{{Use American English|date=February 2024}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}} {{Short description|Chinese street food}} {{Infobox Chinese |t = 麻辣燙 |s = 麻辣烫 |l = numb spicy hot |p = málàtàng |j = maa4 laat6 tong3 |y = màah laaht tong |image = MaLaTang.JPG }} {{Cuisine of China}} '''Malatang''' ({{zh|s=麻辣烫|t=麻辣燙|p=málàtàng|l=numb spicy hot|first=t}}) is a Sichuan street food in which skewered or self-selected meats, vegetables, and noodles simmer briefly in a numbing broth seasoned with Sichuan pepper and dried chili.<ref>{{cite book | last1=Kraig | first1=B. | last2=Sen | first2=C.T. | title=Street Food Around the World: An Encyclopedia of Food and Culture | publisher=ABC-CLIO | year=2013 | isbn=978-1-59884-955-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9XCjAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA93 | access-date=July 17, 2017 | page=93}}</ref><ref name="Malatang"/><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Kaufmann |first=Lena |date=2016 |title=Everyday strategies of rural migrants: assembling skills in Mala tang production |url=https://www.zora.uzh.ch/handle/20.500.14742/122272 |journal=Journal of Chinese Dietary Culture |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=63–112 |doi=10.5167/uzh-127411 |issn=1811-9301}}</ref> The dish developed among boat trackers along the Yangtze River near Sichuan, where workers cooked herbs with peppercorns and ginger to counter the damp climate.<ref name="Malatang"/><ref name="MalatangB"/>
Street vendors adapted the communal pot for urban stalls, and by the mid-2010s ''malatang'' shops across northern China invited customers to assemble bowls that are priced by weight after a quick boil.<ref name="Malatang"/><ref name="MalatangB"/> International chains later introduced the format to markets such as Australia, while public health discussions in China highlight both the variety of nutrients diners can combine and regulatory crackdowns on illicit additives.<ref name="MalatangB"/><ref name="gmw">{{Cite web |title=临床医生说科普丨麻辣烫有营养吗？ |url=https://m.gmw.cn/baijia/2023-02/13/1303282064.html |access-date=2023-10-06 |website=m.gmw.cn}}</ref><ref name="Opium">{{Cite web |last=Wu |first=Hong |title=麻辣烫中非法添加罂粟粉，被判刑！_澎湃号·政务_澎湃新闻-The Paper |trans-title=Illegal addition of opium poppy powder in Malatang, sentenced! |url=https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_24799561 |access-date=2023-10-02 |website=www.thepaper.cn}}</ref><ref name="Addictive">{{cite web | url=https://www.thebeijinger.com/blog/2016/01/22/did-your-last-beijing-meal-particularly-addictive-maybe-because-it-was | title=Did Your Last Beijing Meal Taste Addictive? Maybe It Was | date=22 January 2016 }}</ref>
==Etymology== ''Malatang'' is named after its key ingredient, mala sauce, which is flavored with a blend of Sichuan pepper and dried chili. The word ''málà'' is composed of the Chinese characters for "numbing" (麻) and "spicy (hot)" (辣), referring to the feeling in the mouth after eating the sauce.<ref name="Malatang">{{cite web |title=Malatang |url=https://www.weekinchina.com/2020/09/malatang/ |website=Week In China |access-date=20 March 2023 |date=4 September 2020 |archive-date=March 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320132546/https://www.weekinchina.com/2020/09/malatang/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kaufmann |first=Lena |title=Mala tang – Alltagsstrategien Ländlicher Migranten in Shanghai |date=2011 |publisher=Harrassowitz |year=2011 |isbn=978-3-447-06522-1 |location=Wiesbaden |publication-date=2011 |language=de |trans-title=Mala tang – Everyday strategies of rural migrants in Shanghai}}</ref>
==History== ''Malatang'' is said to have originated along the Yangtze River near Sichuan, where boat crews stewed herbs, Sichuan pepper, and ginger in communal pots to stay warm while working in damp conditions.<ref name="Malatang"/><ref name="MalatangB">{{cite web |last1=Lao |first1=Tony |title=Malatang Explained: The Sichuan Street-Food Soup Rivalling Ramen |url=https://www.broadsheet.com.au/national/food-and-drink/article/malatang-explainer |website=Broadsheet |access-date=20 March 2023 |language=en |date=8 July 2019}}</ref> Street vendors recognized the appeal of the pungent broth and began selling skewered ingredients cooked to order in shared vats, which distinguished the dish from restaurant hotpot meals that are prepared for a single table.<ref name="Malatang"/><ref name="MalatangB"/> During the 2010s proprietors across North China popularized self-service shops where customers select ingredients that are cooked together and charged by weight.<ref name="Malatang"/><ref name="MalatangB"/>
Chains based in China and abroad later brought ''malatang'' to international cities, including Australian markets that offer additional broth styles such as laksa, tom yum, and pho.<ref name="MalatangB"/>
==Preparation and service== ===Skewer stalls=== [[File:Malatang in Sanlitun, Beijing.jpg|thumb|Skewer-style ''malatang'' in Sanlitun, Beijing]]
Vendors typically set a wide pot or griddle at street level and keep skewers of tofu, vegetables, meat, and offal simmering in a mildly spicy broth. Customers sit or stand around the pot, select the skewers they want, and ask the vendor to replenish missing items as ingredients run low.<ref name="Malatang"/><ref name="MalatangB"/>
Customers keep the used wooden sticks by their plates, and when a customer finishes eating, the price to pay is determined by counting the number of empty sticks.<ref name="Malatang"/><ref name="MalatangB"/>
===Self-service shops=== thumb|upright|Self-service selection of ingredients at a ''malatang'' shop, with vegetables and noodles in the foreground and fish and meat in the back thumb|upright|A ready bowl of ''malatang'' soup
In the mid-2010s ''malatang'' shops spread through North China, offering refrigerated shelves or displays where diners choose ingredients and carry them to the counter.<ref name="Malatang"/><ref name="MalatangB"/> Staff boil the selections for several minutes in a high-temperature broth before dressing each bowl with condiments such as garlic, black pepper, Sichuan pepper, chili pepper, sesame paste, and crushed peanuts. Cashiers weigh the finished bowl to determine the price.<ref name="Malatang"/><ref name="MalatangB"/>
==Ingredients== Some of the common ingredients include:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://simplechinesefood.com/recipe/mala-tang|title=Mala Tang recipe|website=SimpleChineseFood}}</ref> {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * wosun (celtuce) * beef (chunks) * dumplings * lettuce * spinach * other mixed greens * lotus root * mushrooms * fresh and instant noodles * pork liver * pork lung * potato * quail eggs * Spam * Chinese yam * sheep intestines * numerous types of dried and frozen tofu * ''nian gao'' rice cakes * beef balls * fish balls * chicken balls * sweet potato * tripe * fish roe lucky bag {{div col end}}
==Nutrition and regulation== Chinese health writers note that patrons often include a broad mix of vegetables and meats in ''malatang'', which allows diners to combine varied nutrients during a single meal.<ref name="gmw"/>
Food safety authorities have also prosecuted vendors for adding poppy seed pods and other illicit ingredients to ''malatang'' broth, citing the additive's numbing properties and potential to cause dependence.<ref name="Opium"/><ref name="Addictive"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{wikt-inline|malatang}}
{{portalbar|China|Food}} {{Street food}} {{Sichuan cuisine}}
Category:Hot pot Category:Street food in China Category:Spicy foods Category:Chinese soups Category:Culture in Chongqing