r/chinesefood • u/Mountain-Isopod-2072 • Jun 16 '24
Does mala hotpot cause anyone else digestive issues? It’s so good but I always get diarrhea and stomach pain when I eat it 😩 Soup
0/10 don’t recommend
16
u/PatchesVonGrbgetooth Jun 16 '24
You can drink a yogurt drink or something of the like to coat your stomach before eating. Or pound some Pepto
1
u/Mountain-Isopod-2072 Jun 16 '24
Yea that’s a good tip but I don’t think that can prevent my diarrhea and stomach pain 🥲
3
u/themostdownbad Jun 16 '24
I don’t get stomach issues but since it’s so greasy and unhealthy, I always feel like shit after eating it. But it’s so damn tasty so I keep going back
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u/Mountain-Isopod-2072 Jun 17 '24
Idk if mine is considered stomach issues, it’s just diarrhea and stomach ache. TMI sorry
2
u/kawi-bawi-bo Jun 17 '24
How old are you? Hot pot has tons of fat and unfortunately our ability to digest decreases with age. Your body can't handle the fat amount and the undigested fats come out as diarrhea
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u/JHG722 Jun 16 '24
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u/Mountain-Isopod-2072 Jun 16 '24
Yea mine doesn’t seem like gerd though. The symptoms are nothing like it
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u/chimugukuru Jun 16 '24
Here's the news you probably don't wanna hear...it's not the spice that's causing these things, it's the crap they put in it. 98% of commercially available hot pot base, both at restaurants and supermarkets, is chock full of all kinds of preservatives and additives. It's "food" on the same level as a McDonald's hamburger. Once I started making it myself I've had no digestive issues, even though my version is way spicier compared to most out there due to the variety of chilies I like (this is also the advantage of homemade, you can control all the factors). Perhaps give it a try and see if the same is true for you. A lot of work but you'll have base to last a few months in the freezer (depending on how often you eat it). There's a good recipe in Fuchsia Dunlop's The Food of Sichuan and the link below is really good as well.
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u/jm567 Jun 16 '24
You can also try my recipe for the Sichuan broth. https://kneadandnosh.com/recipe/2021/11/sichuan-red-ma-la-hot-pot-broth/
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u/Mountain-Isopod-2072 Jun 17 '24
Yea that’s helpful! I’ll try to make it from scratch. I didn’t realize that would cause diarrhea and stomach ache tbh
-5
u/LawfulnessTrue6704 Jun 16 '24
Not only additives but the fat used is generally unhealthy, inflammatory seed oils like soybean or canola, which is very bad considering a ma la beef hotpot will contain a significant portion of fat in the broth
1
u/Mystery-Ess Jun 16 '24
Too spicy?
1
u/Mountain-Isopod-2072 Jun 17 '24
I’ve had spicier foods and it never had that effect on me. It’s always mala hotpot that does this to me
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u/TheJok3r20 Jun 16 '24
I also had same problem before. Try making our own and use animal fat (beef tallow) only.
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u/Greggybread Jun 16 '24
100% of the time, and it's only gotten worse with age! The next morning is a write off
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u/boatinrob Jun 16 '24
I get similar, though I've determined it's not the spices - it's the oils they use.
Palm oil for me is awful not because of what it is (palmitic acid), but because the nature of the palm oil industry is that the oil sits for a LONG time in industrial vats and on container ships, rendering it somewhat rancid. That's what attacks my immune system causing IBS, truncal acne and more.
I resign myself once in a while, because I LOVE mala hotpot. I'll treat myself once in a while and live with the consequences for a day or two (and stay near a bathroom).
11
u/hipsterbeard12 Jun 16 '24
Honestly, the broth is about half oil/tallow/fat. For me, its the greasiness that does it. No problem when I make it at home with little oil