Steamboat, or hotpot, is a method of cooking whereby meats, seafood and vegetables are dipped into a hot soup broth. 

It has traditionally been seen as a healthy method of preparing food, but nowadays, with many hotpot restaurants sprouting up across Singapore, the ingredients you pick can make a huge difference between whether your steamboat meal is really healthy and nourishing… or not.

Here are some tips to keep your steamboat meal healthy and nutritious.

1) Cut down on the sauces

Most of the ingredients that we use in steamboat are already quite salty on their own, and so when you pile on that chilli sauce or soya sauce, each tablespoon adds 1,000mg of sodium to your daily intake. That can’t be good for you.

2) Avoid the balls and processed meats

Fishballs, meatballs, sausages and crab sticks are all processed meats and these are low in nutrition value and high in sodium and cancer-causing nitrates, even though you are steaming them in the hot pot.

Instead, choose raw meats such as chicken, pork and beef slices, as these are much higher in terms of nutrition value.

3) Do not slurp hot soup

Drinking very hot soup not only scalds the taste buds, but it can also lead to an increased risk of oesophageal cancer associated with higher-temperature drink consumption according to a 2010 study published by the International Journal of Cancer.

4) Do not gobble down your food

Even though you might be ravenous, do not quickly gobble down all your food because it takes about 20 minutes for the brain to process that the stomach is full. By chewing and swallowing your food more slowly, you will be less likely to overeat and consume food till you are feeling stuffed. To aid digestion, try and communicate more with the people around you.

5) Stop drinking up all the soup

The hot pot soup stock may be tasty, but it is nowhere near as nutritious as double-boiled soups. Instead, the continuous boiling process leads to an increase in nitrate content in the soup, which will increase your risk of getting cancer over time. 

So instead, you should throw away your soup stock, and sip on plain water instead if you want to wash down your food.

Conclusion

With these tips now up your sleeve, I hope that you can make a better selection of foods during your next steamboat gathering. With many families choosing to celebrate over a steamboat meal this Chinese New Year, you do not need to forego your usual diet and over-indulge on that annual steamboat meal.