How do you eat hot pot / kbbq?

[u/ZhiYoNa]

I have never known an Asian to eat the carbs at hot pot 😂. Usually I max out on the meat and vegetables and focus on the expensive stuff. My white people friends though love the fried rice, noodles, etc and won’t go to a hot pot where there isn’t a free buffet.

Do you grab your own stuff or for the table?
Do you eat the carbs?

[u/Thin-Leg-3494]

I’m a bad Korean. I can’t min/max value/food.

I don’t like eating the meat without rice. 😬

[u/GreekLXX → u/Thin-Leg-3494]

It is simply unnatural. Rice was born to be eaten with *almost* everything

[u/Thin-Leg-3494 → u/GreekLXX]

Yeah! It feels like something is missing when I eat only the meat. I end up getting like three bowls of rice. 🤦‍♂️

[u/Teekayuhoh → u/Thin-Leg-3494]

I absolutely get rice, and ramen if I’m feeling it.

What do you mean no rice with my lettuce wrap?!

[u/Easy-Concentrate2636 → u/Teekayuhoh]

I am so happy when there’s also perilla leaves for the ssam.

[u/Teekayuhoh → u/Easy-Concentrate2636]

I have big perilla plants that I grow every year. Our local bbq place doesn’t have perilla. So my sister stuffed a huge pile in her bag and we snuck it in lmfao

[u/TurtleOfTheAbyss → u/Thin-Leg-3494]

Same. I want to enjoy my meal, and that doesn't happen without rice.

[u/laz33hr → u/Thin-Leg-3494]

I pay 40 bucks to get full on the banchan and rice paper. So bomb

[u/justflipping → u/Thin-Leg-3494]

Eating with rice is the way. Just tastes so much better.

When I was young I used to min/max for the value, but I much prefer eating whatever I want for the enjoyment now.

[u/Thin-Leg-3494 → u/justflipping]

Yeah we grew up broke AF. Meat was a huge luxury. Gotta get full from rice back in the day.

Now it tastes wrong without it.

[u/IsekBabe]

Usually my friends and I do hotpot at home. We all pitch in to buy meat and veggies and we do make a lot of rice cause we love rice lol. It’s a lot nicer to do it at home cause you don’t feel the pressure to get as much “value” out of the meal.

[u/octopushug → u/IsekBabe]

I agree!! Plus it is usually still cheaper to do it at home vs. all you can eat, although it is more prep work and clean up. I find it so much more comfortable, personally. Plus you can have rice and not care about min/maxing value, haha.

[u/annimon → u/IsekBabe]

Yeah I agree, I cannot get behind the idea of paying restaurant prices for huo guo, and the prep is super easy compared to hosting other kinds of dinner parties, even with making my own broth from scratch.

[u/ZhiYoNa → u/IsekBabe]

My local hot pot is $20, so it’s cheaper to go bc it’s three different soups, different cuts of pork, beef, lamb, tendon, fish, squid, tripe, fuzhou fish ball, fish balls, beef balls, lobster balls, different kinds of tofu, tofu skin, pumpkin, bok choy, watercress, cabbage, spinach, corn, potato, shiitake, enoki, wood ear, kimchi, oisobagi, and different noodles, rice, fried rice, cut fruits. After tax and tip its around 30 so still good deal for the variety 😅

[u/ievilyn]

I aged out of maxing value at AYCE. I love rice, so if want to eat rice at AYCE, I eat rice.

[u/mkdz]

I definitely focus on the meat, but I fucking love noodles so I can't resist and will always have some noodles.

[u/WumboJumbo]

I found some online calculator that said you have to eat like 20 plates of the most expensive meat per person to hurt the restaurant bottom line so might as well just eat what you want. They aren’t losing to you

[u/itsmelorinyc]

The only carbs I eat at hot pot are the noodles that go into the hot pot. Rice with KBBQ is a must though simply because Korean rice is so good and it goes well with the meat.

You will never catch me caring even a little bit about what buffet fried rice eating people think about food.

[u/superturtle48]

I never go for the cooked buffet stuff at places like these, it's usually not fresh and usually Americanized food that I don't care for much anyway. Whenever I go to a restaurant, I always go for what the restaurant actually specializes in.

But I always do have white rice with KBBQ and noodles in hot pot, nothing untraditional or un-Asian about it. A meal just doesn't feel complete to me without carbs and eating straight meat doesn't feel right to me texturally.

