Maocai——hidden among the everyday life of the city

At farmers' markets, near residential communities, and in small stores by the street, we often see the following scene: a large soup pot is placed on a coal stove, with the soup bubbling and emitting hot vapor. A few long-handled bamboo baskets filled with vegetables are submerged in the pot, and the fragrant aroma spreads through the air, attracting passersby to stop and take a look. Someone points to a basket of vegetables on the rack, and the vendor fills the basket with the corresponding vegetables until it is full. Then, the basket is placed in the boiling pot and boiled, with the vendor occasionally lifting and lowering the basket into the soup to ensure that the vegetables are fully cooked. When the vegetables are "cooked" to the vendor's satisfaction, they are lifted out of the pot and the contents, along with some soup, are poured into a bowl or plastic bag for customers to eat on the spot or take home to enjoy. This is the most common street food in Sichuan's countryside - "hot pot." Perhaps you are confused by the word "hot" which should be derived from the word "Mao" ."Mao" means to put raw or cooked ingredients into boiling soup to cook or warm them. "Hot" and "Mao" were once the same character. "Fat dogs and mountain skin, miao with mountain herbs." - Mengchang, Seven Fires, while "Mao" means edible aquatic plants or wild greens: "Mao soup (a soup made with vegetables and meat)."