How to make Hot Pot Rolls

This How to Make Hot Pot Rolls article will show you how to make these at home and freeze them to use in various recipes such as ramen, pho, and other hot pots for much cheaper than you buy them at your local Asian grocery store. They can be made practically from any cut of meat, usually beef, pork, or lamb.

The trick to making these at home for much cheaper is to slice the meat thinly with a meat slicer while it is still partially frozen. Then just roll them up and stack them in a Tupperware container just like they are in stores and freeze them until needed.

What are Hot Pot Rolls

Hot pot rolls are the thinly sliced meats that are used to top various hot pots like ramen, pho, and various other hot pots. These are always available at T&T or other Asian marketplaces and at Costco. There are all kinds of them from different cuts, such as pork shoulder or butt, beef chuck, ribeye, and various lamb cuts. Slicing the meat very thin allows the meat to cook up rather quickly. These are usually placed into the bowl raw with hot broth poured over, or the meat is dunked in broth until cooked through.

JAHZKITCHEN Hot Pot Pork Shoulder Rolls angle view

Pork Meat Rolls

Pork shoulder, butt, belly, jowl, loin, and other cuts.

Beef Meat Rolls

Beef chuck, beef rib eye, beef plate, Angus beef, and other cuts.

Lamb Meat Rolls

Lamb shoulder is typically used for hot pot rolls when using lamb.

How to make Hot Pot Rolls at home

Always slice across the grain. Use a meat slicer and slightly frozen meat so that you can get consistent, even slices every time. You can slice to any thickness you want. The ones pictured below are on the thick side. Typically the ones you buy are sliced paper thin.

How to Store Hot Pot Rolls

Tightly roll each slice and place it into a Tupperware container or tray and cover. Refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for longer storage. When ready to use, defrost in the fridge overnight.

You can also portion and store in Ziploc bags. Optionally separate the portions (45g to 90g or 3-6 slices depending on the thickness) with waxed paper.

Storing Meat Rolls

Thinly Sliced Pork half pound portions for freezing

What recipes use hot pot meat rolls

These various meat rolls can be used in ramen, pho, sukiyaki, beef udon, yoshinoya bowls, nikujaga, hayashi rice, shabu shabu, miso ginger pork, and hot pots where a broth is simmered and various hot pot meats can be dipped into the broth until cooked through. They can also be chopped and flash-fried for stir-fries or included in various noodles dishes.

One such dish where these meat rolls are used is pork & bok choy ramen, seen below with an added soft-boiled egg.