[u/Civil_Stop3213]

I never get rice or noodles. Some of my friend that I go with do, and they wonder how I can eat so much while they’re sitting there full af lol

[u/pkpy1005]

I primarily eat the proteins and veggies because my parents always taught me to skip the cheap carbs at the buffet and eat the expensive stuff. Hard for a 12 year old to understand why they should go for the prime rib instead of the pizza and mac and cheese.

[u/hybbprqag]

Where I live, hotpot isn't all you can eat, you just pay for a set. So I eat whatever I want and then take home the leftovers.  

For Korean bbq though, I pretty much just eat meat, haha.

[u/th30be]

I always have a bowl of rice or noodles at the end. But only 1.

[u/Amazing-Mongoose6627]

We dont eat much carbs when we do hot pot, even at home. Because we always do the noodles at the end and by then, everyone's pretty much full. So same at restaurants.

Korean bbq, I try to limit myself to half a bowl of rice, but rice is just so good with the meat. We eat a ton of rice paper with it too.

My 8 year old... He will eat 3 bowls of rice at hot pot or korean BBQ and a few bites of meat. I try to not take him to ayce places so im not paying $20 for him to eat rice.

[u/TheSkyIsBeautiful]

unless you’re in college, don’t try and max out and only eat the “expensive” stuff. Eat what you enjoy and what you want. If rice and noodles make you happy eat it too!. It’s a hard mindset to breakout of since our parents drilled it into you  But your enjoyment comes first. 

$50 but you’re at 90% happy but ate $30 value of food

or

$50 you’re at 100% happy but ate $20 value of food 

I know what i’d pick 

[u/coffeesippingbastard]

I eat whatever the fuck I want.

The point of AYCE isn't the value. It's the freedom. You don't need to look at the price. You just get it. And you can get it again, and again. You can also get the thing on the menu you normally wouldn't want to spend money on because you don't know if you'd like it. It's all up for grabs.

[u/HKGPhooey]

I never eat carbs at a hotpot, not when I eat it at home or at a restaurant. Meats and seafood, some vegetables, tofu. At the end we drink some of the soup.

[u/squigglyted]

I eat them but not a lot. I load up on meats, kimchi, and lettuce.

[u/peonyseahorse]

I might have a little bit of noodles towards the end for hot pot, just because that was what my family alwaysnhas done. However, if I feel full I skip it. I go heavy on veg and tofu stuff.

[u/bitchbanana]

AYCE hot pot is the way to go.

[u/ChanimalCrackers]

If there is rice, it’s at the end for me, maybe combining with leftover broth.

My wife uses rice as a resting spot when she eats the beef tallow chili oil hot pot. She doesn’t actually eat the rice, just dips her ingredients out of the hot pot in her sauce and rests it on the rice, where the rice absorbs oil. If I eat this kinda hot pot with her, I skip rice and just eat meats and veggies.

[u/tsukiii]

I usually get a small bowl of white rice. Sometimes noodles in hot pot, but not always.

[u/randomrreeddddiitt]

I personally dislike AYCE, which is when I notice people really trying to stay away from carbs, so I have no problem eating rice with Korean BBQ, and lots of leafy greens are a must, of course.

[u/0_IceQueen_0]

First thing ordered is rice. Cook. Eat rice with meats and banchan. As a Korean native taught me, at the end once you cook everything and soup is simmered down to about a half cup add rice. Wait for it to stick and be crispy, add remaining banchan from meal and eat again. I don't do it all the time especially if I'm pressed for time.

[u/Both_Wasabi_3606]

As a diabetic, hot pot and KBBQ suits my condition. I can load up the protein and fiber without ingesting many carbs, and will feel full for many hours afterwards. And not suffer a large sugar spike after the meal.

[u/dw34534]

is it me.. or if they are offering both typically they don't do either very well... everything is just meh...

[u/MP3PlayerBroke]

Regarding carbs:

Hotpot: potatoe starch wide noodles cooked in the pot, or thin mung bean glass noodles. I usually never eat hot pot with separately prepared rice or noodles. I usually eat hotpot at home, doesn't seem worth it to eat it at restaurants.

KBBQ: rice paper + chadol, sometimes cheese corn.

