sunflowers oil and onion, rest assured that the flavours brought out in your Western dishes will be authentic regardless of your staff's skill levels. As a versatile sauce, – use it for your tomato-based spaghetti, dips and even as a soup base for tomato soups. All you have to do is pour out the sauce from the tomato sauce can and heat it up, saving time and effort. With MSG added and endorsed by Health Promotion Board (HPB) as a healthier choice with lower sugar*, provide healthier meals for your diners.
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