❓How do I order a vegetarian hot pot broth and dishes without stepping into a hidden-meat trap?

For the broth base, go for tomato, mushroom, or clear broth first — but heads up, a lot of "clear broths" are actually simmered with beef bones or chicken carcasses, so make sure to ask if it's a truly vegetarian stock before ordering. Many places will let you swap in plain water or a dedicated vegetable stock instead. Skip the meatball-type items (crab sticks, meatballs, shrimp paste) since they're almost never vegetarian — even ones that look like "vegetable balls" might have ground meat or fish paste mixed in, so double-check those separately. In the dipping sauce area, watch out for shrimp oil and pickled chive flowers, which sometimes contain animal ingredients — sesame paste, fermented tofu, sesame oil, and minced garlic are generally safe bets. If you're sharing a pot with a group, it's a good idea to cook the vegetarian ingredients first before anyone starts cooking meat, so the broth doesn't turn entirely into meat stock later on.