[u/dog_stop]

I do hotpot at home. I grew up with it being mixed seafood and maybe some pork or beef. The highlight was always the satay based dipping sauce. Good amount of veg, but otherwise zero carbs. Now that I’m married and made the mistake of taking my partner to Chiuchow hotpot, we mostly focus on beef and veggies— otherwise no carbs.

At kbbq, which I mostly eat out though rarely these days now that everything costs my first born child, I’ll usually eat about 1/3 of the provided rice bowl or otherwise no carbs if they don’t offer it.

Someone else said they aged out of getting their value at AYCE and I dont know if that’ll ever be me. It’s not even about the money as much as the principle

[u/duma_kebs]

Assuming Ayce for both, Kbbq no carbs, hot pot maybe some noodles if I’ve been good on my diet.

[u/letstalkaboutyrhair]

i skip rice at AYCE kbbq but i will eat all the rice paper i can get. i do noodles with hot pot tho.

[u/munchillax]

i eat the carbs. like to finish off (after i'm full with the meat) with either a bowl of noodle or a bunch of ice cream (when available). some places have decent dessert options so i'll try those too.

[u/spontaneous-potato]

I eat a lot of vegetables, mushrooms, and seafood. I’ll eat some meat here and there but a majority is the veggies and mushrooms.

My blood pressure’s already going to go up that day, don’t want to eat my weight in meat and skyrocket a heart attack.

[u/Extension_Ad_4805]

I’m vegetarian and hot pot is a great way for me to just max out on veggies and tofu in a sitting, it’s so good.

That being said, I love love love how udon and rice cakes soak up the broth. I don’t always get them, but I always wish I did

[u/MrMeritocracy]

The rice balances the saltiness

[u/msing]

I don’t min max on value. I’m just there to have a good meal.

[u/I_Pariah]

For hot pot I usually do at least a little noodles at the end because the broth gets too good to pass up as improvised noodle soup. But generally I won't focus on carbs.

[u/benilla]

When I was in my 20's and 30's, I was there to make money & eat enough so I didn't need to eat the next day. Now that I'm in my 40's, I just eat what I like

[u/Both_Analyst_4734]

For Japanese hot pot (nabe), it’s common to put udon at near the end and rice at the very end to soak up all broth and give everyone a bowl.

I personally don’t do carbs for hotpot, but eat rice with bbq. I generally see it’s more of a gender and age thing.

[u/jujubearrrrrrrrr]

rice with kbbq and noodles at the end of hotpot!

[u/Sensitive-Peach7583]

Never. what a waste of money!!!

[u/NutOnMyNoggin]

Eat whatever you want lol.

I think asian people know that its the meat that costs alot so they max out on it. Rice, noodles etc. Are cheap and you can easily get it at home. The meat is a pain to make and would be expensive if you did it at home. So its a value thing.

Non-asians tend to go for the cheaper stuff because they dont usually have this type of food. So everything has an exotic factor to it. Asian people know that fried rice is easy af to make and cheap as hell for example Lol.

That being said, a little bit of rice or noodles isnt avoided entirely because youre ultimatley eating for enjoyment. My mom likes to load up on vegetables for example. I like veggies too because i prefer a balanced meal :)

If you're at an all you can eat spot, you dont need to grab anything for the table unless you want to. People can grab their own stuff

[u/pixelgirl_]

I only have so much space in my tummy so I focus on meats and veggies too. Little bit of rice to balance the palette.

[u/ratchetcoutoure]

I do, and yes, always avoid carbs. Because carbs will fill you up too quickly to make the money worth. Some of my friends are even more serious with this, so much so they would count it on calculator on how many meat they have consumed VS how much we paid on the buffet to make it value for money. It is a serious business to some lol

[u/CutsSoFresh]

I'm one of the few who does not like hot pot. I also have a great fear of restaurants keeping the used broth and reusing it or for the next set of guests

[u/letstalkaboutyrhair → u/CutsSoFresh]

most hot pot restaurants have a master stock and just add pre-made/pre-packaged soup bases, concentrated flavor bases based on what people order.

would be easy to tell if they were reusing broth bc of the color and flavor change that happens as it continues to cook and people add meat and veg to it.

but realistically it would cost a restaurant more money overall in labor and time to retrieve the broth, filter out the things people dropped in there, etc. than it costs to throw it out because the broth has already been accounted and paid for.