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Hot pot can be intimidating. You're sitting in front of a bubbling, bronze cauldron straight out of the Middle Ages, with a giant, laminated menu of raw foods, and a group of expectant, equally confused pals. Once you get past ordering, you're still responsible for cooking your own dinner. To learn this process, we went to Beijing Hot Pot (2768 SE 82nd Ave., 503-774-2525, thebeijinghotpot.com) and asked about the ideal cooking times for each ingredient. Once you have your plates of raw vegetables, uncooked noodles and dark-pink meat flanks, pull out your phone and lay this list on your table. Boom.
Raw beef—10 seconds
Bean curd sheet—20 seconds
Romaine heart—20 seconds
Shrimp—30 seconds
Beef tripe—30 seconds
Chinese greens—40 seconds
Vermicelli—40 seconds
Imitation crab meat—50 seconds
Fish—50 seconds
Golden needle mushroom—50 seconds
King oyster mushroom (white)—50 seconds
Fried tofu—1 minute
Shiitake mushroom (black)—1 minute
Spinach—1 minute
Shrimp ball—1 minute
Chicken—1 minute
Fresh bean curd (tofu)—1 minute, 30 seconds
Frozen bean curd (tofu)—2 minutes
Chicken meatball—2 minutes
Tofu knots—2 minutes
Napa cabbage—3 minutes
Fresh taro—5 minutes
Noodles—7 minutes
Dumplings—8-9 minutes
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